Invenção da cor by Hélio Oiticica. Image via Carlos Reis Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Many of the spatial ideas we now associate with contemporary architecture, collective use, and bodily experience did not originate in buildings alone. In Latin America, these ideas were often explored first through art, at a moment when artists were actively questioning how space could be occupied, shared, and experienced beyond traditional forms.
During the mid-20th century, the region underwent rapid urbanization and profound social change. Architecture was increasingly expected to respond to public life, collectivity, and new ways of inhabiting space. At the same time, art offered a more flexible ground for experimentation, one less constrained by function, regulation, or permanence. As a result, many spatial questions were tested through artistic practices before becoming part of architectural thinking.
Today, architecture has become - or is in the process of becoming - more flexible and individualistic to accommodate people's diverse lifestyles and spatial needs. With this adaptation, the residential typology has changed and living rooms have become endangered. Many insist on the need of having a space dedicated to relaxation and leisure, while others claim it is simply a waste of space and money. This debate raised an important question: do we still need living/sitting rooms? In this interior focus, we will look at how living rooms evolved through the years, and how architects readapted and integrated the concept of “gathering space” in contemporary residential architecture.
During the first half of the 2nd century AD, one of the most important buildings in the history of Western architecture was erected in Rome: the Pantheon. Its main and most impressive feature is its coffered concrete dome, which ends in a perfectly round central opening. This oculus kicked off a series of later projects that noted the value of circular openings, which were replicated as glazed skylights and as compositional elements on facades. This eventually evolved, for example, into the detailed and colorful rose windows of the Gothic basilicas. In all its configurations, the oculus (meaning "eye" in Latin) holds symbolism that goes beyond that of a traditional window: its luminous projection gracefully marks the passage of time, solemnly highlighting an architectural space.
Architecture in Mexico has a vast history that is made up of various aspects that touch astrological, political, spiritual and economic issues. Although today there are only ruins of some of the most important pre-Hispanic complexes, thanks to the in-depth research that has been carried out, we can have some representations of what those buildings that laid the foundations of what makes us today were like. In these representations, it is possible to notice the presence of natural materials that were a response to their environment such as basalt stone, stucco and some vegetable paintings whose remains persist to this day.
As our world evolves at an unprecedented pace, the challenges that come with it are becoming more and more complex. The questions faced by the cities and networks of our global world, the physical and virtual environments where our evolution takes place, are making architecture more relevant than ever.
The issues of the built environment are no longer exclusive to the incumbents who build and design it and have become transversal questions in our society. From the citizens who question the quality of their public spaces to the self-trained builder erecting a tiny house in the woods, to the homeowners using an app to codesign their interiors during lockdown, we want to have a saying and we want to take action. Why does architecture have to be so uncertain, so distant?
It has become evident that the spaces we inhabit have changed. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to appreciate values as lighting, ventilation, and comfort when working in home.
There are several reasons why the Estado de Mexico (a state, not the country) is important not only at the national level but also because of its intrinsic relationship with Mexico City since 59 of its municipalities are considered part of the Metropolitan Area of the Valley of Mexico. In this area, there are a large number of industrial plants. In addition, it houses some of the most visited archaeological sites such as Teotihuacán, Tetzuco, Azcapotzalco, Chalco, and Amaquemecan.
