Costa Rican Architecture

The conversation with VOID emerges within the framework of the 2025 Latin American Architecture Biennial, offering an opportunity to explore a practice that listens, cares, and accompanies. Their work unfolds as an act of mediation: through interdisciplinary research and attention to the plurality of natural and social factors, they seek to understand the many natures of a place. Since its beginning in 2012, this process has evolved, consolidating a stance that seeks to design architecture from and for the place—caring for it, healing it, and regenerating it—opening spaces where territories sustain and unfold their own adaptive processes.

Held in Pamplona from the 23rd to the 26th of September, the 2025 Latin American Architecture Biennial (BAL) brought together emerging studios and established voices from across the continent. This year’s edition stood out for the diversity and depth of its participants: projects of striking formal and conceptual richness, developed by young yet remarkably mature offices. Together, they reflected the vitality of today’s Latin American architecture — thoughtful, inventive, and deeply aware of its context.

Ciudad Cayalá, a privately developed, mixed-use community on the outskirts of Guatemala City, is often described as a "theme park" of white lime-washed walls, red tiles, and cobbled plazas. A closer examination, however, reveals a more complex urban narrative. Its significance, however, lies in its capacity to create a safe and well-managed public space, proposing a modern reinterpretation of historic urban principles that mark the region's architectural and urban heritage. Behind the Antigua-style façades lies an urban experiment: a modern re-engagement with architectural elements like arcades, courtyards, and open plazas, which propose a privately-managed public space as a solution to urban challenges in the region.

Thatching is a traditional building technique that has been reinterpreted in different ways in contemporary projects, allowing its value to continue to endure over time. As well as being a culturally and historically valuable technique, given its presence in humanity for centuries, it also has a number of other constructive advantages, such as its great environmental value, as it is an accessible renewable material.

Understanding the temperature gradient in a building is essential in cold or temperate climates, where airtight enclosures and continuous insulation are used to prevent heat loss. However, this approach is not suitable for tropical areas like Central America, where the climate is marked by a consistent alternation between wet and dry seasons rather than four distinct ones. Factors such as proximity to the sea, elevation, and local topography influence microclimates across short distances, but high humidity remains a common challenge. Sealed, airtight walls with no ventilation can quickly become breeding grounds for mold, making the thermal strategies of temperate climates problematic. In response, local designers have developed alternative approaches that embrace, rather than resist, the outdoor environment, allowing airflow and evaporation to manage interior comfort.

Many people living in large urban centers have, at some point, wished to trade the chaos of city life for the calm and tranquility of nature. As the desire for such experiences grows, Latin American countries' tourism and hospitality sectors have been investing in resorts nestled within forests. Inspired by eco-tourism, these retreats are designed to blend seamlessly into their surroundings, using local materials and traditional techniques that respect the ecosystem and promote sustainability.

Annually, ArchDaily's curatorial team undertakes a rigorous selection process to identify exemplary projects in Latin American residential architecture. The goal is to share these works of architecture with our audience and highlight and promote good practices within contemporary architecture. This meticulous effort focuses on identifying projects that stand out for their design and their positive impact on the environment, innovative use of materials and techniques, and ability to address current needs.

The Latin American Architecture Biennial (BAL), which has gained significant relevance in the contemporary architectural scene, will celebrate its ninth edition next year. This meeting gathers emerging Latin American architecture studios in Pamplona, Spain, to share their work, fostering dialogue and debate about the current state of the discipline, as well as acting as a bridge between the Latin American continent and the Spanish context. In this edition, Costa Rica will be the guest country, accompanied by Honduras, El Salvador, Panama, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. As part of this invitation, there will be an exhibition and specific seminars dedicated to analyzing the situation of architecture in these countries.

Beach houses along the Caribbean coast perfectly blend comfort, nature, and tranquility. With landscapes of white sands and crystal-clear waters, the Caribbean is home to some of the world’s most enchanting seaside retreats. Whether situated on popular islands like the Dominican Republic and Cozumel in Mexico or secluded spots like the untouched beaches of Costa Rica, these homes are designed to fully immerse guests in the lush natural surroundings, providing a uniquely serene experience.

Bruno Stagno from Costa Rica not only reflects on how responses to the environment can be the main foundation for the inspiration and identity of architecture but also suggests going a step further, envisioning architecture for an entire latitude.