Architecture

From the earliest pre-Columbian edifices to the plazas of Spanish and Portuguese colonial cities to towering urban skyscrapers, distinct architectural styles contribute to our images of Latin American history. This section provides glimpses into the story of how modern Latin American architecture has shaped society and its spaces.

Architects are artists; architects can also be super-stars. Yet today’s architects play their most important role as thinkers and doers, providing a framework for cities, just as they have done in the past. They play an important social role—whether in crime prevention, social cohesion or helping society recover from natural disasters.

Architects shape the environment, and the environment shapes society. From landscape architecture to the use of sustainable materials, new visions are emerging throughout the continent. And Latin American and Latin@ architects are imagining new forms that shape the environment of the North with ideas from the South.