Reading "Poéticas Colectivas" is a unique experience: the pages divide into two, three, and then become one. The boundaries of the pages dissolve, and both knowledge and architectural works intersect on both a literal level—the pages—and a theoretical one—the ideas.
This book by Bisman Ediciones brings together the work of Matéricos Periféricos and Arquitectura del Sur, two collectives of Rosario-based architects with shared ideals.
Matéricos Periféricos was founded in 2001. It is a collective of architecture professionals and students led by Ana Valderrama and Marcelo Barrale, working toward spatial equity in Latin American cities. Focusing their interventions on the Rosario Metropolitan Area, they have completed more than 20 works, including a school, a radio station, a community club, a bridge, viewpoints, and grandstands, to name just a few. Their work seeks to enrich the lives of communities and neighborhoods through the possibilities offered by architecture. Matéricos Periféricos has received several awards for contributions that have helped redefine professional and academic practice.
Arquitectura del Sur, meanwhile, was founded by Alejandra Buzaglo and Daniel Viu as a project and construction platform that rethinks how to act in public space. It includes the participation of students and professors from the National University of Rosario, as well as human rights organizations and social movements. Through community rooms, murals, photographic exhibitions, furniture, and public squares—among other works—the group intervenes in public space to honor the memory of key events in the country's history and its rights. The collective has been invited to share its message in several countries and has received both national and international awards.
“The word Poetry shares the same etymological origin with the word Poïesis: both derive from the ancient Greek term ποίησις or “making.” Poetry was, first, a verb, an action, and that is why we understand poetic work as an act.”
“Poéticas Colectivas” reminds us, once again, of what Rosario's architecture is made of.
This article was written by Mariana Etulain. The translation is powered by AI.
