docomomo Guatemala: Release

¿POR QUÉ DOCOMOMO?

En las últimas décadas, la herencia arquitectónica del Movimiento Moderno, ha estado en más riesgo de ser destruida que durante cualquier otro período. Esta herencia edificatoria glorifica el espíritu dinámico de la Era de la Máquina.

A finales del los años 80, muchas obras maestras modernas fueron demolidas o alteradas a tal grado que ya no se pueden reconocer.

Esto sucede, principalmente, por el hecho que muchos de estos edificios no fueron considerados elementos patrimoniales.

HISTORIA

Docomomo Internacional es una organización no lucrativa. Fue fundada en 1988 por Hubert-Jan Henket, arquitecto y profesor y Wessel de Jonge, arquitecto e investigador, en la escuela de Arquitectura de la Universidad Técnica de Eindhoven, en los Países Bajos.

En el año 2002, el secretariado Internacional se reubica en Paris y actualmente sus oficinas se encuentran instaladas en el Palacio de Chaillot, en lo que hoy se conoce como La Ciudad de la Arquitectura y del Patrimonio.

Desde el año 2002 hasta la fecha, la dirección y la secretaría general de Docomomo Internacional ha estado a cargo de Maristella Casciato, arquitecta e historiadora y Emile d’Orgeix, historiadora de la Arquitectura, respectivamente.

Las principales metas de Docomomo se pusieron de manifiesto en las conclusiones de la conferencia inaugural en 1990 celebrada en Eindhoven y son las siguientes:

• Llevar el significado del Movimiento Moderno a la atención del público, las autoridades, los profesionales y la comunidad académica relacionada con el entorno edificatorio.
• Identificar y promover registros de las obras del Movimiento Moderno incluyendo catalogación, gráficos, fotografías, archivos y otros documentos.
• Fomentar el desarrollo de técnicas y métodos apropiados de conservación y divulgar este conocimiento a las profesiones involucradas.
• Oponerse a la destrucción y desfiguración de obras importantes del Movimiento Moderno.
• Identificar y atraer fondos para realizar actividades de documentación y conservación.
• Explorar y desarrollar el conocimiento del Movimiento Moderno.

LA MISIÓN DE DOCOMOMO ES:

• Actuar como guardián cuando cualquier edificio moderno importante se encuentre bajo amenaza de ser dañado o destruido.
• Intercambiar ideas relacionadas con conservación, tecnología, historia y educación.
• Fomentar el interés en las ideas de la herencia del Movimiento Moderno.
• Inculcar la responsabilidad de resguardar la reciente herencia arquitectónica.

Desde su creación, Docomomo Internacional ha experimentado un crecimiento rápido, estableciéndose, no sólo como el mayor protagonista en el campo de la conservación sino que también en el amplio campo de la cultura arquitectónica.

La naturaleza pluralista y multidisciplinaria de Docomomo Internacional, ha sido de sus mayores logros ya que reúne a historiadores, arquitectos, urbanistas, conservadores, profesores y estudiantes.

Actualmente, Docomomo Internacional lo conforman 52 capítulos y más de 2000 miembros, desde Europa hasta Japón, desde Australia hasta Norte, sur y ahora Centro América. En la variedad de culturas y experiencias redunda la riqueza de esta organización.

Guatemalan Architecture and the emblematic buildings of the Modern Movement

Guatemala, with an immense architectural and urban legacy from its Mayan roots, tells its own history and ideological development through its artistic and cultural manifestations, Architecture is one of these that expresses the people’s spirit.

The aesthetic expressions are the result of a fusion between the folklore and the academy. Nevertheless; it is said that after the arrival of the Europeans, the construction systems and construction equipment, were changed and adapted to the geographic and topographic characteristics of the area, since non of old treaties of Serlio or Palladio brought by the conquerors were reproduced with accuracy due to the intense seismic activity that prevails in the country.

For that reason the concept of the Baroque and Ultra-Baroque styles would acquire a very particular and original adaptation that only could be obtained in this country. Besides the earthquake of 1773 forced the colonial settlement of Santiago de los Caballeros moved to a new location in the nearby valley La Ermita in 1776.

When independence took place, most important buildings obeyed to the style of foreign architecture, one of the reasons why most of them have neoclassical ornamentation but their disposition in terms of architectural space adapted to the natural surroundings where it is located.

After seven decades of liberal governments, the change came of 1944 democratic revolution and with new prevailing policies, the private architectural practice decreased, although a new era was arriving. By this time some of the first public modern buildings began to emerge.

Surpassing the recession and the old prevailing paradigms, between 1950 and 1968, the architectural production began to formulate space alternatives for society’s new needs. The most important was that conceptualization would take a different direction: concrete plane roof replaced the Spanish clay tile roof and the old bell towers and domes gave place to a new skyline.

This architectural legacy was possible because of the visionary work of masterful architects like Roberto Aycinena, Jorge Montes Córdoba, Carlos Haeussler, Raúl Minondo, Pelayo Llarena, among others, who left a legacy to Guatemalan history with the construction of the Civic Center and the State’s University central campus.


Civic Centre

The buildings of the Civic Centre was conceived as an urban unity, where sculpture and murals were a part of the architectural body, in such a way that if they ever separated, that unit would be disintegrated, losing its rhythm and sense.

Architect Aycinena, then Chief Designer of City Hall, was in charge of planning this work, which, according to his evaluation, has been very much respected.

The new proposal, united by means of a subtle guiding threads, -the murals of Maestro Carlos Mérida- consisted in creating a civic landscape with artificial elements. Within the architectural values of the group of buildings forming this center it is worthy to emphasize the solution for lightning and ventilation, accomplished through the orientation of structures and the use of brise-soliel and plastic integration between murals, sculpture and architecture.




City Hall Building
Source:
Br. Samuel Mérida, DG.
Edited:
Mda. Arq. E. Saravia

Possibly it is difficult to conceive the magnitude of this project, since urban proposal was never completed, however, using your imagination, you can take a glimpse of what would have been the unit of plazas of horizontal circulation that would develop on the roof of the first floor of Bank of Guatemala building to conduct pedestrians from a train station –located exactly behind this bank- toward the City Hall and to the Cultural Center Miguel Angel Asturias.

Guatemala Social Security Institute Building.
Carlos Mérida.
"Social Security allegory" 1960
Source:
http://www.galasdeguatemala.com

With certainty, you can say that this urban complex still maintain alive the principles on "The heart of the city", and becouse its the testimony of a particular and local way to understand the modernity it was declarated national heritage.

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Source:
Dr. Arq. Raúl Monterroso
Arq. Rafael Aycinena
Mda. Arqta. Sonia Fuentes
Mda. Arq. Edwin Saravia

Architects Biographies

Brief biography of the principal architects and artists of Guatemalan Modern Movement

Roberto Aycinena Echeverría. Arq.(1917-2006)
Sciences and Letters Bachelor, Instituto Modelo, Guatemala (1938)
Economics Bachelor, Economics Faculty, Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala.
He was scholarship from Evansville College, USA in economics studies.
Architect, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM (1955)
He was incorporated into Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala.
Postgraduate Course: High Theory of Architecture.
Architect Mayor, Guatemala City.
University Professor. Member of prestigious national and foreign institutions.

Jorge Mariano Montes Córdoba, Arq. (1927)
High School Diploma, French School, Morelos, Mexico (1946)
Architect, Auburn University, USA (1952)
He made several professional seminars and studies over the years.
President of the Society of Architects in Guatemala. Central American Federation of Architects. Chairman Dean of the Architecture Faculty, University of San Carlos de Guatemala.
President of the Partnership for Urban Development educators.

Pelayo Llarena Murua (1924)
Sciences and Letters Bachelor, Infantes College, Guatemala (1943)
Bachelor of Science in Architecture, University of Illinois, USA (1949)
He was incorporated into Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala.
Postgraduate in Architecture Theory, Guatemala Medal winner for the Societé des Architéctes Diplomáe par le Gouverment, France.
Head of projects in signing Day & Zimmermann, Inc.
Pelayo Architect and collaborators. Chief Architect of the signing Pelayo Llarena and collaborators.

Raúl Minondo Herrera (1924)
Sciences and Letters Bachelor, Infantes College, Guatemala (1943)
Civil Engineer, Harvard University (1946)
Architect, Harvard University (1949)
Associated Signing, Minondo & Cordón Co-Founder of Architects Central America Federation. Architectural Desing Professor.

Carlos Alberto Haeussler Uribio (1923)
Sciences and Letters Bachelor, Instituto Nacional Central para Varones (1945)
Architect, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)(1953)
He conducted specialization studies in the U.S.A. and Europe. University Professor.

Efraín Enrique Recinos Valenzuela (1928)
Sciences and Letters Bachelor, Instituto Normal Central, Guatemala Civil Engineer, Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala
Painting and sculpture, Fine Arts School, Guatemala. Self-taught painter. Leicester Polytechnic, London.
Visual arts and Ceramics, Guatemala Acoustics auditoriums with Dr. William Jordan of Denmark. Graphic Artist, designer, painter, sculptor, head of works, technical adviser, designer and architect.

Roberto González Goyri (1924)
Sculptor and painter.
National Academy of Fine Arts in Guatemala; Fellow in 1948 in New York, "Arts Students League" and "Clay Sculpture Center."
Participated in national and international exhibitions.
He was director of the National School of Plastic Arts.
His sculpture is characterized by synthesizing of human figures and other elements.
Author of the murals of the Guatemalan Social Security Institute (west facade) and National Mortgage Credit Building (east facade)

Carlos Mérida (1924-1984)
Painter.
He traveled abroad, and therefore had the opportunity to meet Pablo Picasso, Diego Rivera, Roberto Montenegro, Jorge Enciso and other artists.
He designed the cover of the first edition of the book "A man who looked like a horse" by Rafael Arévalo Martínez.
He settled in México where he devoted himself to painting easel and the mural.
Edited several portfolios of prints that, include indigenous Guatemalans and Mexicans costumes. He made several exhibitions nationally and internationally.
In addition to the murals that designed and implemented in Guatemala, within the Civic Center, in Mexico is the Multifamiliar Benito Juárez buildings. Also the Museum of Modern Art in Guatemala bears his name.

Proceso Constructivo─ Centro Cívico─ Ciudad de Guatemala ─

A continuación, mostramos una serie de imagenes que registraron todo el proceso constructivo del Centro Cívico en Guatemala, así como las primeras propuestas arquitectónicas que posteriormente darían paso a su ejecución; a cargo de los arquitectos: Jorge Montes, Raúl Minondo, Carlos Hausseler, Jorge Montes Córdoba, y los maestros plásticos, Carlos Mérdida, Efraín Recinos, Roberto González Goyri, Dagoberto Vásquez.

Todas ellas reúnen en su momento histórico, un paso significativo hacia la evolución del pensamiento social guatemalteco.

Cada imagen muestra cómo los antiguos edificios que albergaron en su tiempo ─como lo es la antigua penitenciaría, el traslado de la iglesia de El Calvario─ las antiguas funciones públicas, sufren el traslado o bien la demolición; para dar paso en definitiva a los nuevos edificios públicos administrativos.

BubbleShare: Share photos - Find great Clip Art Images.

─ English Version ─

Constructive Process of Civic Center, Guatemala City

Here, we show a series of images that recorded the whole construction process of the Civic Center in Guatemala City, as well as the first architectural proposals that subsequently would give away to its construction the in charge were: Jorge Montes, Raul Minondo, Carlos Hausseler Jorge Montes Cordoba, and teachers plastics, Carlos Mérdida, Efraín Recinos, Roberto González Goyri, Dagoberto Vásquez.

All images gather, at their historic moment, a significant step towards the evolution of social thought Guatemala.

Each image shows how the old buildings that once public oficcer ─ like the old penitentiary, the relocation of the church of El Calvario ─ relocation or demolition that ultimately makes way to new public administrative buildings.

Edificio del Crédito Hipotecario Nacional | National Mortgage Credit Building

Edificio del Crédito Hipotecario Nacional

El edificio del Crédito Hipotecario Nacional ─de aquí en adelante CHN─ , contiene una estética arquitectónica recurrente al pensamiento moderno,─ principalmente al racionalismo/funcionalismo, que es evidente no solo en su emplazamiento sino la experiencia espacial de toda su configuración geométrica, por lo que hace notar evidentemente su esencia reflexiva , o como bien dice Lewkowicz “Si el objeto arquitectónico se define como arquitectónico, es razonable imaginar que la misma arquitectura dispone de una reflexión capaz de calificar al objeto en cuestión como propio.”[2]

Por otro lado, cuando toda obra arquitectónica ha solventado con gran eficiencia la necesidad espacial — (ver imagen No.1) — y sus funciones a servir, adquiere un valor funcional, es decir, cuando todas las necesidades ha sido solucionadas, pero con la única variante que no haya surgido ningún cambio desde su origen.

Imagen No.1.
Obsérvese el empleo de la retícula estructural y el encofrado de losas para los distintos niveles, muy recurrente al período arquitectónico. Fuente: Archivo fotográfico del Banco de Guatemala.
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Image No.1.
Note the use of structural grid and the shuttering of slabs for different levels, very appellant to the period architecture.
Source: Photographic archives of the Bank of Guatemala.

Retrospectivamente los edificios fueron pensados y creados para las mismas funciones que hoy día aún la mantienen, por lo tanto sigue manteniendo su valor, como bien dice Heideger “…de este modo, las auténticas construcciones marcan el habitar llevándolo a su esencia y dan casa a ésta esencia.”[3]

Lamentablemente no se pudo tener acceso a la distribución espacial en planta del edificio, naturalmente por cuestiones de seguridad. Sin embargo, nos atrevemos a mencionar que la configuración geométrica fue solventada con gran eficiencia. No podemos decir que es una obra inédita, ya que el pensamiento predominante de la época─ como se ha mencionado con anterioridad─ ha sido recurrente al racionalismo/funcionalismo y la cual hace connotar por medio de la repetición de módulos así como ritmos en sus paramentos, simetría, masividad y escala monumental.

Por otra parte, como es bien sabido, toda obra contemporánea a la época se remite a espacios modulares y repetitivos, el juego del espacio interior/exterior a través de los muros cortinas y su eminente integración, simplicidad de formas y una geometría básica, así como la exposición de sus materiales sin ninguna aplicación.

De igual forma, no teniendo acceso a los planos del conjunto no se puede establecer el carácter estructural con precisión, sin embargo, se puede establecer el perfecto funcionamiento de su estructura y naturalmente la transmisión de cargas como lo muestra las imágenes de antaño cuando recién se construía el edificio. — (ver imagen No.2,3,4) —

Imagen No. 2.
Nótese el empleo de la retícula estructural para sustentar los diferentes niveles del edificio.
Fuente: Archivo fotográfico del Banco de Guatemala.
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Image. 2.
Note the use of structural grid to support the various levels of the building.
Source: Photographic archives of the Bank of Guatemala.

Imagen No. 3.
Detalle del encofrado y elaboración del armado de losa reticular para los diferentes entrepisos del edificio.
Fuente: Archivo fotográfico del Banco de Guatemala.
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Image. 3.
Detail Formwork and elaboration of the armed slab lattice for different mezzanines of the building.
Source: Photographic archives of the Bank of Guatemala.

Imagen No. 4.
Detalle del movimiento de tierra y zanjeo para la elaboración de las zapatas que albergaría las instalaciones del C.H.N
Fuente: Archivo fotográfico del Banco de Guatemala.
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Image. 4.
Detail earthmoving zanjeo and for the preparation of the pads to accommodate the facilities of CHN
Source: Photographic archives of the Bank of Guatemala.

Podemos observar que tanto las estructuras portantes como las losas y entrepisos obedecen a una retícula espacial (losa nervurada) en concreto reforzado, naturalmente correspondiente a la época, donde la presencia del hierro como estructura portante (vigas, columnas, etc.) era nulo.

Por lo tanto el valor estructural en la obra es inequívoco y se adhiere a la obra arquitectónica.

Es así como el empleo del hormigón reforzado, y las losas reticuladas, para su estructura básica hacen que el edificio en mención posea una eficiencia eficaz. De igual forma los muros de cerramientos como lo son los tipos cortina son recurrentes al periodo racionalista de la época. Entonces podemos afirmar que el sistema constructivo empleado para éste caso, ha solventado en gran medida la solución espacial, por lo tanto este ítem se aúna a la propia estética del edificio.

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[1] Arquitectos Romeo Flores, Jorge Ma. López y Salvador Gálvez, Ensayo Final, Interpretación Arquitectónica, curso de Maestría, Facultad de Arquitectura USAC, jun.2006
[2] Lewkowicz Igancio y Pablo Sztulwark, Arquitectura Plus del sentido.
[3] Heideger Martin, Construir, Habitar y Pensar

─ English Version ─

National Mortgage Credit Building

The the National Mortgage Credit Building contains a recurring architectural aesthetics to Modern Thought, mainly to rationalism / functionalism, which is evident not only in their location, but the space experience its entire geometry, so obviously notes essentially reflective, as well Lewkowicz said "If the architectural object is defined as architectural, it is reasonable to imagine that the same architecture has a reflection of the object in question qualify as own. "[2]

On the other hand, when the whole architectural work has solved with great efficiency the spatial necesity- (see image No.1) - and it's function to serve, it acquires a functional value, that is when all requirements necesities have been solved, but with the only option that has no change has emerged any since its origin.

In retrospect buildings were designed and created for the same functions that they mantain today, therefore they still maintains their it value, as well Heideger said "… thus, the real buildings mark the habitat and taking it to its essence, and give home to its essence. "[3]

Unfortunately it was not possible to give access to the spatial distribution in the building's floor plan, naturaly security issues. However, we dare to mention that the geometry configuration was solved with great efficiency. We can not say that it is an unpublished work, like the dominant thinking of the time ─ as mentioned earlier ─ has been the recurring to rationalism / functionalism and which connotes through repeating modules and rhythms in their adornments , symmetry, massive and monumental scale parameters.

Moreover, as is well known, any contemporary work of the time refers to modular and repetitive spaces, the play between interior and exterior through courtainwall, its eminent context integration, simplicity of forms and basic geometry, and the exposure of their materials without any application.

Likewise, by not having accessibility to the floor planes of the buildings can it be established with precision the structural charges, however, the perfect funtion of the structure and of forces can be established as show on the following images ─(See image No.2,3,4)─

We can see that both load-bearing structures (slabs and mezzanines) follow a spatial grid in reinforced concrete, where the presence of iron as a load beaming structure was.

The value of the structural work is unequivocal and adheres to the architecture work.

This is how the use of reinforced concrete and the grided slabes of the spatialy structure makes the building in question possesses an effective efficient. Likewise courtain belong to the rationalist period of the time. We can acotain that the system used for construction system used in this case, has largely solved the spatial necesarity and aditives itself with the aesthetics of the building.

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[1] Architects Romeo Flores, Jorge Ma. Lopez and Salvador Galvez, Trial Final Interpretation Architectural, Masters course, Faculty of Architecture USAC, jun.2006
[2] Lewkowicz Igancio and Paul Sztulwark, Architecture Plus sense.
[3] Heideger Martin Building, and Inhabiting Thought