House in Lima, ca. 1959, probably unbuilt. India Ink with accents in watercolour and coloured pencils on vellum, 24x36” with missing parts Maurer & Ballon beach houses,1958, Santa Maria del Mar, modified. Pencil and watercolour on tracing paper, 11x17” Fernandini beach house, 1958, Santa Maria del Mar, Iconic view from the seawall, 1959, 12x16” Rizo Patron beach house, 1957, Santa Maria del Mar, demolished. Bird’s eye view, from 35mm negative, 1959
all images courtesy of the Weberhofer Archive, Lima, Peru
In contrast, architectural drawings display, on tracing paper, a dream. While most drawings expect to come to fruition with ribbon-cutting ceremonies and applause; others remain as thoughts, as unconsummated ideas. The latter are more common in developing societies where long-awaited projects remain unbuilt, postponed, waiting, until the country finishes dealing with un- budgetted, unplanned but not unexpected emergencies that come after, or might precede, more crises. If projects do materialise in lesser-developed countries, they are often awaited with so much anxiety and hope that they become iconic symbols, a heavy responsibility for the practitioner. In many regions and especially in Latin America, architecture is still practiced in the intimacy of a sunny atelier with lengthy coffee breaks, academic debate and tertulia. Perhaps, because architecture and the arts have struggled to settle an identity, every design exercise is read as a manifesto, and its success or acceptance only will come after conversation and exchange. The leading architectural forces in the region, Brazil, and later Chile, were able to reconcile their modernity with tradition in the process of building up a national identity, embracing new technologies but also adapting them to their own terms and needs. Recently Peru has joined the club of booming economies with current living standards repeating the those of Peruvian success in the mid-twentieth century. In those days Peruvian professionals looking for a new architecture that would satisfy both local idiosyncrasies and the needs of modern society were certainly influenced by the Brazilian experience. However, their project stalled amid economic and social collapse, with decades lost to political violence and economic turmoil. Today, under a new wave of regional development, young design professionals respond quickly and individually, but afraid of seeming naïve in the face of new global societal standards, they are seduced by the flash of globalised ‘sweeteners’ – effective, and shallow, solutions.
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