Between September 8 and 9, the annual Open House architecture festival—which began in London and is now held in more than 40 cities worldwide—will host its second edition in Santiago, Chile.

Aimed at anyone interested in exploring the city's architecture and urban design under the slogan "TENGO GANAS DE CONOCER SANTIAGO" (I Want to Get to Know Santiago), this free, weekend-long open-door festival offers access to spaces normally closed to the public or hidden within the city, showcasing their outstanding architectural, engineering, environmental, urban, social, and cultural value.

Explore a selection of participating venues for Open House Santiago 2018 below.

On April 19, Argentina's first sustainable public school was officially inaugurated in the town of Mar Chiquita.

The project was realized under the Una Escuela Sustentable program, an initiative by the Uruguayan organization Tagma that aims to build a symbolic regional network—with a sustainable public school in every Latin American country—in partnership with Garbage Warrior Michael Reynolds and his team at Earthship Biotecture.

Below, the organizers outline the seven core principles and the construction process of this project.

‘The smell of smoke mingled in the air, like poison,’ these captivating opening words already foreshadow a tragic end. The result of an unusual sequence of events, they demonstrate that the threads of fortunate—and unfortunate—circumstances are far more complex to weave and comprehend than a casual observer might think. The chain of stories sequenced by Daniel Merro Johnston in Casa sobre el Arroyo by Amancio Williams —published by Ediciones 1:100— does not merely outline a process and its parallel events; it highlights the singularity of the construction itself, serving as a testament to the complexity, the timelines, and the unforeseen circumstances involved in creating a ‘good’ work of architecture.

Videos

'Monumento: Humanity Behind the Concrete' is a documentary by Fernando Díaz on the construction of the National Holocaust Memorial in Buenos Aires, designed by architects Gustavo Nielsen and Sebastián Marsiglia.

The film establishes a dialogue between Holocaust survivors living in Buenos Aires and the construction of the monument, addressing the need to keep humanity's memory alive.

Watch the trailer for the documentary below.

Starting in May, Argentina reaffirms its presence at the Venice Biennale with an invitation to critically rethink the territory.

The "Imagined Lines" exhibition in the Argentine Pavilion, Horizontal Vertigo, curated by architects Javier Mendiondo, Pablo Anzilutti, Francisco Garrido, and Federico Cairoli, is a proposal to rediscover the territory as a collective construction—based on the potential of the relationship we perceive between territory and society—understanding architecture through its capacity to spark unexpected possibilities in each project.

Explore the selected projects and a statement from the curators below.

The social initiatives of Ecuadorian architect David Regalado Ojeda in the city of Loja demonstrate a departure from the autonomous architectural project, addressing collective formal identity through a park built from recycled materials, where history is transformed into play and learning.

Artists, volunteers, and the local community collaborated on the project with zero financial investment: everything was recycled and built through community support. 

Below, a few words from architect David Regalado Ojeda:

Colonia del Sacramento, on the shores of the Río de la Plata in southern Uruguay. From the ferry—if arriving from Buenos Aires—one can spot the famous lighthouse rising above a cluster of historic stone houses and cobblestone streets; a historic center declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which features not only a colonial and post-colonial architecture blending Spanish and Portuguese influences, but also compelling restoration and renovation projects that demonstrate a thoughtful embrace of Uruguayan memory.

Its architectural landmarks emerge naturally from an atmosphere frozen in time as you explore the city on foot along its waterfront and green spaces. Below, discover a list of 10 sites you should visit.

For the second consecutive year, OH! Stgo (Open House Santiago) invites you to explore and rediscover our city through a free event that offers access to spaces usually closed to the public, ranging from sites of high architectural and engineering value to those of environmental, urban, social, or cultural significance.

This year, on Saturday, September 8, and Sunday, September 9, more than 90 spaces across 30 municipalities will open their doors, allowing you to discover, discuss, and engage with the urban infrastructure of Greater Santiago.

The XXVII Latin American Conference of Schools and Faculties of Architecture (CLEFA) will take place on November 6 at the Universidad del Bío-Bío's Concepción campus. Over four days, various academics, professionals, and students will present on topics concerning the training of architects in Latin American academic institutions.

This year, delegations from Latin American and Caribbean countries will participate, alongside special guests—including Cazu Zegers, Taller 1:1 U. Talca, Pezo Von Ellrichshausen, Grupo Talca, Estudio Terra, Angel Barceló, Horacio Valencia, and Gustavo Scheps—with a program of activities relevant to the central theme: "Beyond the Border."

Learn more about the event through the words of its organizers below.

This year, the Faculty of Architecture at the National University of Rosario, Argentina, will host the 37th Meeting and 22nd Congress of Arquisur, an association bringing together 28 public schools and faculties of architecture from South America.

The event will take place from September 26 to 28 and will feature presentations, academic exhibitions, and workshops involving students and faculty from Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina.

The theme for Arquisur 2018 is "The Public Dimension of Architecture." It aims to explore the notion of "public space," as various contemporary perspectives advocate for restructuring the urban condition to enable diverse practices, urging a reclamation of local identity and the recovery of spaces that foster the formation of a political community.

The countdown has begun for the 21st edition of the Pan-American Architecture Biennial of Quito (BAQ2018), historically organized in November by the Pichincha Provincial Chapter of the College of Architects of Ecuador. This event serves as a vibrant meeting point for professionals and students in architecture, urban planning, and related disciplines that directly impact city development. It creates a space for the exchange, integration, comparison, visibility, and analysis of current architectural and urban trends, as well as for the transfer of knowledge regarding cutting-edge architectural and urban concepts and works.

Read on for more details about this edition.

Building on its history, the Latin American Congress of Architecture (CLA TIL)—organized since 2013 by the Faculty of Architecture, Design, Art, and Urbanism at the University of Morón—will host its fifth edition in Argentina. The event, themed "Social Utopias," will take place from May 28 to June 1, 2018.

Read on for more information.

The S.O.S. CIUDADES program aims to establish a space for reflection, annually highlighting the potential of various cities in the region where urban processes triggered by integration present opportunities for local governments and challenges for academia.

These "urban project workshops on concerted areas"—academic initiatives that have visited cities and territories across the region during the last week of April every year since 2002—promote a collective perspective in constructing a regional ideal. They bring together students and faculty from different countries for fieldwork, as well as the authorities responsible for fostering common policies to stimulate such exchanges.

Below, the organizers share some thoughts on this year's Argentine edition in Mendoza.

The Sociedad Central de Arquitectos invites you to participate in a workshop held as part of the "Space. Life. Time." project by the Portuguese architecture firm Aires Mateus. The workshop will take place from February 15 to 19, 2018, at the headquarters of the Sociedad Central de Arquitectos, located at Montevideo 938, Buenos Aires.

Buenos Aires is once again joining the global urban walking festival, Jane's Walk. The seventh local edition of the event will take place from Friday, May 4, to Sunday, May 6, aiming to foster a connection between urban space and citizens to encourage a more human, active, and pedestrian-friendly city.

The more than 20 free walks taking place throughout the city are organized by Urbanismo Vivo, which has coordinated the local event since 2012, featuring routes through different neighborhoods and covering a variety of themes.

Find more information about the event and a few words from the organizers below.

More than 100 buildings will be open for Open House Buenos Aires 2018, an architecture festival that, over two days—October 27 and 28—will grant access to numerous buildings of architectural significance that are typically closed to the public.

The exhibition 'Archipaper: Drawings from the Plan,' at the National Museum of Decorative Art (MNAD) in Buenos Aires, brings together over 100 pieces in various techniques and dimensions by a diverse group of renowned Spanish architects, highlighting the importance of drawing and representation in architectural creative processes.

Find more information about the exhibition and words from architect Martín Marcos, director of the National Museum of Decorative Art, below.

The Bio-Environmental Design Laboratory at the University of Flores (UFLO) invites you to the second free lecture of the ENVIRONMENT and CITY series, which aims to foster reflection and the exchange of perspectives on environmental issues within the urban context.