From Medellín to Manabí: 5 Buildings in Latin America That Made a Difference

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Reports show that Latin America is more urbanized than any other region in the developing world, with 80 percent of its relatively young population living in cities today, a share expected to rise to 85 percent by 2025. The region’s 198 large cities — defined as having populations of 200,000 or more — together contribute more than 60 percent of GDP today. Although considered engines of economic growth, there are serious downsides to the urban and economic agglomerations occurring in large cities. Informality, socio-spatial segregation, persistent poverty, pollution, poor transportation systems and other challenges are increased by the growing phenomenon of rural exodus and constitute an urban continuity glued together by a single unifying force — the desire to live in the city.

If the conviction that architecture has the potential to be a catalyst of social cohesion qualifies as disciplinary naiveté, it could also be said that naiveté is the key factor in the success of any social change movement. The following projects and their authors are examples of successful socially-conscious design thinking, often backed by either state or local authorities. They are part of comprehensive urban strategies to restore the depleted social life in Latin American urban neighborhoods and redeem their reputation often associated with urban violence and insecurity.

España Library by Giancarlo Mazzanti, Medellín, Colombia

Giancarlo Mazzanti’s España Library, carved into a hillside in one of Medellín’s most problematic neighborhoods, is a stunning rock-like building connected with a platform that creates a kind of public square. Its program was broken into three groups: the library, the rooms and the auditorium.

This programmatic fragmentation provided a degree of autonomy to the pavilion-like structures. The supporting transport system, called Metrocable, opened in 2004, reconnected the neighborhood to the rest of the city and helped transform it into the city’s new reference point. As a consequence, murder and crime rates dropped significantly.

Photos by Orlando García via Europaconcorsi

Fernando Botero Library Park by G Ateliers Architecture, Medellín, Colombia

Another stunning project located in Medellín is the Fernando Botero Library Park, designed by G Ateliers Architecture. The project was shortlisted among 36 “Outstanding Projects” in the Americas nominated for the biannual MCHAP Prize. It houses much-needed exhibition spaces, playgrounds, a theater, dance and music school, a library, cafés and restaurants.

Unlike its minimalist exterior, the interior of the center is dynamic and ever-changing. Conceived as an interior street, the building provides the abundance of content and spaces and functions on an urban scale. The new building was part of a larger plan that includes building a hospital and government administration offices.

Image via Elemental

Lo Barnechea Social Housing by ELEMENTAL S.A., Santiago Chile

ELEMENTAL’s Lo Barnechea social housing project in Santiago, Chile, enabled long-term residents of the informal settlement to continue living near their schools and workplaces. The state-subsidized complex comprises 150 connected housing units; each apartment has 720 square feet, two attic floors, a living room, three bedrooms, a kitchen and bathroom, plus the ability to be extended.

Each family paid $2,300 per dwelling. The team of architects, led by Alejandro Aravena, designed several other low-income housing projects throughout the continent, including the award-winning Monterrey Housing in Mexico.

FDE Public Schoolby Forte, Gimenes & Marcondes Ferraz Arquitetos, São Paulo, Brazil

São Paulo-based practice Forte, Gimenes & Marcondes Ferraz Arquitetos (FGMF) pays particular attention to the connection between architecture, environment and the user, and often uses prefabricated low-cost building components. Their FDE Public School in São Paulo is built entirely from prefab concrete modules which are low-cost and quickly and easily assembled.

The ground floor provides a double-height open space that acts as an internal square and leisure area and is enveloped with a concrete façade that, on the front part, forms a large mosaic. By creating several public and semi-public areas, the architects were able to integrate the building into its surrounding and provide a multipurpose space where people can gather and socialize.

Nueva Esperanza School by Al Borde Arquitectos, Manabí, Ecuador

Nueva Esperanza School was built using locally sourced building materials — timber, bamboo and straw. The local community commissioned Al Borde Arquitectos to design an active school that would stimulate kids’ creativity. The small community, located on a remote site, functioned without a school until four years before Nueva Esperanza was built.

Their requirement for the new facility was to create a long-term solution and a building that would be truly integrated within its natural environment. According to the local teachers, the new building brought a significant positive change to the children’s learning process.

Architects: Want to have your work featured on Architizer? Upload your projects to be considered for an editorial feature! Don’t forget to sign up for our inspirational newsletter.