Jan 22, 2012
Living in the Américas - Spring 2012
BAC Long Studio
Introduction
Spring 2012 Longstudieros
Geoffry Arthur
Joshua Barnett
Derek Camara
Sam Coats
Staci Corby
Jeffrey Estes
Ruthie Kuhlman
Michael Lafontant
Luis Montalvo*
Erin Morrissey
Perla Muller
Robert Ortiz
John Pilling*
Sylvia Williams
Loren Witzel**
*Instructors
**Teaching Assistant
Syncretic architecture:
difference, contact, and reconciliation
The merger of native, peninsular, African, European, Asian, and American influences over the centuries creates a surprisingly resilient Cuban culture. Cuba was far enough from Spain, México and Peru to make quotidian decisions without intense oversight. Outside each city and cropland lies the wilderness of the ‘Monte,” where individuals ranging from the original Tainos to Castro’s rebels have hidden away to challenge authority. Spirit persists to trump every outside force; these transformative practices affect Cuba’s expressive architecture and urban design.
This studio will study the syncretic cultures of Cuba, the continuities and discontinuities through its architecture and urban design. Travel will explore Havana and its surrounding countryside. It will include meetings with the arts community to learn about Cuban’s environment, life and work. Travel research will be documented with audio, still and moving images, and sketchbooks. Students will create mixed-use buildings [ferry terminals and cultural resources] on Havana Harbor’s waterfront.
