ORO Editions

The partially bilingual book (English and Spanish), aimed at an audience of students, architects, designers, artists, activists, government agencies, and a wider public interested in material practices and social commitment, is the first publication to cover the leading designbuild studios in Latin America, with their social agendas and collaborative projects.

In the Latin American context, this compilation brings together work carried out over the past two decades, reviewing points of similarity, differences, and future opportunities. For the rest of the world, the project, with its emphasis on limitations as a positive phenomenon, aims to expand our knowledge of design-build studios.

In the academic sphere, the book hopes to encourage the creation of new studios that boost the teaching of architecture with social agendas and the construction of buildings or spaces with tangible benefits for the communities that use them. In the professional context, it offers a set of values, qualities, and projects that seek to shake up architects’ way of thinking and daily practices. In the field of independent and government organizations, the book presents a catalog of options and strategies for promoting new projects for the benefit of students and specific communities.

Although the fourteen case studies we present here involve a range of different kinds of alliances with municipal governments, NGOs, private enterprise, or communities, broadly speaking the book covers two principal types of design-build studios. On one hand, those that form a central and long-term part of a university curriculum: Travesías Studio, Talca Graduation Studio, Matéricos Periféricos Studio, PAAF Studio, Danza Studio, E Studio, Intervención Comunitaria Studio, and PEI Studio. On the other hand, those that formed a temporary part of an academic structure, but have since disappeared or adapted to institutional changes in search of greater stability: Nubes de Madera Studio, Lab.Pro.Fab Studio, Al Borde Studio, Atarraya Studio, a77 Studio, and Activo Studio. A number of cases, such as a77, Al Borde, or Lab.Pro.Fab, emerged and remain as professional practices closely connected with social work and architecture education through established courses in a number of universities.

In all the case studies presented here, the architectural design was prepared by a group of professors and students in partnership with communities and technical advisors. There are three different modes of construction. In the first, certain studios have institutional conditions for their students to build with their own hands (with a range of insurance methods and liabilities), leaving only a few of the processes to experts. In the second, partnerships are established with construction companies that take on the legal responsibilities, enabling students to form part of a construction team led by experts. Finally, the third modality comprises courses that hand over most of the responsibility for the construction to partner companies and experts who take on the civil responsibility, with the students focusing on works supervision and smaller construction processes carried out in the university shops.

In most cases, the entire planning, design, and build process takes an academic semester and involves a similar working schedule: one month for general outlines; two months for design, details, securing resources and permissions; and one month to build. In some cases the times are longer, with the courses using one or two semesters for planning and design, and one for construction. Some courses are designed for first-year students—it is important to clarify that to graduate with a degree in architecture in Latin America requires five years, or ten academic semesters—putting them in immediate contact with communities, materials, and construction processes. Others accept students in third and fourth years, and foster interaction with different experiences in order to face the challenges of the process. Finally, a number of universities leave these courses for the final year and allow students greater independence in how they address them. In almost all cases, however, students are building their first project before graduating.