BuildingtheNewWorldStudiesintheModernAr

Theperiodbetween1930and1960inparticularsawadramaticupsurgeinLatinAmericanmodernarchitectureasthevariousgovernmentsstrovetomakepublictheirmodernisingintentions.After1960，however，theyearinwhichBrasiliawasinaugurated，economicgrowthintheregionslowedandthemodernistprojectfaltered.TheEnglish-speakingworld，whichhadpreviouslyadmiredLatinAmericanbuildings，begantowritethemoutofthehistoryoftwentieth-centuryarchitecture.BuildingtheNewWorldattemptstoredressthebalance.Itsurveysthemostimportantexamplesofstate-fundedmodernisminLatinAmericaduringaperiodofalmostunimaginableoptimism，whenpoliticiansandarchitectssuchasPani，Costa，ReidyandNiemeyersoughtways，literally，tobuildtheirsocietiesoutofunderdevelopment.