Tag: guatemala-city | ArchDaily

Creating Safe Spaces for Learning: Explore Solis Colomer Arquitectos' Educational Projects in Latin America

Moises Carrasco — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 07:30:00 +0000

Founded in 2002, Solis Colomer Arquitectos has established a strong reputation over the past two decades, designing and constructing projects with both social and commercial impact across Latin America. With over 200 completed works, the firm specializes in institutional architecture with social impact and user-centered commercial architecture. Its mission is clear: to use architecture as a tool to dignify the human experience, especially for those in greatest need.

Socialization and Resilience: 10 Community Centers in the Outskirts of Latin American Cities

Camilla Ghisleni — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 07:30:00 +0000

From November 20 to 23, São Paulo hosted the IV International Seminar on Favela Urbanization, bringing together discussions that bridged theory and practice to address interventions in these territories. Centered on Brazil’s realities, the seminar shed light on the political challenges and the struggle to recognize the potential of peripheral spaces. It also highlighted a shared issue across Latin America: the need for adequate funding to support transformative actions and the legitimization of these territories. Within this framework, the article underscores the critical role of high-quality public facilities in favelas and peripheral neighborhoods. These spaces not only provide access to opportunities but also foster community bonds, serving as essential hubs for social organization and collective efforts toward building a more inclusive future.

Contemporary Architecture in Guatemala is Under Construction: Conversations with Taller ACÁ

Fabian Dejtiar — Wed, 06 Dec 2023 06:00:00 +0000

"Architecture, city, and activism" are the words that define Taller ACÁ, an emerging practice led by Jorge Villatoro and Hans Schwarz in Guatemala City. Among their projects are the Tiny House Quinn and the Community Center Plantando Semillas, which were recently selected as the winners of the Danta Awards at the 2023 Guatemala Architecture Biennial. In the following conversation, Villatoro and Schwarz provide detailed insights into their inspirations, working processes, and future projections for architecture, both in the country and in Central America.

Plantando Semillas Community Center / Taller ACÁ

Pilar Caballero — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 03:00:00 +0000

Immersed in an informal context and located near the municipal landfill of Guatemala City, a project with human character promoted by the organization Planting Seeds International for the transformation of the environment stands up, a place for families in the community conceived as a dignified space to be and grow.

U.S. Embassy Guatemala City / The Miller Hull Partnership

Valeria Silva — Tue, 26 Sep 2023 12:00:00 +0000

Located nine kilometers southeast of the city’s historic center, the new U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City consists of an 18,800-square-meter chancery building and support buildings with a below-grade garage. Working in collaboration with the Department of State’s Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) and the design-build team at B.L. Harbert International and Page, The Miller Hull Partnership’s design emphasizes the important diplomatic relationship between the United States and Guatemala and provides a first impression of the United States for many Guatemalans planning to visit the country.

Exploring Contemporary Guatemalan Architecture

Mónica Arellano — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 05:00:00 +0000

Guatemala is a country located in Central America that is organized into 22 departments, its capital and most populated city is Guatemala City. Mexico forms the geographic borders that contain this territory to the north and west, Belize and Honduras to the east, and El Salvador to the south. In addition, it faces the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Honduras. It is located in Mesoamerica, home to the Mayan culture, which extended to what we know today as Mexican territory. It is for this reason and for some other reasons related to migration issues that these two countries share similar traits in terms of climate and culture, which is highly enriching when we explore the development of the territory.

AEME Building / Paz Arquitectura

Pilar Caballero — Sat, 14 Jan 2023 13:00:00 +0000

AEME is a building located in Guatemala City. It has an open floor plan on the first floor dedicated to commercial use and restaurants, a second floor that combines commerce and offices, and three floors exclusively dedicated to offices. The first floor is connected to the street through a double-height entrance with the purpose of emphasizing the opening towards a friendly urban use, with an aim to allow the first floor to be interpreted as an extension of the public space.

Raúl Monterroso: “We Seek to Make Society Aware of Guatemala’s Modern Architectural Values”

Fabian Dejtiar — Tue, 20 Dec 2022 05:00:00 +0000

Raúl Monterroso is one of the referents when it comes to talking about the modern movement in Guatemala. Not only has he been a promoter of the preservation of the country's architectural legacy with his publication "The Guatemala City Guide to Modern Architecture", but he has recently collaborated with the Museo Experimental el Eco for its Re_vista 05 with a critical analysis titled "Modern dreams, magical realism and other fantasies of yesterday and today", which seeks to be a window for anyone to question and get involved with Guatemalan architectural values.

The Tiny House Quinn / Taller ACÁ

Valeria Silva — Thu, 08 Sep 2022 16:00:00 +0000

The Tiny House Quinn is one of Taller ACÁ’s smallest projects and, at the same time, one of its most challenging. With a 30-square meter space adjacent to the main house, this project was designed to transform what used to be a neighborhood convenience store into a welcoming space for friends and family.

The City as an Organism

Ankitha Gattupalli — Wed, 06 Jul 2022 07:30:00 +0000

Nature has continually played muse to architects. Colors and forms from the natural world find themselves embedded in artificial edifices. Buildings are also shaped by patterns of the wind and sun, topography, and vegetation. While architecture is informed by the effects of nature, buildings have been proposed as inert objects that remain static in a biologically evolving world. Anthropocentric concrete “jungles” are devoid of life, separating humans from natural environments and causing imbalances that have manifested as pandemics. What would cities look like if there were no boundaries between humans and ecosystems?

Nea House / YDR estudio + DEOC Arquitectos

Valeria Silva — Tue, 03 May 2022 16:00:00 +0000

Located in the city center of Guatemala, the twin houses are nestled in a gated community. Gated communities and houses enclosed by high walls are common in the city to provide needed security. The high walls of these houses, however, make it almost impossible to enjoy the beauty of diversity and interaction between neighboring houses.

San Isidro Residence / Valls Arquitectos

Sabrina Leiva — Thu, 11 Jan 2018 09:00:00 +0000

The residence, located in Guatemala City, overlooks San Isidro’s golf field. It has a contemporary and innovative design intended to be modern and timeless at the same time. Surrounded by vegetation in a peaceful and natural environment, we took advantage of its scenery and integrated the gardens and the natural views to be part of the interior spaces; which resulted in a blending between the interior and the exterior space.

M-Apartments / PXParchitecture & Partners + David Garda Taller de Arquitectura

Daniela Cardenas — Sat, 29 Oct 2016 09:00:00 +0000

Consists of a five-story apartment building that takes advantage of the topographic condition of a steep slope, while promoting an exceptional panoramic view of the city framed by the surrounding mountains. From the access road, the view is limited to two floors hence it manages to minimize the visual impact, placing the building harmoniously in a residential environment dominated by the presence of single-family homes.

TerraEsperanza / LEGORRETA + LEGORRETA

Daniela Cruz — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 01:00:00 +0000

The Terra Esperanza mixed use project is located in Guatemala and will house businesses, offices and homes located on rectangular site with an area of 1,600 m2.

Chinkara House / Solis Colomer Arquitectos

Daniel Sánchez — Tue, 11 Nov 2014 01:00:00 +0000

Located in a privileged area, surrounded by woods yet close to Guatemala city, Chinkara house is presented as a dual housing, which explores the contrast between nature and man-made; the primitive and the modern.

Saul E. Méndez, Zona 14 / Taller KEN

Karen Valenzuela — Tue, 29 Jul 2014 01:00:00 +0000

"Saul Zona 14" is a house with many charms. Under one roof, we combine fashion, design, art, objects and food. Here, a union of culture and commerce full of surprises and small treasures entices clients and visitors to take the time to enjoy diverse experiences. It is a place to meet, to stop for a drink at the café, to shop at the store or to visit the terrace to have a long meal or just sit to read. The design's playful qualities draw from cultural references.

Harry Gugger and over,under Design Museum to House Central America’s Largest Maya Collection

Karissa Rosenfield — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 01:00:00 +0000

Basel-based Harry Gugger Studio and Boston’s over,under have collaborated to design the Museo Maya de América, Central America’s largest museum of Maya artifacts and culture. Planned for a prominent site at the Northern edge of L’Aurora Park in Guatemala City, the $60 million project will be the “capstone” to a “cultural nexus”, which will eventually include the Children’s Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art within the city's largest recreational open space.

El Pulté Equestrian Country Club / DARCON Taller de Arquitectura

Karen Valenzuela — Fri, 20 Dec 2013 01:00:00 +0000

The Pulté is a residential urbanization complex located over a forested mountain at the edge of the city, whose design corresponds to the topography of the land and seeks to recreate a countryside environment, through buildings that follow a contemporary line.