Building the New World Studies in the Modern Architecture of Latin America 1930-1960

by Fraser, Valerie

• ISBN13: 9781859843079
• ISBN10: 1859843077
• Edition: 00
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-02-17
• Publisher: VERSO

Summary

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.

Author Biography

Valerie Fraser is a Reader in the Department of Art History and Theory at the University of Essex.

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgements	v
Introduction	1	(2)
The Modern Movement in architecture and urbanism	3	(5)
Translating European theory into Latin American practice	8	(3)
The USA and Latin American modern architecture	11	(4)
Building new worlds	15	(7)
Mexico	22	(65)
Vasconcelos, muralism and neocolonial architecture	23	(13)
Architecture and revolution	36	(17)
Social housing	53	(9)
The Ciudad Universitaria	62	(22)
Parallel currents	84	(3)
Venezuela	87	(58)
Eclecticism under Gomez and beyond	90	(14)
El Silencio	104	(6)
Centro Bolivar	110	(3)
The Banco Obrero superblocks of the 1950s	113	(11)
The Ciudad Universitaria	124	(16)
The Caracas Metro: urban integration	140	(5)
Brazil	145	(100)
Rio De Janeiro and Beyond	145	(1)
The urban evolution of Rio de Janeiro	146	(4)
Origins of the Ministerio da Educacao e Saude building	150	(14)
The origins of modernism in Brazil	164	(16)
The evolution of modern architecture in Rio	180	(4)
Niemeyer and Kubitschek at Pampulha	184	(6)
Social housing in Rio de Janeiro	190	(10)
Cidade Universitaria	200	(6)
Cidade dos Motores	206	(9)
Brasilia	212	(3)
The origins of Brasilia	215	(25)
Failure and success of Brasilia	240	(5)
Aftermath from Rejection to Oblivion	245	(11)
Notes	256	(18)
Select Bibliography	274	(3)
Index	277