6 In this sense, Rey Ashfield, W. Teaching and Utopia. Associated initiatives in modern Uruguayan architecture. Quintana N° 15 2016. Universidad de Santiago de Compostela. 2016. Pgs. 73-83. 7 In this regard, it is interesting to analyze the observations made by Le Corbusier in his passage through Montevideo and extracted by the Guillot Muñoz brothers in the Cruz del Sur magazine. Guillot Muñoz, Alvaro and Gervasio, Le Corbusier in Montevideo, Cruz del Sur, No. January/February. Montevideo. 1930. P. 14 Although I have referred before to the enormous dif- ference of contexts – Uruguay´s case is that of a country marked by the presence of important social reforms and a great cultural opening for the transformation of architec- ture and art-, It should be noted that social issues were not foreign to the concerns of Uruguayan architects in the first half of the 20 th century. However, in this case, it is a question of interest in social that should not be sought in pamphlet expressions or protestant texts, nor incendiary speeches, but in a careful concern for the good resolution of architectural programs, fundamentally those of greater social commitment, such as those of education, health, and housing. These programs were accompanied, many times, by important thoughts about a better community, which had to force itself to implement powerful changes in its organization in order to achieve a more just social state. Understanding that utopian resides, above all, in the project itself and in the characteristics of the programs assumed by that architecture is fundamental to avoid an erratic historical appreciation. Therein lies the center of the strongest commitment and sense of reform in our architec- ture, a phenomenon that would reach a long-term impact until the end of what we could call the modern architecture of the second half of the 20 th century. Consider, for example, the case of architectures oriented to teaching, with clear reference projects. Some of these projects - mainly materialized in the 1930s and 1940s - must have been the result of ideas created by philosopher Carlos Vaz Ferreira, in his very important proposal for School Parks 6 whose imprint was truly utopian and aimed at establishing a profound change in school education, both in qualitative and quantitative 7 terms. Behind this new program there was, without a doubt, an alternative view of society that did not require discursive supports with radical changes because, simply, it was a project that could have real viability through the political system at the time, by means of laws and institutional transformations in the simple ministerial orbit, without having to appeal, therefore, to the most typical text of the utopian genre. Even so, it must be recognized that the utopian text also had its space and development within the framework of Uruguayan modernity. As a basic reason, certain conceptualizations have also been established that validate such a difference, posing an apparently insurmountable distance between the moderni- ties of both continents. One of them is that the Uruguayan architecture at the beginning of the 20 th century would represent a sort of "avant-garde without utopia". 5 This is a modernity willing to go through the changes of greater visual appearance - forms, materials, and even spatial changes - and technological changes - use of reinforced concrete, large glass panels, etc. - but not to assume or dream of necessary social and political changes. This idea would be based precisely on an apparent ab- sence of a social project, a revolutionary project capable of accompanying or supporting the discourse of our modern architecture, as a true axis of a new time. According to this discourse, there was no turning point from that "renovating" architecture and, simultaneously, there was an absence of revolutionary or avant-garde spirit.
↥ CASMU, Sanatorio del doctor Carlos María Fosalva. Arquitectos: A. Altamirano + F. Villegas + J. Mieres. Año: 1949. CASMU, Sanatorium of Dr. Carlos María Fosalva. Architects: A. Altamirano + F. Villegas + J. Mieres. Year: 1949.
Parte de esos proyectos –fundamentalmente materializados en las décadas de 1930 y 1940- debieron ser el resultado de ideas generadas por el filósofo Carlos Vaz Ferreira, en su importantísima propuesta de Parques Escolares 6 , cuya impronta era verdaderamente utópica y orientada a esta- blecer un cambio profundo en la enseñanza escolar, tanto en términos cualitativos como cuantitativos 7 . Detrás de ese programa nuevo había, sin duda, una mirada alternativa de sociedad que no requería de soportes discursivos con cambios radicales porque, simplemente, se trataba de un proyecto que podía tener viabilidad real a través del sistema político de la época, mediante leyes y transformaciones institucionales en la simple órbita ministerial, sin tener que apelar, por tanto, al texto más propio del género utópico. Aun así, debe reconocerse que el texto utópico también tuvo su espacio y su desarrollo en el marco de la moder- nidad uruguaya. Vaz Ferreira entendió que el programa arquitectónico era vital para esta transformación de fondo y es por eso que en sus textos se detiene tanto en las características propias de las arquitecturas que, según su idea fundamental, deberían proyectarse en el más amplio y verde ámbito de la naturaleza. Se trata de arquitecturas sencillas, simples, económicas y, por tanto, también modernas. 6 Ver en este sentido, Rey Ashfield, W. Enseñanza y Utopía. Iniciativas asociadas en la arquitectura moderna uruguaya. Quintana N° 15 2016. Universidad de Santiago de Compostela. 2016. Págs. 73-83. 7 Al respecto, es interesante analizar las observaciones que realizara Le Corbusier en su pasaje por Montevideo y que extractaran los hermanos Guillot Muñoz en la revista Cruz del Sur. Guillot Muñoz, Alvaro y Gervasio, Le Corbusier en Montevideo, Cruz del Sur, N° Enero/febrero. Montevideo. 1930. Pág. 14.
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Movimiento Moderno / Modern Movement
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