Jorge Glusberg

(See Volume 1 for my description of the ten-volume World Architecture 1900-2000 books.)

Unlike the first volume, devoted to Canada and the United States, the 100 Latin American projects in this second volume are not so evenly distributed across the century. There are less than ten buildings in the 1900-1919 chapter, more than thirty in the 1980-1999 chapter, and roughly an even distribution across the other twenty-year chapters in between. This illustrates the lag in modern architecture taking hold in Latin America, unlike Europe and North America. The buildings in the first chapter are hardly modern; they are wholly neoclassical in appearance and appear out of place in the book series. Those in the last chapter are more what one would expect in books edited by Kenneth Frampton, though some questionable postmodern buildings are found here; out of place, too, they nevertheless give an accurate portrayal of architectural production in Latin America at the time. Project descriptions in this volume are shorter than volume one, but Jorge Glusberg's introduction is equally lengthy, providing historical context that is helpful but could use some illustrations. Speaking of illustrations, the main thing holding these books back from a rating higher than four stars are the photos, which are generally subpar – a missed opportunity for making the exhaustive books also beautiful.… (más)