Latin America at the Crossroads: Architectural Design

Guest–editorMarianaLeguíaTheannouncementofRiodeJaneiroasthe2016OlympichostcityhasplacedLatinAmericaontheworld′sstage.LatinAmericahasnotbeenthecentreofinternationalarchitecturalattentionandpilgrimagesincethemid20thcenturywheneconomicgrowthtriggeredthedevelopmentofModernisturbandesignandarchitectureonanepicscale.Sincethenthecentralised,utopianplannedmodelhasbrokendown.Massmigrationsfromthecountrysideanderectionofinformalsettlementshaveleftcitiessociallyandspatiallydivided.WithinthiscontextandinthemistofglobalizationLatinAmericaissettogothoughmajorchangeonceagain.Inrecentdecades,resourcefulgovernmentsandpracticeshavedevelopedinnovativeapproachestourbandesignanddevelopment,lesstodowiththeutopianandtotalitarianschemesandmoretodowith"urbanacupuncture",workingwithinratherthandenyingtheframeworkofinformalitytostitchtogetherdisparatepartsofthecity.ThistitleofADwillexplorethecurrenturbanissuesfacedbyLatinAmericancitiesandtheresponseofalternativelocalpractitionersatdifferentscales.Large–scaleurbancasestudies,suchastherevitalisationofBogotáandMedellin,willbefeaturedalongsidearchitecturalpractices,research–basedorganisationsanduniversitystudiosworkingatagrass–rootslevel.Contributorsinclude:SaskiaSassen,HernandodeSoto,RickyBurdettandBogotáex–mayorEnriquePe?alosa.Featuredarchitects:TeddyCruz,?UTT–UrbanThink–Tank,JorgeJauregui,AlejandroEcheverri,MMBBandAlejandroAravena.