Building the New World: Modern Architecture in Latin America

by Valerie Fraser

The period between 1930 and 1960 in particular saw a dramatic upsurge in Latin American modern architecture as the various governments strove to make public their modernising intentions. After 1960, however, the year in which Brasilia was inaugurated, economic growth in the region slowed and the modernist project faltered. The English-speaking world, which had previously admired Latin American buildings, began to write them out of the history of twentieth-century architecture. Building the New World attempts to redress the balance. It surveys the most important examples of state-funded modernism in Latin America during a period of almost unimaginable optimism, when politicians and architects such as Pani, Costa, Reidy and Niemeyer sought ways, literally, to build their societies out of underdevelopment.

256 pages, Paperback

First published February 28, 2001

Reviews

[Ben P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really engaging, well-illustrated overview of the period from the 30s to 60s where Latin America forged ahead of the United States in its adoption of modern architecture. I appreciated the focus on how political and cultural circumstances in each of Mexico, Venezuela, and Brazil uniquely enabled architects to start experimenting with new forms and to eventually embark on large-scale modernist planning projects (the university campuses of Caracas and Mexico City, and Brasilia). It was neat to see the very lively two-way dialogue between European theorists (Le Corbusier) and Latin American architects as well as contemporaries from the US.

[Steven Bliss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very engaging--and well illustrated--account of a little-known facet of the modernist movement. This book is especially interested in the political dimensions of modern architecture as it played out in Latin America.