Brick stands as one of the defining materials of Latin American architectural culture. The diversity and versatility of this masonry unit have led to a wide array of uses and applications. Whether chosen for economic or aesthetic reasons, exposed brick—left unfinished and without exterior cladding—is widely used across the region's designs, showcasing the rich textures and tones inherent to the material.
The public ideas and preliminary draft competition for the Quito Metropolitan Corridor, organized by the Municipality of the Metropolitan District of the city (MDMQ), invited professionals to submit urban and architectural proposals for the comprehensive reconfiguration of a 55-kilometer corridor. This axis integrates the Panamericana Sur, Pedro Vicente Maldonado, Guayaquil, 10 de Agosto, Galo Plaza Lasso, and Panamericana Norte highways, connecting and articulating the entire city from south to north. This reconfiguration aimed to incentivize planned growth in the sector, reinspiring its inhabitants and improving their quality of life through an accessible, equitable, resilient, and environmentally sensitive city that restores vitality to avenues, buildings, and public spaces. The winning proposal was submitted by the team led by Grace Yépez, with the participation of a large number of interdisciplinary collaborators and advisors from YES Innovation, Rama Estudio, Raíz Estudio, GMG diseño y construcción, Gabriela Naranjo, Universidad Central del Ecuador, Ziette Diseño, and UrbanaData.
Mapas Sonoros is a project by the Usted no está aquí Archive that documents Latin American cities and towns in a non-traditional way. Functioning as a “map of maps,” the website compiles more than 40 independent sites with sound archives from countries such as Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay, creating a comprehensive log of georeferenced audio documents that offer an alternative way to map and understand Latin America.
Starting Saturday, July 18, you can tour some of the works included in the Open House Buenos Aires catalog directly from your screen. The virtual festival will open the doors of 16 buildings across the city, guided via streaming by their architects and residents. From your screen, you will be able to discover, learn about, and reflect on various issues surrounding the city and its contemporary and historic heritage. The live tours will begin at 11:00 AM on the Open House YouTube channel and will follow a pre-established schedule.
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The La Carcova Educational Park project is defined as an ongoing, long-term collaborative effort, initiated by the creation of a university network united by a common goal in a specific territory with many unmet basic needs.
The winning projects of the National Ideas Competition for the master plan of the Sociedad Rural de Jesús María site have been announced. Organized by the Colegio de Arquitectos de la Provincia de Córdoba, the open call invited architects to develop comprehensive proposals for the programmatic organization of spaces and functions—both current and future—on the property belonging to the Sociedad Rural de Jesús María, located in the municipalities of Colonia Caroya and Jesús María in the province of Córdoba, Argentina. The master plan for the site, which covers a total area of 808,304.68 m², was required to establish a general scheme incorporating specific considerations for urban integration, movement flows, and the introduction of new mixed-use programming.
Combining the efficiency—in terms of both time and cost—of prefabrication with the inherent flexibility and adaptability of on-site construction, DUMAY Arquitectos presents Casa Aditiva, a modular architectural system that leverages standardization to create homes of diverse designs, floor areas, and layouts.
Due to the current social distancing and mandatory quarantine measures, the film series dedicated to documentaries and films on architecture and urbanism—which ran for seven years in the auditorium of the Professional Council of Architecture and Urbanism (CPAU), programmed and coordinated by Ezequiel Hilbert since 2012—has been restructured to continue online.
Cross-ventilation, solar radiation control, rainwater harvesting, indirect natural lighting, graywater treatment and reuse, and solar energy harnessing through panels are some of the passive strategies that allow for greater thermal and environmental comfort at low energy costs. When based on a proper understanding of a site's geographical and climatic conditions, these bioclimatic principles can significantly optimize building performance and foster the development of better interior spaces.
Due to its climate and territorial characteristics, Ecuador possesses an immense diversity of bamboos: it has 6 genera and 42 identified species, of which 11 are endemic. Among them, Guadua angustifolia cane is considered the most important species in terms of abundance and physical and mechanical properties. The indigenous term guadua was used by the native communities of Ecuador and Colombia to designate this species of "native bamboo," which was later renamed "Guadua angustifolia"—meaning "narrow leaf"—and taxonomically belongs to the Poaceae family and the Bambusoideae subfamily. The use of this material is so ancient that, according to the book *Nuevas técnicas de construcción en bambú* (1978), remains have been found in buildings in Ecuador estimated to be 9,500 years old.
CCPM is an architecture studio founded in 2017 in Buenos Aires. With a body of work initially focused on small- and medium-scale projects—particularly renovations and additions to existing PHs—they have developed their own reflections on domestic living and urban densification, exploring various technological and material inquiries. In parallel, they have also undertaken socio-territorial research centered on water and technology, conceiving urbanity from a hybrid perspective that blurs the boundary between nature and the city.
Historically, bamboo has been used as a raw material in low-resource traditional construction, serving as a substitute for other woods to build structures, enclosures, and even furniture. Today, owing to its numerous advantages related to durability, strength, versatility, and low environmental impact, it has earned the moniker "vegetable steel" and gained a privileged position within the construction industry. The ongoing search for new materials for sustainable development has generated new construction fusions that bring contemporary materials and techniques into play with traditional elements, merging and enhancing the qualities of local materials in each region.
The outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) that began in December 2019 and was declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization in March has affected, to date, more than 212 countries and territories worldwide, with the number of infections exceeding 4 million. The severity of the health crisis lies in the high transmission rate of the disease, which means that, without adequate containment, a large number of people require medical attention at the same time, depleting healthcare resources in the hardest-hit areas.
The first confirmed case of the coronavirus pandemic in Argentina was reported on March 3, 2020. Since then, by studying the methodologies adopted by countries where the disease had spread earlier (such as in Europe), governments began taking proactive measures, not only to maximize containment but also to prepare for hypothetical future scenarios where the number of cases exceeds healthcare system capacities.
Located in the central region of South America, Paraguay features a wide variety of geographical conditions, with diverse landscapes and resources. Generally speaking, the territory is characterized by high humidity and warm temperatures that prevail throughout the year, with hot, rainy summers and mild winters. Under these conditions, cooling interior spaces becomes highly important, and passive ventilation systems are particularly prioritized during the early design stages.
Bridges and walkways are horizontal circulation elements that establish physical connections between the interior or exterior spaces of a project, articulating their layout and, in some cases, bridging existing level changes. These suspended structures enhance visual connections between different levels and, through more dynamic pathways, enable the creation of intentional framing sequences.
With a focus on dialogue and civic reflection, Santiago, Chile, will host the fifth edition of the urban intervention festival "100 en 1 día". Against the backdrop of recent social unrest, the urban space spanning the six blocks between the La Moneda Palace and Parque Almagro will be transformed on Saturday, February 15, by various collectives and individuals who will host a series of performances and activities in the public realm.
The eighth edition of the international architecture festival in Buenos Aires will take place on the weekend of July 18 and 19, featuring a revamped format to adapt to the current situation and bring architecture to citizens during this atypical 2020. Virtually, Open House Buenos Aires will open the doors to 16 examples of the city's architecture, which will be presented through live streams conducted by their architects and those who inhabit their spaces. From your screen, you will be able to discover, learn about, and reflect on various themes surrounding the city and its contemporary and historical heritage.
Chile's Cultural Heritage Day is an annual event that offers the general public the opportunity to discover and enjoy the country's cultural, historical, and architectural heritage. Established in 1999, Cultural Heritage Day is a tradition spanning over 20 years, which in recent editions has brought together more than a million people across the country to share, learn, and marvel at the heritage and cultural activities organized specifically for the occasion.
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