In a conversation for the third edition of Revista CLEA—an annual publication of the Latin American Coordinator of Architecture Students (CLEA)—Ecuadorian architect María Augusta Hermida explores the capacity to decolonize spaces and cities today.

The recent controversy surrounding a bill that would permit the privatization and subsequent development of reclaimed waterfront land along the Río de la Plata in Buenos Aires, Argentina, has prompted renewed engagement with metropolitan infrastructure and regional planning issues. It has also sparked reflection on the role of society in urban planning, reopening debates over the transformation of the city's waterfront.

+ 8

Tools developed for woodworking, along with new production, milling, and treatment techniques, have gradually yielded highly diverse, high-quality products in various sizes, strengths, tones, shapes, and colors. These advancements have allowed wood, as a resource, to meet a wide range of construction needs, serving as structural support, building envelopes, cladding, or furniture in a vast number of architectural projects.

+ 9

Croquis CDMX is an initiative led by Héctor López, founded eight years ago to foster and strengthen the connections between the eye, the brain, and the hand. The project seeks to portray life in Mexico City through freehand sketches. While architectural education is geared toward training professionals to design and construct buildings, Héctor—who studied at the Faculty of Architecture of the National Autonomous University of Mexico—views university education as “the axis of all elements: I already knew how to draw, and in school I became interested in construction, history, and theory. That was where drawing became disciplined. I would encourage students to draw, regardless of whether they think they can or not, because you discover things that you don't understand when drawing with software.”

Modern architecture established new priorities around living. While the architects associated with this movement had highly heterogeneous interests and pursuits, certain common ground can be found linking their approaches. Grounded in hygienist principles, the lighting and ventilation of architectural spaces became a primary focus. The connection and continuity between interiors and exteriors began to foster an architecture of blurred boundaries, where gardens, terraces, and patios—as well as their urban-scale counterparts: parks, plazas, and boulevards—gained greater prominence. Consequently, solariums, swimming pools, ponds, and all areas associated with "outdoor leisure" began to be designed holistically, as integral parts of the architectural project.

+ 16

The state of Baja California Sur is located in northwestern Mexico. It is bordered by the state of Baja California to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and the Sea of Cortez to the east, harboring some of the most stunning landscapes and coastlines in the country. Thanks to its prime location, Baja California Sur is one of the most visited states in the nation.

In most architectural works involving level changes, vertical circulation is, almost by implication, a central design feature, with stairs being the most common expression.

Below, we present a selection of projects in Colombia across various typologies where vertical circulation plays a hierarchical, organizing role, and in some cases, becomes the primary driver of the building's space and atmosphere.

At the same rate that the real estate development industry aggressively intervened in the most favorable areas of the city valley—backed by state approvals and concessions, supported by massive banking resources, and employing top individual talent trained at public universities—popular settlement neighborhoods grew proportionally across complex topographies, receiving minimal institutional support, completely devoid of financial backing, and with negligible, residual, if not non-existent, technical assistance.

Between 1960 and 1980, architectural development in the Magallanes Region was heavily driven by public investment from the Chilean state. The economic boom of the era enabled the construction of high-quality buildings and infrastructure designed by the country's most prestigious architecture firms, providing solutions to challenges related to territory, the city, and society. It was during this progressive development process that Modern Architecture assumed a crucial role.

In 1978, at the height of postmodern architectural discourse, twelve eminent architects were invited to participate in the *Roma Interrotta* exhibition, with the task of redesigning the first map of the city of Rome, created in 1748 by the architect Giambattista Nolli. Each participant was responsible for reinventing a portion of the original map to construct a theoretical or utopian condition, taking into account the historical forces that had swept through the territory during the intervening years.

+ 5

When analyzing an architectural project, we often focus on issues such as its programmatic demands and historical context, its design and representation process, and how it was built. We tend to study it as a finished product. Yet, once a work is constructed, it opens itself up to the city and to others, becoming vulnerable to flaws, imperfections, redevelopments, and unforeseen appropriations. The consequences then stem from conflicts, and social and political dynamics that shape the city, forming a fluid and shifting landscape. 

+ 8

When we visit an urban destination—or perhaps a rural one as well—can we truly say we know it? A brief vacation in a tourist destination might give us an impression of what a place "is." However, this is a far cry from reality, as tourism has always manipulated the impression left on visitors, obscuring the actual lived experience of the place. 

With their cliffs and bluffs, the rocky coasts of Peru form a unique landscape of surfaces shaped and reshaped by the erosion of the sea and wind. On these heterogeneous, steeply sloping terrains, designing architecture integrated with the context is no easy task. From volumes embedded into hillsides to houses that incorporate mineral formations into their interior spaces, projects addressing this challenge prompt us to reflect on how to establish a relationship with the natural environment, blurring or tensioning the boundaries between architecture and landscape.

+ 5

Various authors such as Michel Foucault, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and contemporary thinkers Marina Garcés and Judith Butler have brought the body to the forefront of global philosophical discussions. This has gradually permeated different disciplines where the body is the focus of study, and even some where this relationship seems less obvious.

Whenever we think of solar panels, the concept of sustainability immediately comes to mind. They are undoubtedly an effective solution for generating renewable energy; however, what few people realize is that solar panels are incredibly difficult to recycle. While this drawback should not discourage their adoption in buildings and solar power plants, it underscores that sustainability must remain a constant focus for these products, even after they stop working.

+ 25

The city of Puebla, located in the central highlands of Mexico, is particularly well-known for its street layout and its predominantly Baroque architecture. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987, it hosts a broad cultural dynamic centered on the preservation of built heritage and its appreciation from afar, as if it were a museum piece. Consequently, on our daily commutes, we notice the monumentality of its facades, while most often overlooking what lies behind the large wooden doors: what we have called “the heart of the Poblano home.”

Street safety goes far beyond policing and lighting. While these factors may be important in certain contexts, community engagement and building social capital are key to making cities safer. “Feeling safe is crucial for people to embrace urban space,” says Jan Gehl.

Videos

Academic experience in architecture must prepare future professionals for the urban, social, and community needs to which they will contribute their expertise. Through its International Experience Program (PEI), the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana enables students to put social housing theory into practice.

In this case, they present *Máquina Verde* (Green Machine), an adaptable modular prototype developed for the Ciénaga de la Virgen on Colombia's Caribbean coast. Explore the project in greater depth below.

The year 2019 was one of the most prolific for public design competitions in Bogotá, particularly within the education sector. Recently, the results of the public architectural preliminary design competition for the Hipotecho School were announced, with the winning proposal submitted by the joint team of AR-AR (Martínez Arquitectura) + Fiallo Atelier + MEC arquitectura.

Videos

Eight years ago today, we began this adventure called ArchDaily México, sharing the same mission as the global ArchDaily platform: to continue providing inspiration, knowledge, and tools to architects, but through a local lens, recognizing the value that national talent has to offer to the world.

Academic architectural practice must push students and faculty toward constant adaptation and exploration. First-semester students at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana built an intervention of ephemeral architecture using wood as a structural material in the arts building (prior to the state of emergency). This gave future architects the academic experience of hands-on construction during their very first semester in the department.

After the state of emergency, nothing will return to the way it was. At that point, public and private spaces will routinely be occupied in ways that prevent transmission of a still-active virus. However, just as this situation has forced us to recognize our deficient healthcare system, it has also revealed how inadequate the spaces we inhabit often are.

In 2018, sociologist and cycling activist Marina Harkot defended her master's thesis Bicycles and Women at the University of São Paulo (USP). To develop a qualitative methodology examining the challenges faced by female cyclists in the city, she interviewed various women: those who bike to work, those who explore the city on two wheels, and those who love tackling the capital's rolling topography.

Her methodology succeeded in revealing a common thread among these diverse cyclists: “It is the network surrounding these women that seems to prompt them to start cycling and keep them riding — as well as female role models, the women (whether known to them or not) who ride and inspired them,” wrote the researcher. 

This article by Felipe Samarán Saló was originally published in the 11th issue of rita_ magazine under the title "Inhabited Renders and Deserted Architecture. The Hidden Message of Architecture Revealed by Photography" and is part of a joint dissemination collaboration. Below, we present a study on how the focus of architecture has shifted from "serving the person by addressing all their dimensions" to "generating a universe of surprising, beautiful, and photogenic forms and spaces," relegating the end-user to the background or into oblivion.