Archinect - News

The architecture of Cuba's revolutionary (and endangered) National Art Schools

2016-09-13T17:43:00-04:00

Designed by three architects, one Cuban and two Italian, the new schools were constructed in flamboyant, sinuous forms deliberately reflecting the local landscape. Built in brick and terracotta as a pragmatic response to the US embargo of imported steel, ... these were a confident repudiation of Western-style International Modernism. But of the five original schools in the complex, only two were completed, as the deepening relationship with the USSR prompted disdain for such exotic forms

Ricardo Porro, Cuban National Art School Architect, Dies at 89

2014-12-30T13:19:00-05:00

Ricardo Porro, an architect who gave lyrical expression to a hopeful young Cuban revolution in the early 1960s before he himself fell victim to its ideological hardening, died on Thursday in Paris, where he had spent nearly half a century in exile. He was 89. His death was confirmed by friends and associates, including John Loomis, the author of “Revolution of Forms: Cuba’s Forgotten Art Schools.”

School of Modern Dance, by Ricardo Porro

School of Plastic Arts, by Ricardo Porro

To learn more about the Cuban National Art School project and the related documentary Unfinished Spaces, click here.

Plan For Cuban Landmark's Rebirth Sparks Debate

2012-11-04T13:03:00-05:00

Carlos Acosta's plan to inject life into the island's hidebound ballet scene by refurbishing Havana's crumbling dance school and turning it into an international center for culture and dance has ignited controversy for daring to reimagine the original architect's vision. Acosta was visibly frustrated by the flap over what he views as a way to give something back as he prepares to retire from London's Royal Ballet after a celebrated career.

Previously on Archinect: Unfinished Spaces premieres tomorrow night on PBS; Archinect talks to the filmmaker

Unfinished Spaces premieres tomorrow night on PBS; Archinect talks to the filmmaker

2012-10-11T17:54:00-04:00

Unfinished Spaces, a film that we've previously covered here on Archinect, is a documentary about the ambitious Cuban National Art School project, conceived, and ultimately killed, by the revolutionary communist Cuban regime.

In addition to an exhaustive schedule of screenings, it will be televised, for the first time, tomorrow night on PBS (10pm).

In 1961, three young, visionary architects were commissioned by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara to create Cuba's National Art Schools on the grounds of a former golf course in Havana, Cuba. Construction of their radical designs began immediately and the school's first classes soon followed. Dancers, musicians and artists from all over the country reveled in the beauty of the schools, but as the dream of the Revolution quickly became a reality, construction was abruptly halted and the architects and their designs were deemed irrelevant in the prevailing political climate. Forty years later the schools are in use, but remain unfinished and dec...

Foster for Cuban Ballet School, A Dance Of What?

2012-09-11T15:57:00-04:00

"You have to accept that 50 years have gone by, but the changes should be done by the architect who was in charge. If this architect is no longer able, this is another thing. But the last time I saw Garatti, he was thinking clearly. So there's no reason to put him aside. I don't think it's ethical."

British architect Sir Norman Foster jumps on the opportunity to remodel iconic and unfinished Cuban National Art Schools. But one of the the original architects, Roberto Gottardi, is still alive. (via Alexis Navarro)

Also see; Revolution of Forms: Cuba's Forgotten Art Schools by John A. Loomis