This is not a book for those who expect pretty pictures of buildings; it is, however, a book for those interested in architecture and planning as factors in the political, socioeconomic, and cultural environment of Latin America. Eight essays, accompanied by extensive notes and references, are written by six architects, an industrial designer, and an anthropologist; all are Latin Americans, a good number born and educated in Europe, and all are members of academic establishments. Common threads link most of these essays: historical analyses and criticisms of the status quo in Latin American countries, which, as we are constantly reminded, were and are subject to colonialism, capitalism, and elitism. The book, originally published in Spanish by UNESCO, is edited by Roberto Segre, professor of history in the School of Architecture of the University of Havana. Thus, it bears a didactic imprint the reader will easily identify. Ideological issues permeate the essays; architectural style and symbolism as servants of class, colonialism, and capitalism; the conflict between imported architectural traditions and indigenous culture; participatory design versus imposed elitism; technology, social need, and the consumer society; the urban-rural conflict in development; land planning and housing as they affect the larger masses; all controversial and heady subject matter for architects as professionals and citizens. Behind some of the rhetoric one can discern cries of frustration and alienation. Segre, however, optimistically cites Cuba as the preferred model for Latin America.
The book should be read even by those who may disagree with its political tenor. The problems facing many countries in Latin America are immense, if not critical, and the book offers the authors’ insights into both the role and the responsibility of architecture and perhaps equally into the thinking of an elite group of theorists, academicians, and professionals who may or may not represent the general views of that community.
