After a four-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the Peruvian Architecture Biennial resumed, organized by the Architects' Association of Peru (CAP) based in the Cusco region. Held during the month of October, the biennial focused on the theme "Building the Heritage of the Future," addressing the social responsibility of architects regarding the legacy being built for future generations.
The open call aimed to reward and promote the work of Peruvian architects and recognize their contributions to the various fields of the profession, as well as to showcase their work to the public and demonstrate how they propose solutions to urban and architectural challenges. The jury consisted of Humberto Eliash Diaz (Chile) - president -, Diana Wiesner Ceballos (Colombia), Jorge Luis Marsino Prado (Peru - Chile), Luis Enrique Longhi Traverso (Peru), José Luis Beingolea del Carpio (Peru), José García Calderón (Peru), Jorge Pavel Rodríguez Jordán (Peru), Cesar Aguirre Zamalloa (Peru), and Ommid Saberi (USA) - Category 5.
This year, projects and publications were selected across 10 categories, including: Buildings, Urban Design and Landscaping, Territorial Planning and Urban Planning, Heritage Preservation, Sustainable Architecture and Architectural Innovation, Unbuilt Architectural Projects, Public Space, Theory and Criticism / Publication and Research, Undergraduate or Graduate Research Projects, and University-Level Studio Projects. Two lifetime achievement awards were also presented: the Peruvian Architect Lifetime Achievement Award and the Host Region Architect Lifetime Achievement Award.
Each category also features a main award. Key winners include: María Alexia León Angell and Lucho Antonio Marcial Kuehne, who received the "Fernando Belaunde Terry" National Architecture Prize Golden Hexagon for the National Museum of Peru (MUNA); and José Bauer, Augusto Román, and Enrique Santillana, who received the Miguel Rodrigo Mazuré National Prize Steel Hexagon for the revitalization of the monumental building of the French Institute for Andean Studies. The Copper Hexagon was awarded to the books "Living Together in the Amazon in the 21st Century: Urban Planning and Design Guide for Cities in the Peruvian Lowland Jungle" and "Ideas of Habitat".
Notably, the National Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Enrique Ciriani Suito, while the Regional Lifetime Achievement Award (CAP Cusco) was given to Roberto Samanez Argumedo, both honored for their outstanding performance and tireless contributions to the country's development across various fields.
Explore the work of the winners below.
Golden Hexagon, "Arch. Fernando Belaunde Terry" National Prize
National Museum of Peru (MUNA)
Authors: María Alexia León Angell, Lucho Antonio Marcial Kuehne.
The project was approached with conviction, awareness, and maturity. It represents a commitment to monumental architecture, materialized with structural soundness, constructive confidence, and a striking formal resolution that transforms its site. It proposes strategies for using terraces and roofs as dynamic spaces aligned with its program and associated uses. The jury acknowledges the significance of this public work, the result of a national competition promoted by the state, confirming the role of architecture as a vehicle for national cohesion and cultural identity.
Silver Hexagon, "Arch. Enrique Seoane Ros" National Prize
Not awarded
Bronze Hexagon, "Arch. Emilio Harth Terré" National Prize
Not awarded
Steel Hexagon, "Arch. Miguel Rodrigo Mazuré" National Prize
Rehabilitation of the Monumental Building of the French Institute for Andean Studies
Authors: José Bauer Silva, Augusto Román Moncagatta, Enrique Santillana Ciriani.
The project is recognized for saving a traditional Republican-era house facing the Malecón de los Ingleses in Barranco, which holds great heritage value and significance. It creates a transitional space through a courtyard, allowing a new volume to be incorporated in a sensitive, exemplary, and outstanding manner. The execution of construction details, furniture, and color is exceptional, creating a distinct atmosphere. Additionally, the design successfully provides flexibility of use without compromising the specific character required for each space.
Copper Hexagon, "Arch. Héctor Velarde Bergman" National Prize
Book "Living Together in the Amazon in the 21st Century: Urban Planning and Design Guide for Cities in the Peruvian Lowland Jungle"
Authors: Belén Marie Desmaison Estrada, Kleber Arturo Espinoza Díaz, Kelly Rosmery Jaime Arias, Luciana Gallardo Jara, Ruth Maayra Peña Mendivil, Carolina Rivera.
The Peruvian Amazon has captured attention and gained deserved importance; research and topics addressed with this level of rigor represent valuable contributions to understanding the country's largest, most fragile, and least-known territory.
Book "Ideas of Habitat"
Authors: Edgar Bravo, Frederick Cooper, José Pacheco, Ricardo Herrera.
The graphic selection and documentation of the book are part of the valuable dissemination work of a journal, which, accompanied by meticulous editing, contributes to the knowledge, promotion, and debate on recent Peruvian architecture, positioning it on both the national and international stage. The publisher's support in bringing this project to fruition is also highly commendable.
Sustainable Architecture Award
Construye para Crecer
Authors: Susana Biondi Antunez de Mayolo, René Poggione Gonzáles.
The jury values the comprehensive sustainability proposal linked to the efficiency of water management, energy, and the life cycle of the proposed materials. The project is primarily built using wood. Furthermore, it enriches the outdoor space by creating an artificial wetland that utilizes gray water, contributing to the ecological connectivity of the area.
Unbuilt Architectural Project Award
Not awarded
Public Space Award
Not awarded
Undergraduate and Graduate Research Projects Award
Amunas: Multipurpose Water Retention Infrastructure Facing Scarcity.
Author: Diego Antonio Vivas Huaccho
The project revives an ancestral technique used by High Andean communities to harvest water, ensuring sustainable resource management.
University-Level Projects Award
Not awarded
Architectural Innovation Award
Taller Al Borde - UCAL University (90 students)
Author: Rudolf Giese
Exercising its authority, the jury relocated the project to this category due to its innovative character in the academic field. The jury values this teaching practice, which allows students to assume the social role of the architect and experience collective and collaborative learning during the construction process of their own designs at an early stage of their education. Additionally, the continuity of this process and the experiences accumulated across different learning stages are highly commended.
Below is the list of honorable mentions by category and subcategory:
Category 1: Buildings
1st Place: Huarango House / Fernando Puente Arnao Malpartida, Manuel de Rivero Ruiz, Cesar Becerra
2nd Place: Huayoccari House / Sandra Barclay, Jean Pierre Crousse.
Immersion - El Olivar Pavilion / Patricia Llosa, Adolfo Cortegana.
Honorable Mention: House in Cieneguilla / Christian Hernán Vasquez Sánchez, Milagros Elaine López Mendoza, Joao Gabriel Mestanza.
Honorable Mention:
Mambo Condominium / Co-authors: Nomena Arquitectura / Moris Fleischman Nessin, Diego Franco Coto, Héctor Loli Rizo Patrón, Jorge Sánchez Herrera.
Eucaliptos 383 Building / David Mutal Vermeulen
Balta Porta Multifamily Building / Mario Víctor Bragagnini Rubina.
1st Place: Cabrera Building / Author: Angas Kipa
2nd Place: Lord Cochrane 456 / Authors: Nomena Arquitectura / José Luis Miranda, Moris Fleischman Nessin, Diego Franco Coto, Héctor Loli Rizo Patrón, Jorge Sánchez Herrera.
Honorable Mention: Casamar / Authors: 404 Arquitectura / Israel Ascarruz, Diego Hernández.
Honorable Mention: Olavegoya Residence / Authors: Manuel de Rivero Ruiz, Cesar Becerra Bragagnini, Fernando Puente Arnao Malpartida.
1st Place: National Museum of Peru (MUNA) / Authors: María Alexia Leon Angell, Lucho Antonio Marcial Kuehne (Golden Hexagon)
2nd Place: Franklin Delano Roosevelt School - Elementary / Authors: Llosa Cortegana Arquitectos S.A.C. / Patricia María Llosa Bueno, Rodolfo Jaime Cortegana Morgan, Omar Calderón – Perkins Eastman.
1st Place: Señor Limón Ceviche Restaurant / Author: Hugo Jesús Tafur Cerna.
Honorable Mention:
Limaná and Mapama - Holiday Inn / Authors: Sandra Barclay, Jean Pierre Crousse.
Holiday Inn / Authors: René Poggione González, Susana Biondi Antunez de Mayolo.
Category 2: Urban Design and Landscaping
Honorable Mention: Plaza Maristas / Authors: José Bauer Silva, Juan Caycho Berrocal, Augusto Román Moncagatta.
Category 3: Territorial Planning and Urban Planning
Not awarded
Category 4: Heritage Preservation
1st Place: Plaza Francia Recovery Proposal / Authors: Ana Sofía Chávez Villar, Luis Martin Bogdanovich Mendoza, Juan Pablo El Sous Zavala, Héctor Augusto Walde Salazar, Reinhard Augustin Burneo.
2nd Place: Recovery of the Monumental Urban Environment of Moquegua's Plaza of Armas / Authors: Raúl Sarur Menaut Manchego.
1st Place: Restoration of San Juan Bautista de Salamanca Temple / Authors: José Richard Benavides Rodríguez, Gabriel Ramiro Damiani Lazo.
2nd Place: Traditional Cusco House, Restoration and Rehabilitation: Housing - Lodging / Authors: Miriam Yisela Ochoa Linda, Luis Enrique Estrada Yberico.
Honorable Mention: Recovery of the Casa Palacio Property / Authors: Erik Vilchez Ordoñez, Juan Carlos Miranda Cárdenas.
1st Place: French Institute for Andean Studies / Authors: José Bauer Silva, Augusto Román Moncagatta, Enrique Santillana Ciriani (Steel Hexagon)
2nd Place: The Recovery of Hospicio Bartolomé Manrique: Restoration and Adaptive Reuse / Authors: Reinhard Augustin Burneo, Gian Carlo Figari Gutiérrez.
Honorable Mention: Villa Barranco II / Authors: Juan Julio García Rivas, Illary Yolanda Vasquez Bullón, Augusta Maria Pastor Besoain.
Category 5: Sustainable Architecture
Honorable Mention: Parque Club / Author: Alejandro Levano Durand
1st Place: Construye para Crecer / Authors: Susana Biondi Antunez de Mayolo, René Poggione González. (Overall Category 5 Winner)
Category 6: Unbuilt Architectural Project
Not awarded
Not awarded
Honorable Mention: CETPRO "Rehabilitation of the Educational Service of the Rosa Muro de Barragán Technical-Productive Education Center (CETPRO), Ferreñafe District and Province, Lambayeque Department" / Authors: Andrés Gustavo Carmen Burga, Helmont Jose Anibal Cueva Cabanillas, Wendy Zulyn Idrogo Clavo.
Honorable Mention:
Bicentennial Project / Author: Javier Artadi.
Remodeling of Juliaca's Plaza de Armas / Authors: Favio Chumpitaz Requena, Jaime Sarmiento Pastor, Johana Martinez Pineda, German Paipa Camargo.
FIEE UNI Graduate School / Authors: Fernando Tuesta Llaja, Blecker Ryan Ruiz Vizarreta.
Spiritual Retreat - Memory / Authors: Christian Hernán Vásquez Sánchez, Milagros Elaine López Mendoza, Joao Gabriel Mestanza.
Category 7: Public Space
Not awarded
Not awarded
Category 8: Theory and Criticism / Publication and Research
Honorable Mention:
Heritage Assessment of Neighborhood Unit No. 3 (UV3) from the Perspective of Residents' Sense of Place (SOP). / Author: Víctor Daniel Benza Tassara.
The Plaza in the Hispanic-Andean Cities of Peru. / Authors: Leonel Ruben Perales Simeón, Máximo Juvenal Orellana, Tapia Diego Carrera Cabeza, Beatriz Andrea Rivera López.
Not awarded
Not awarded
1st Place:
Caseritos – Living Together in the Amazon in the 21st Century: Urban Planning and Design Guide for Cities in the Peruvian Lowland Jungle / Authors: Belén Marie Desmaison Estrada, Kleber Arturo Espinoza Diaz, Kelly Rosmery Jaime Arias, Luciana Gallardo Jara, Ruth Mayra Peña Mendivil, Carolina Rivera. (Copper Hexagon)
Manantial Moche - Ideas of Habitat / Authors: Edgar Bravo, Frederick Cooper, José Pacheco, Ricardo Herrera. (Copper Hexagon)
2nd Place:
Behind Design: Latin American Schools of Architecture and the Modern Movement / Author: Fánel Regina Contreras Guevara.
Transformations of Indigenous Architecture in the Madre de Dios Basin, Peru / Authors: Tanith Olórtegui del Castillo, Klaus Rummenhoeller, José María Valcuende del Río.
Honorable Mention: Environmental Atlas of Arequipa / Author: Carlos Renzo Zeballos Velarde.
Category 9: Undergraduate and Graduate Research Projects
1st Place:
Amunas: Multipurpose Water Retention Infrastructure Facing Scarcity. / Author: Diego Antonio Vivas Huaccho (Overall Category 9 Winner)
Abolishing the Communal School: Digital Landscapes of Communal Learning / Author: Fabián Vergara
1st Place: Globalization and Localism in the Discourse and Work of Peruvian Architecture: The Theme of Cultural Identity (1990-2015). / Author: César Richard Castañeda Silva.
2nd Place: Contemporary Architecture of Cusco: Second Half of the 20th Century. / Author: Darío Sosa Soto.
Honorable Mention: Architecture, Caricature, and Criticism in Peru: Caricature as Architectural Criticism, Analysis of the Work of 5 Architects. / Author: Marco Antonio Monge Jiménez.
Category 10: University-Level Studio Projects
Honorable Mention: A.MAKK45 - Just Transition - Cutervo National Park. / Author: Arik Mark Castro Fernández.
Category 11: Architectural Innovation
1st Place: Memoria I - Nuevo Amanecer Living Memory House. / Authors: Rudolf Giese, Taller Al Borde - UCAL University (90 students). (Overall Category 11 Winner)
Honorable Mention: Pisco - You Tower / Authors: Susana Biondi Antunez de Mayolo, René Poggione González.
*Results according to the updated official record submitted by the CAP National Council and CAP Regional Cusco. Images provided by the CAP National Council and CAP Regional Cusco where indicated.
This article was written by Victoria Riquelme. The translation is powered by AI.
