Latin America protagonist of the Venice Biennale of Architecture – El Comercio (Ecuador)

The architecture of Latin America, from informal and anonymous until that can transform cities like Medellin or bring schools to the Peruvian Amazon jungle , is the protagonist of the XV edition of the Venice Biennale of Architecture .

the prestigious international event, which opens its doors to the public this Saturday (May 28, 2016) is a tribute to the creativity, versatility and experience of Latin American architects, able to combine with beauty new technology with ecology and the “poor materials”.

in the spaces of the Arsenal and the Gardens of the Biennale look projects of Colombian architects Simon Velez and Giancarlo Mazzanti , by an ingenious high-quality work.

While Simon Velez presents his work in bamboo, steel of the poor, with a structure that was hung from a ceiling in the central area of ​​the Gardens, Mazzanti involved with “Trustics”, a facility that works as a toy that reacts to people and has through videos how the community appropriates public spaces to enjoy and defend them in poor neighborhoods of Medellin, Bogota and Santa Marta.

Away luxury and monumental

Far from luxury and the monumental, the GrupoTalca formed in the Chilean school architecture University of Talca , a benchmark for the profession, presents his wooden gazebo, a bucket dismounted and then mounted against the placid waters of the Venetian lagoon, devised and performed by the community to develop eco-tourism in Pinoguacho , including lost forests of the Chilean Andes.

“We bring architecture where the architect does not come,” says Rodrigo Sheward, who along with Martin Solar was invited by his compatriot Alejandro Aravena, artistic director of the Biennale, to show their participatory designs of great social impact.

experience school Talca inspires the commissioner elegant Chilean flag, professor Juan Roman , director of the School of Architecture at the University of Talca, who selected 15 projects of rural architecture.

“These are projects by students from that area to get the degree of architect. Most are poor, they could not even come to Venice. Students who are linked culturally and economically to the land, which is expressed in his works, “said Roman, awarded in 2015 with the Global Award for sustainable architecture which grants the Locus Foundation in Paris.

a curtain of clear plastic bags lining of the Chilean flag and coos as the Andean winds, plunging the visitor on the theme of the Biennial. the urgency of a more humane and sustainable architecture

inside, they exposed the 15 delicate models of houses and other buildings designed by the students, including their local materials projects and even agricultural and forestry wastes.

This is an “architecture functional designed specifically to improve the quality of life of the inhabitants. Has been very brave the jury who selected us, “Roman said shortly before the Chilean Minister of Culture, Ernesto Ottone, inaugurated with great fanfare the pavilion.

The great Venetian appointment also presents projects and ideas Argentina and Peru , represented by the so-called forest Plan for the construction of hundreds of modular schools in the Amazon rainforest.

also Mexico , Uruguay , Venezuela , Ecuador and Paraguay give a Latin touch and a more social vision the international event.

in addition, the Brazilian Pritzker Paulo Mendes da Rocha (1928) this Saturday will receive the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement 2016.