On October 14, the 28th edition of the Latin American Meeting of Architecture Students (ELEA) began in San Juan, Argentina. Under the theme "Resilience – Territories and Challenges," architecture students from across Latin America are gathering to share knowledge, ideas, and experiences. The event features academic activities such as presentations, lectures, and exhibitions, alongside cultural and teamwork activities designed to promote collective participation, integration, exchange, and learning.
Since 1990, the local Organizing Committee, together with the Latin American Coordinator of Architecture Students—currently comprised of Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Peru, and Chile—has organized the Latin American Meeting of Architecture Students (ELEA) every year. While hosted in various cities across member nations, such as Ciudad del Este, Colonia, and Córdoba, non-member countries also participate. Students gather at a venue called Ciudad ELEA, built and adapted for temporary use.
Official activities began on Saturday with an opening walk representing the participants' first contact with San Juan, touring some of the city's most significant and socially defining landmarks. To represent each member country and foster cultural exchange, celebrations are held each night, alongside additional evening events for participants who are not members of the Latin American Coordinator of Architecture Students (CoLEA).
Keynote Lectures
Throughout the week, keynote lectures related to the meeting's theme will feature speakers from the member countries of CoLEA Southern Cone (Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay). Speakers include Alejandro Csome (Argentina), Nicolás Bares (Argentina), Keiji Ishibashi (Paraguay), Alejandro Alcázar (Costa Rica), Betiana Cuadra (Uruguay), Jaime Ovando Cid (Chile), and Luis Longhi (Peru).
Roundtables
The roundtables provide spaces for discussion and debate aimed at reaching specific conclusions on the various themes. Participants include Alejandro Csome, Celina Villalba, faculty from the Earth Construction Chair at FAUD, Mauricio Vellio, Agustina Iñiguez (Editor of ArchDaily en Español), the Equity, Gender, and Care Commission, and Liber Menéndez along with Raúl Aldana.
Construction Workshops
Focusing on sustainable infrastructure, the construction workshops propose the intervention and appropriation of public spaces. They encourage participation and awareness through waste reuse and environmental science, addressing human attitudes toward the environment and interpersonal relationships. The "Jardín de Afectos" (Garden of Affections), led by Miguel Martínez and Alejandro Alcázar, proposes an open system with elements that concentrate specific potentials, utilizing an assembly-based and unfinished logic to establish a process. Other proposals include "Construyendo espacios amigables" (Building Friendly Spaces) by Facundo Brignani and Nicolás Lopez, which focuses on modular and environmentally friendly designs integrated with green spaces, pathways, and recreational areas, and "Cartoneando" by Gonzalo Origoni, which focuses on building temporary furniture using corrugated cardboard as the primary material.
Urban Action Workshops
The urban action workshops aim to generate ideas, projects, or interventions oriented toward the development of urban space at the local and metropolitan scales, contributing to the meeting's legacy and the learning of each participant. Led by Martin Funes and Benjamin Martinez, the "Resiliencia tecnológica" (Technological Resilience) workshop features a physical/digital intervention project utilizing new technologies and offline communication methods. Participants compile a dataset to train an Artificial Intelligence model, collaboratively generating synthetic images to be displayed in the urban environment as wheatpaste murals. These murals will provide access to additional information via QR codes to encourage dialogue and reflection on these topics.
Social Action Workshops
The social action workshops aim to establish cooperative alliances with institutions, cultural associations, student collectives, and groups dedicated to academic and cultural projects. Lucia Boucher's "Me lata" workshop aims to promote environmental awareness and reduce waste in Ciudad ELEA by collecting and recycling empty cans during the meeting. Through a collective design process, these waste materials are transformed into a vertical garden of aromatic and medicinal herbs, revitalizing the space and promoting environmental commitment.
Alternative Workshops
Drawing from various disciplines complementary to architecture, design, and urbanism, the alternative workshops address the meeting's theme by engaging the community through creative expression. Featured workshops include "Architectural and Urban Photography" by Eleazar Cuadros, "Bachata" by Deybis Caro Palacios, "Drawing Time" by Marina Frúgoli, and "Cyanotype" by Gusman Berretta and Fabricio Bitencourt.
This article was written by Agustina Iñiguez. The translation is powered by AI.
