Architecture and Urban Series | Spring 2012
Fourth edition of the architecture and urban lecture series focused on Colombia
In the fall of 2010, the Instituto Cervantes of Chicago with MAS Studio established an ongoing architecture and urban lecture series with the goal of establishing a cultural connection between the architectural discipline in Europe and the US.
In the fourth edition of the series, we organized the exhibition Colombia: Transformed: Architecture=Politics. This exhibit, curated by Vladimir Belogolovsky and Fernando Villa, traces ten recently built social projects by five leading voices in contemporary Colombian architecture: Daniel Bonilla and Giancarlo Mazzanti from Bogota, and Felipe Mesa, Juan Manuel Pelaez, and Felipe Uribe from Medellín. These visionary and socially conscious works: daycare centers, kindergartens, schools, a sport complex, and a library—mostly winners of architectural competitions, which have become the norm for building public projects in Colombia—reflect significant social shifts that are taking place in Latin America today. They demonstrate ideas of social inclusion as well as innovative architectural forms and spaces, which have been steadily transforming Colombian cities and the nation.
To accompany the exhibition, two lectures were organized: David Escobar, current Planning Department Commissioner of the City of Medellin, Colombia gave the inaugural lecture introduced by exhibition co-curator Fernando Villa. Architect Giancarlo Mazzanti gave the second lecture, introduced by exhibition curator Vladimir Belogolovsky.
The exhibition and lectures were made possible thanks to the close collaboration between the Instituto Cervantes and MAS Studio as well as Chicago Sister Cities International, the General Consulate of Colombia in Chicago, the Sociedad Colombiana de Arquitectos, and Avianca.
Type: Engagement
Location: Instituto Cervantes, Chicago
Series Director & Exhibition Designer: Iker Gil
Curators: Vladimir Belogolovsky (International Curatorial Project) & Fernando Villa
Panel Design: Maria Villa (Emphasize LLC)
Year: 2012
Status: Completed