Introduction

Abstract

Latin American cities and buildings continue to figure prominently in the history of architecture. Indeed, attention to architectural production in that part of the world has increased during the first decade of the 21^st century. It can be argued that contemporary architects from Latin America are receiving more international recognition than ever before. Established European and North American magazines such as Architectural Review, Architectural Record, Domus and, even, non-specialised popular monthly publications such as Casabella and Wallpaper have dedicated numerous pages and special editions to recently finished buildings in Latin America. Similarly, there has been a proliferation of monographs about the work of contemporary Latin American architects; indeed, this book forms part of such a body of literature. What is more, architects from Latin American countries have won virtually all major architectural awards in the world in the past ten years.¹ The list of achievements could continue if I were to mention conferences, lecture series and visiting professorships at prestigious universities around the world. However, I do not intend to highlight the achievements of architects from Latin America. Instead, I would like to draw attention to the way in which such a degree of renewed international attention disrupts the somewhat homogenous image suggested by the banner ‘Latin American architecture&. That is because the focus of such renewed attention has been diverted to new areas of architectural production. Rather than concentrating only on buildings produced during the middle years of the 20^th century, by a reduced group of talented and enthusiastic modernist architects, recent publications focus on a younger generation of architects whose work differs greatly from that of their modernist predecessors. Not only is variation found in the form of buildings but, more importantly, in the themes and aspirations of contemporary young architects who work in some of the largest cities in the world, in conditions of poverty — and immense wealth -/as well as in situations of social and political instability. The buildings designed by architects in Latin America during the past 20 years continue to display great formal creativity, but the above-mentioned conditions of practice demand more political awareness. As a result, schemes have become less ambitious in scale and more specific in scope. However, the nature of their work and the conditions of practice in contemporary Latin American countries impede the construction of a homogenous continental identity; even the existence of national identities is challenged by the diversity of architectural practices that participate in the continuous re-shaping of cities in Latin America.