Central American Architecture Biennial 2022: 17 winning works and projects in its first edition

Read the original version in Spanish here.

Published on October 15, 2022

Amid paradigm shifts and new opportunities for living, the Colegio de Arquitectos de Guatemala has launched the first Central American Architecture Biennial (BARCA 2021-2022). The initiative aims to establish a shared space for Central American countries, cities, neighborhoods, and people, fostering the exchange of ideas through creativity, research, and academia. Under the premise of rethinking 21st-century architecture and urbanism, BARCA seeks to build a platform for dialogue that showcases Central American architecture from the past decade, creating the first comprehensive overview of the region's contemporary architectural landscape.

The Central American Architecture Biennial is a joint initiative with the Central American Federation of Architects (FCA), endorsed by the Pan-American Federation of Architects' Associations (FPAA) and the International Union of Architects (UIA). Led by Álvaro Véliz, the event is designed as a traveling biennial, changing its host country with each edition—this inaugural event taking place in Guatemala. The initiative also features participation from key institutional and corporate strategic partners.

Serving as a guiding theme for reflecting on common spaces, the biennial focuses on reconnecting with place, encompassing the private, public, and civic spaces where coexistence, exchange, social and family inclusion, and the fusion of ideas and emotions occur. The framework centers on five key reference points: the global COVID-19 lockdowns, the civic confinement resulting from highly privatized cities, socioeconomic isolation driven by inequality, resilient recovery following natural disasters, and the cultural marginalization stemming from the exclusion of ancestral values.

“21st-century architecture must be a renewed commitment on a local and planetary scale, an alternative return to the new post-pandemic normal, incorporating a sustainable, resilient, holistic, collaborative, and universally accessible vision into spatial, aesthetic, and constructive analysis. Understanding that our discipline is part of a system, co-responsible for the city, nature, the beauty of the place, and the well-being of the individual and their community. We, architects of Central America, direct heirs to the great tradition of the Mesoamerican cosmic center, of Spanish-American cities with serene Renaissance layouts and facades bathed in mestizo Baroque. Cities—mosaics of juxtaposed styles and open wounds, marginal architectures, multicultural wisdom, exuberant biodiversity—now is the time to reassess the history of our shared land, to reconnect with the lost Central American Patria Grande.” - Excerpt from the BARCA 2021-2022 Manifesto

BARCA is structured around three main pillars: students and academia, research, and competitions across various categories. The Biennial aims to foster the participation of younger generations in emerging 21st-century architectural practices, featuring an award category where university students and professors can submit projects preselected by their respective institutions.

Recognizing research and experimentation as vital to societal development, BARCA also honors individual researchers, collectives, and research centers. Eligible publications include those focusing on architecture, design, urban planning, and landscape architecture, as well as specialized research on new materials, renewable energy, and digital technology applied to buildings and cities.

A key objective of the Biennial is to celebrate high-quality architectural design, fostering dialogue among Central American professionals, elevating their presence across Latin America, and engaging the general public. Additionally, organizers launched the BARCA 2022 Pavilion project, a temporary artistic-architectural installation designed to spark experimental dialogue on the biennial's themes. This collaborative, multidisciplinary piece—open to visual artists, musicians, writers, filmmakers, architects, and designers—will be exhibited in various public spaces throughout the city.

Read on to discover the winners in each category.