Nearly 200 students from 18 countries are currently working on TSL Costa Rica 2019 in the city of Santa Cruz, organized by the Latin American Coordinator of Architecture Students (CLEA) and the local organization Estudiantes de Arquitectura en Movimiento (EAM).
Since 2002, the Latin American Social Workshop (TSL) has invited architecture students from across Latin America to join forces with public and private entities, architects, collectives, workshop leaders, teachers, and members of civil society to think, design, and build public facilities throughout our diverse Spanish-speaking regions.
Under the theme Situated Knowledges—a concept coined by American feminist scholar Donna Haraway—this year's students are working alongside the communities of Jerusalem, Chorotega, and Río Cañas Viejo in Santa Cruz. Located on Costa Rica's Nicoya Peninsula, the city is home to one of the world's five blue zones, populations characterized by high longevity, where many residents live past ninety and one hundred years of age.
The official activities of the 16th TSL began on Wednesday, April 10, with the first of three rounds of conferences and lectures hosted across the Universidad Internacional de las Américas (UIA), the Colegio Federado de Ingenieros y Arquitectos, and the Research City at the Universidad de Costa Rica. Over three sessions, architects from across Latin America presented their work in social architecture, urban design, signature architecture, public space, middle-class architecture, and cooperative design in Costa Rica, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela, and France.
True to tradition, during this week of work, students analyze, design, share, manage, and build lasting architectural interventions with urban impact, guided by experienced workshop leaders:
Lapa + Congo Workshop / Arquitectura del Sur Colectivo (Argentina) + TALLER25 (Chile) + Constellations Studio (France) + Florencia Lathrop
Tutors: Sebastián Luco + Santiago Bravo
Community leader: Johanna Chaves
Community: Río Cañas Viejo, Santa Cruz
Following an intensive process of discussion and community outreach, the Lapa and Congo workshop teams joined forces on an intervention around the sports field of the Río Cañas Viejo community. Workshop leaders and students are building a community hub for sports events and children's recreational activities, providing shade in an area where temperatures can reach 38°C (100°F).
Buey Workshop / Taller de Diseño Cooperativo (TDCoop) (Argentina)
Tutor: Damián Quizhpe
Community leader: Martín Obando
Community: Barrio Chorotega, Santa Cruz
As explained by the TDCoop team, initial work sessions revealed that the Jerusalem neighborhood lacked adequate children's facilities. Next to the local soccer field, workshop leaders and students are working to refurbish a side shed, create a playground, and build structures that provide shaded areas.
Baula Workshop / PICO Colectivo (Venezuela) + A-01 (Netherlands-Costa Rica)
Tutor: Jorge Chamorro
Community leader: Martín Obando
Community: Barrio Jerusalem, Santa Cruz
Marcos Coronel (PICO Colectivo) explains that the workshop's plot has "the spirit of a public space." While the community originally wanted to build a community hall, the workshop leaders and students, in dialogue with the neighbors, decided instead to build a flexible structure that "allows for the free appropriation of space." The project provides basic facilities while defining the side and rear property lines. The back of the property, which borders a forest belonging to a local church, has been enclosed with translucent panels. "It’s about translating the forest as a metaphor, building an artificial steel forest that will allow vines and climbing plants to colonize it," Coronel explains.
Follow our special coverage of TSL Costa Rica 2019 on ArchDaily.
This article was written by Nicolás Valencia. The translation is powered by AI.
