The period between 1930 and 1960 in particular saw a dramatic upsurge in Latin American modern architecture as the various governments strove to make public their modernising intentions. After 1960, however, the year in which Brasilia was inaugurated, economic growth in the region slowed and the modernist project faltered. The English-speaking world, which had previously admired Latin American buildings, began to write them out of the history of twentieth-century architecture. Building the New World attempts to redress the balance. It surveys the most important examples of state-funded modernism in Latin America during a period of almost unimaginable optimism, when politicians and architects such as Pani, Costa, Reidy and Niemeyer sought ways, literally, to build their societies out of underdevelopment.

The progressive architecture of Brasilia, Caracas, Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro

About the Author
Valerie Fraser is a Reader in the Department of Art History and Theory at the University of Essex. Her books include Building the New World, The Architecture of Conquest, and, with Oriana Baddeley, Drawing the Line.


Book Information
ISBN 9781859843079
Author Valerie Fraser
Format Paperback
Page Count 280
Imprint Verso Books
Publisher Verso Books
Weight(grams) 703g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 198mm * 23mm