Development & Aid, Education, Headlines, Latin America & the Caribbean

SOUTH AMERICA: Architecture Students Visit 50 Cities in 40 Days

Marcela Valente

BUENOS AIRES, Aug 13 2008 (IPS) - A group of advanced architecture students and graduates from Argentina will tour more than 50 cities in their own country, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay to discover common characteristics in the architectural heritage of the Mercosur (Southern Common Market) countries.

Seven students and graduates of the Faculty of Architecture at the National University of Rosario, the most populous city in the eastern Argentine province of Santa Fe, set off on Sunday in a decrepit Volkswagen Combi van to visit the capital cities of the four member countries of the Mercosur trade bloc, as well as smaller towns.

They are calling this journey "Proyecto Brasilia" (the Brasilia Project), which will reach its climax in 40 days' time with an exhibit, a catalogue of buildings visited en route, a DVD, a book and a documentary film. On the eve of their departure, IPS spoke to one of the architects, Santiago Vescovo.

"Why the Brasilia Project?" was the obvious question about the name chosen for a journey of 10,000 kilometres that will take in a great deal more than the Brazilian capital, which was designed from scratch at the request of the federal government by urban planner Lucio Costa and architect Oscar Niemeyer.

"Well, because for architects and students, Brasilia holds out a lot of unanswered questions. It was showered with criticism when it was inaugurated as a monument to modernity, and we think the best way to form our own opinions is to see it for ourselves, not just look at photographs," Vescovo said.

His travelling companions are Daniel Pagano, Luis San Filippo, Norberto Derevojed, Martín Álvarez, Iván Kozenitzky and Nicolás Dulcich. "Four of us have graduated, and the other three have only a few exams to go," Vescovo said in a telephone interview before the group set off on their journey.

Visiting Brasilia was the initial goal, but the group soon expanded their planned itinerary. "Seeing Brasilia was the key motivation, because it's an emblematic city for architects, but the idea took on a life of its own, and we are also going to visit historic towns, mining towns, Jesuit ruins, and so on," he said.

They left Sunday from Rosario, 300 kilometres northwest of Buenos Aires, heading north. They have already visited several towns in northeastern Argentina, including San Ignacio Miní. Next, they will cross the Paraguay river to Asunción, the Paraguayan capital. The following stop will be Ciudad del Este, a city located in the tri-border area where Paraguay comes together with Argentina and Brazil.

"We know that we won't be seeing 'Latin American' architecture, but only a section of the region, where we will investigate the marked contrasts that exist within some large cities, and between big cities and small towns, some of which are practically unknown outside their local areas," Vescovo said.

Once in Brazil they will visit Campo Mourao, Maringá, Presidente Prudente, San José do Río Preto, Rancho Alegre, Goiania and other towns until they reach Brasilia, where they will meet with Brazilian architects and visit the capital city's main buildings.

That will be the northernmost point of the journey.

Then they will head southeast, stopping along the way in Belo Horizonte, Ouro Preto, Cataguenses, Niteroi and Rio de Janeiro, where they hope to visit Niemeyer's studio. The world-famous architect celebrated his 100th birthday last December. "We are very keen to meet him, and we really hope it will be possible."

In Rio, the former Brazilian capital, they will visit "favelas" (shanty towns) in the company of architect Jorge Jáuregui, who is originally from Rosario and has lived and worked in Rio de Janeiro for many years.

Jáuregui is the head of the Favela-Barrio (roughly, Shanty Town-Neighbourhood) project. Alongside favela residents, he designed projects to transform the slums clinging to the hillsides in Rio de Janeiro into neighbourhoods with drinking water, electricity, transport, communications, schools, medical centres and recreational areas.

Vescovo said that the group does not unanimously agree on the existence of a well-defined Latin American architectural identity. "We think rather that there are shared characteristics, such as when architects make use of local materials in their work. In any case, that is what we want to find out."

From Rio de Janeiro they will follow the Atlantic coast southwards to Sao Paulo, the biggest city in South America, before heading on to Curitiba, Bombinhas, Canela and Porto Alegre.

Crossing the border into Uruguay at Chuy, they will reach the eastern resort town of La Paloma on the Atlantic coast, and continue southwest to Punta del Este, one of South America’s most exclusive resorts. Along the River Plate estuary, they will visit Atlántida, Montevideo, and Colonia, then cross to Buenos Aires by ferry.

From the Argentine capital, the seven travellers will finally return to Rosario. Information about their travels is available on the "Proyecto Brasilia" web site (http://www.proyectobrasilia.com.ar).