from the margins - perspectives on the built environment

Episode recorded Nov, 2020. In this episode, I talk to Fernando Luiz Lara, who works on theorizing spaces of the Americas with emphasis on the dissemination of architecture and planning ideas beyond the traditional disciplinary boundaries. In his several articles, Prof. Lara has discussed the modern and the contemporary architecture of our continent, its meaning, context, and social-economic insertion. In this episode, we talk about our education as Latin American architects in the cannon, how we decolonized it and got into decolonization perspectives for our work. We talked about the need for a new and different set of values on which to analyze architectural Latin American architecture, and not by comparing them to American or European standards. We commented on how teaching decoloniality is still in the margins of academia. We had an interesting conversation on Fernando's article American Mirror: the Occupation of the “New World” and the Rise of Architecture as We Know it. And we talked about the future of education, podcasts, youtube channels, electronic media, etc. Books mentioned in the conversation. Modern Architecture in Latin America: Art, Technology and Utopia, with Luis Carranza. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2015. Architecture and Forced Exploitation: The Gulf of Mexico, 1920-1970 / Arquitectura y Explotacion Forzada: El Golfo de Mexico, 1920-1970, with Reina Loredo Cansino. Apuntes sobre Decolonializacion, Arquitectura y Ciudad en las Americas. with Reina Loredo Cansino. - Link to the presentation of the book video. American Mirror: the Occupation of the “New World” and the Rise of Architecture as We Know it. Recommendations. Designs for the Pluriverse. Radical Interdependence, Autonomy, and the Making of Worlds. By Arturo Escobar Ideas to Postpone the End of the World. by Ailton Krenak The Moor's account. by Laila Lalami Sera mañana. by Federico Guzmán Rubio A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things. A Guide to Capitalism, Nature, and the Future of the Planet. by Raj Patel and Jason W. Moore. Race and Modern Architecture. A Critical History from the Enlightenment to the Present. Edited By Irene Cheng, Charles L. Davis II, Mabel O. Wilson

In this second episode with Emmanuel Ortega (Babelito from Latinos Who Lunch) a researcher, curator, podcaster, and recent YouTuber (Unsettling Journeys) dedicated to uncovering the histories behind Mexican, Latin American, and Latinx identities by examining the arts (as well as the visual and material cultures and built environment) created before the invasion of Tenochtitlán, during the colonial period, around the waves of Independence from Europe, and into our contemporary world. We continue talking about the journey of a Mexican scholar into American academia, we discuss the conflicts between de-colonial history and anti-colonial practices in history. We talk about the work of Ramón Grosfuguel and the Epistemicides of the 16th century in order to understand anti-colonial gestures, and revisionist history practices. Finally, we get to architecture or the built environment by discussing the Casta paintings, their depictions of race, gender, and class (tools of hate - Kirsten Pai Buick) Reccomendations Silencing the Past by Michael-Rolph Trouillot Unsettling Journeys - Youtube Channel Imagining Identity in New Spain by Magali Carrera

In this episode, I talk with Anooradha Siddiqi a researcher interested in architectural history and theory; spatial politics; histories of migration and settlement; histories of land and partitions; modernism and modernity in Africa and South Asia; feminist practice and theory; black and brown consciousness theory; histories of heritage politics and craft practices; intellectual histories; critical cultural practices and production; collectivity, radical pedagogies, and mutual aid; past and present pedagogical practices in art and architecture. We talk about her latest projects Architecture of Migration: The Dadaab Refugee Camps and Humanitarian Settlement analyzes the history, visual rhetoric, and spatial politics of the Dadaab refugee camps in Northeastern Kenya. as an epistemological vantage point in the African and Islamic world. On the work of Minnette de Silva and a Modern Architecture of the Past that engages the intellectual and heritage work of one of the first women to establish a professional architectural practice and an important cultural figure in the history of Ceylon/Sri Lanka. In this episode mostly discuss about pedagogies in architecture, feminist pedagogies, the controversial topic of the canon and, structuring courses that allow a diversity of knowledge, approaches, and perspectives. Recommendations Lose your Mother by Saidiya Hartman Postcards from God by Imtiaz Dharker

In this episode, I talk to Emmanuel Ortega (Babelito from Latinos Who Lunch) a researcher, curator, podcaster, and recent YouTuber whose work looks to deconstruct the politics of colorism in colonial and contemporary Latin America by analyzing the visual culture of the colonial period and the politics of class and race classification behind the caste system. Springing from his research interests, Ortega has curated in México and the United States. Babelito is one half of one of the podcast that inspired the creation of this podcast, Latinos Who Lunch, and currently is working on a youtube channel titled Unsettling Journeys, dedicated to uncovering the histories behind Mexican, Latin American, and Latinx identities by examining the arts (as well as the visual and material cultures and built environment) created before the invasion of Tenochtitlán, during the colonial period, around the waves of Independence from Europe, and into our contemporary world; that he discusses further in our conversation. We talk about the journey of a Mexican scholar into American academia, and the role that the "newly discovered" need for diversity in the Ivory Tower has affected Black and Brown voices. We also talk about modernity and mobility, the role of new media in the creation of academic portfolios, and the accessibility of knowledge. How podcasts, youtube channels, and others are helping to reach larger audiences, but also how these are not yet fully accepted in traditional academic circles as accomplishments through "tenure track" i.e. For lack of time, and because what happens when two Juarenses are left to talk about their life experiences in the U.S.?, we didn't get to talk about architecture and space. But the promise for a future recording of an episode where such topics are going to be discussed was made. From colonial architecture and its systems of oppression. Where does it come from? (not just Spain) and, What of it has prevailed in modern and contemporary architecture in Mexico?... and much more to come in a future episode. Reccomendations Silencing the Past by Michael-Rolph Trouillot Unsettling Journeys - Youtube Channel Music Colombian group - Meridian Brothers Album - Cumbia Siglo XXI Colombiana by Niño de Elche

In this episode, i talk to Eduardo Rega Calvo who's research and design work focus on architecture's capacity to translate, operate in, and contribute to insurgent social and political movements. Eduardo is an architect, urban designer, and researcher based in New York. He is a graduate architecture faculty at the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design, where he teaches history/theory seminars, design studios and runs a summer program in Colombia. His most recent project, Architectures of Refusal aims to compile an atlas of social mobilization against capitalism, colonialism, and human rights violations by uncovering their spatial manifestations, urbanism, and architectures. We talk about decolonizing, decolonization, and anticolonization strategies in architecture and teaching architecture. Eduardo talks to us about his projects of publishing and research, and how that relates to his teaching strategies and methodologies. We discuss grassroots organization based architecture, commonspoly as a method, and the white savior complex that reigns architecture practice. Recommendations. Change the Wolrd Without Taking Power by John Holloway The Rebel by Albert Camus Commonospoly Parasite Directed by Bong Joon Ho Shoplifters Directed by Hirokazo Koreeda

In this episode, I talk to Luis Carranza a researcher whose work focuses primarily on modern architecture and art in Latin America (with an emphasis on Mexico). His work emphasizes how the relationships between social, literary, philosophical, and theoretical ideas impact the conceptualization and materialization of architecture and design. Luis is an Adjunct Associate Professor at Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation and Professor of Architecture and of Art and Architectural History at Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island. He obtained his B.Arch. at the University of Southern California and his PhD in Architectural History and Theory from Harvard University. He has published Architecture as Revolution: Episodes in the History of Modern Mexico (University of Texas Press, 2010) and Modern Architecture in Latin America: Art, Technology, Utopia (with Fernando Lara, University of Texas Press, 2015). We talked about writing history, researching, and doing archival work in Latin America and specifically in México, and how the culture of material conservation and access needs to change. We also discuss the work of women architects in Latin America and México, and how it hasn't been included in the narrative of modern architecture of the territory, its link to the archive culture, and the need to research and publication of those histories. We discussed teaching history of Latin America, the meaning of being modern in these territories, and how these courses are still on the margins of the narratives of modern architecture history. Luis told us about his courses, the material they produce, and why they are still considered non-western histories. Recommendations Vivienda y Ciudad - Wladimiro Acosta Nice Try Podcast - With Avery Trufelman The World as an Architectural Project by Gabriel Kozlowski, Hashim Sarkis, and Roi Salgueiro Barrio Fantasma by Lisandro Alonso Güeros by Alonso Ruizpalacios

In this episode, I talk to Jose Brunner an Adjunct Professor for the Critical Ethnic Studies Program at the CCA, about his work on speculation, and practice in architecture. We talked about his research on the Border Phenomena that explores the anthropology of frontiers, and the agency of art and design at the boundary between nations. We discussed about what it is being a transborder citizen, and how this has informed his career and his teaching activities. We discussed how being from and at the border has a similar and familiar quality to queer identities, and Joey shared his perspective of having been grown in a binational and bicultural household. We talked about, how the border has changed through time and space, and how, for example experiencing 9/11 made a huge impact in border culture. We also talked about our interests in the border environment and how we study it and analyze it from diverse but similar perspectives. We also discussed about pedagogy, about the stories and histories that we teach, and encourage our students to tell. Recommendations. Dreaming America: Voices of Undocumented Youth in Maximum Security Detention, Ed. by Seth Michelson. Race and Modern Architecture: A Critical History from the Enlightenment to the Present. Ed. by Irene Cheng, Charles L. Davis, Mabel O. Wilson. The 13th - Netlfix Just Mercy - Prime Video Midnight Gospel - Netflix

Recorded 05/21 In this episode, I talk to Sophie Hochhäusl an Assistant Professor for Architectural History and Theory at the Weitzman School of Design, about the discourse on collectivity, dissent, and difference in architecture. We also discuss her work on modern architecture and urban culture in Austria, Germany, and the United States and the spatial histories of dissidence and resistance art, intersectional feminism, queer theory, and gender studies, as well as labor theory and environmental history. In our discussion, we commented on how the borders or the margins are spaces were resistance occurs and how these are spaces for dissent. We also talked about teaching the cannon and how to change the narratives we perpetuate in the classrooms, and how other media like children's books, like her own Pinsel, Paula and the chatting houses: Viennese architecture for small and tall people, could be helpful tools to teach architecture. Recommendations. Dark Times (Finstere Zeiten) By Elisabeth Freundlich The City We Became. By N.K. Jemisin Betty on HBO. A diverse group of young women navigate their lives through the male-dominated world of skateboarding in New York City. ‌Starring Dede Lovelace, Moonbear, Nina Moran, Ajani Russell, and Rachelle Vinberg, from Crystal Moselle's original film Skate Kitchen. Euphoria on HBO, follows a group of high school students as they navigate love and friendships in a world of drugs, sex, trauma, and social media. Actor and singer Zendaya leads an ensemble cast including Hunter Schafer, Jacob Elordi, Algee Smith and Sydney Sweeney

Recorded: June, 03. 2020. Part 2 of 2 In this second part of the episode with Machely Flores, we continue talking about forced disappearance and corruption in México and the United States. We talked about Black Lives Matter, the movement, and its relation to demands made in México by the mothers of disappeared people by the government in the state of Coahuila. We also talked about grassroots movements against social violence and the agency of citizens to reappropriate public space. We talked about Hamilton and the foundation of the US, the ideas behind it, and how as good as they were, they were not for everybody. We also talked about teaching history, western and non-western, feminist history, decolonial history, and other histories. Recommendations: A History of Women in the West by Michelle Perrot H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald Portrait of a Lady on Fire on Amazon Prime The danger of a single story | Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie El Dollop All things Comedy Podcast Machely will be co-hosting with me every couple of months to do check-up episodes were we discuss current events.

Recorded: June, 03. 2020. Part 1 of 2 In this first part of the episode with Machely Flores, we talked about forced disappearance and corruption in México and the United States. We talked about Black Lives Matter, the movement, and its relation to demands made in México by the mothers of disappeared people by the government in the state of Coahuila. We also talked about grassroots movements against social violence and the agency of citizens to reappropriate public space. Machelly Flores Reyna Master in Public Administration from Tec de Monterrey and holds a Master's in Political Ethics from the Universidad de Deusto in Bilbao Spain. She has been a professor in the social sciences department teaching World History, History of México, International Panorama, Contemporary Latin America, Society, Economy and Politics of México at Tec de Monterrey for more than 10 years. She held the professorship of Citizenship and Democracy at Tec de Monterrey and is currently a full-time research professor at the Universidad Autonoma de Coahuila's School of Social Sciences where she teaches History of the United States history and History of political ideas. Machely was a visiting professor at Kempten University in Germany where she taught Ethics and Politics in México and also Political History of México. While serving as coordinator of special projects at the Municipal Planning Institute in Saltillo Coahuila she was responsible to developed the Municipal Risk Assessment Atlas in coordination with Tec de Monterrey Campus Monterrey's Environmental Quality Laboratory Together with the National Electoral Institute, she developed the Certification in History of Democracy in México of which she was the speaker and academic coordinator. Machely is currently conducting research in Regional and International History in two projects: History of the populations of the Patos Basins and History of the United States. She is a PhD student in Sciences and Humanities for interdisciplinary development offered by the UAdeC in conjunction with the Centro de Investigaciones Interdisciplinarias en Ciencias y Huamnidades of UNAM. Machely will be co-hosting with me every couple of months to do check-up episodes were we discuss current events.

Recorded- June 02, 2020. In this episode, I talk with a fellow fronteriza Edna Ledesma, an assistant professor in the Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Edna Ledesma's interests revolve around city design, planning, public spaces, markets, hybrid space, incrementally, and human geography. We talked about how cities are instigators for social injustice and how we as designers have an agency to make a change. We discussed Edna's interesting and extensive research on mercados, fleamarkets, swapmeets, and tianguis, their historical relevance to the Latinx communities but also their current and future potential as models for border economies. We discussed the disengagement of the design fields on social equity and inclusion and how academia could model a future involvement of the design fields.  Recommendations  The Uses of Disorder: Personal Identity and City Life  by Richard Sennett Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez, Anna Sak (Translator) Gentefied - Netflix

In this episode, I talk with a fellow Juarense Paloma Vianey, a Mexican artist doing an MFA at Cornell University. We talked about her experience of being a visual artist from the México/US border, specifically Cd. Juárez - El Paso borderland. How she started producing art and what her art is trying to transmit and portray about the fronterizo experience. We also relate the current quarantine to a self-imposed lockdown that took her to start painting back in the day “When the violence was very abrupt, that meant that I had to find myself at home. I couldn't go out much and I said to myself, ‘I don't want to just do nothing, I have to do something,' so that's when I started training to be an artist and I started painting more. I wanted to depict a composition that could portray the culture and Juárez in a positive context instead of ‘Juárez is world-wide known for terrible things.' So what I wanted to do was take all that negativity and transform it into something positive.” Recommendations Liars by Malcon Gladwell A bit of relief podcast  The New Yorker cartoons Fleabag on Prime Video Links https://www.instagram.com/palomavianey/ https://www.theprospectordaily.com/2018/05/01/top-10-senior-takes-her-art-to-international-exhibits/ http://news.utep.edu/studying-art-history-at-the-met/

In this episode, I talk with Aldo Solano Rojas, a Mexican Art Historian and Ph.D. student from the Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas at UNAM about his book on the Playgrounds of modern México, the public space, and the city. We also talked about centralism, the eternal fight between art historians and architectural historians and the the marginality of the history of urbanism, public spaces, and parks. We discussed figures like Luis Barragán, Mario Pani, and Jan Gehl among others. Please read his articles on coolhunter, and visit his Tumblr! Recommendations. Man and Play by Roger Callois Netflix's Midnight Gospell

In this episode I talk to Elisheva Levy, a Ph.D. candidate at UPenn, about heteronormative households, the concept of "home"? We question nuclear families' normality while delving into ideas of pre-modern and modern communist habitat (while dealing with Marxist's concepts of primitive communism). Ideology and the lack of it in capitalism remain a discussion during the whole conversation, while we also talk about the possibilities of change of the paradigms of communal living for the future. Recommendations. Alexandra Kollontai - was a Marxist revolutionary, first as a member of the Mensheviks, then from 1915 on as a Bolshevik (later Communist). Serving as the People's Commissar for Welfare in the Bolshevik government in 1917–1918, she became the first woman in history to become an official member of a governing cabinet. In 1922 Kollontai was appointed as a diplomatic counselor to the Soviet legation in Norway, and soon received a promotion to head the legation, one of the first women to hold such a position. https://www.marxists.org/archive/kollonta/index.htm https://nyti.ms/29R2miP https://www.jacobinmag.com/2019/08/alexandra-kollontai-soviet-womens-rights-revolution-zhenotdel-uzbekistan https://spartacus-educational.com/RUSkollontai.htm Survivor Israel Season 10 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1796301/episodes?season=10&ref_=tt_eps_sn_5

In this episode, I talk with Ali Alyousefi, a Ph.D. candidate at UPenn, about how literature, stories, poems, autobiographies, and other marginal texts are making a comeback to the field of History + Theory of Architecture. Concepts like Paul Preciado's "Autotheory" -Testo Junkie- that appears in texts like Argonauts and those discussed in feminist scholarship are touched upon. We discuss the state of the field and how the inclusion of these other genres is breaking the canon, making it more accessible to a broader public and hopefully more socially engaged. Recommendations Cities of Salt is the first in a five-part series of novels set in an unnamed kingdom in the Arabian Peninsula in the 1930s; published in Arabic (as Mudun al-mtfh: al-tih) in 1984, in English in 1987. Netflix's Babylon Berlin URLS https://www.design.upenn.edu/architecture/graduate/people/ali-alyousefi https://alialyousefi.blogspot.com/ https://www.feministpress.org/books-n-z/testo-junkie https://www.graywolfpress.org/books/argonauts https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/118591/cities-of-salt-by-abdelrahman-munif/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4378376/

Hello I'm your host German Pallares and I welcome you to the margins...