Archinect - News

How Havana tries to come out of its crumbling shell without betraying Cuba's revolutionary roots

2016-04-25T19:26:00-04:00

I’m on a walking tour with two dozen international architects and urban designers, as we imagine a theoretical future for Havana. The walk is part of a charrette—an exercise that gives professionals and community members a voice on urban development when there is no formal mechanism to do so, as has been the case in crumbling Havana. [...] As the Cuban government slowly loosens restrictions on private enterprise, one wonders if the gentrification of Havana is inevitable.

China and US compete to invest in a newly-opened Cuba

2016-03-17T15:39:00-04:00

The American government’s relaxation of its 56-year embargo against Cuba and the inauguration of direct flights from China has triggered a race to invest in the island’s tourist infrastructure [...] There are reports that China’s Suntime International Economic Trading Company will go ahead with a luxury hotel in Havana, in a joint venture Cuba’s state tourism agency, Cubanacán. The size of the hotel is reported variously at 600 to 650 rooms, with Suntime investing up to $150m

While diplomatic relations between Cuba and the US have thawed during the Obama administration, the embargo still remains in place effectively. But companies like Marriott International (whose chief executive will accompany the President on his historic visit to the island later this month) are optimistic that Cuba will soon be a major investment opportunity.

China, meanwhile, also has it's eyes on the (Raúl) Castro-ruled country as well. For the sake of Havana and other Cuban cities' remarkable architectural heritage, here's hoping Cuba doesn't become the site for an ersatz-hotel-arms-race.

For related news, take a look at some other Cuba-specific Archinect content:

It's Money March here on Archinect! Have you ...

Restoring El Capitolio

2013-09-13T11:42:00-04:00

the Communist deputies will convene beneath weighty chandeliers and a newly gold-coated dome. They will step through marble-floored halls, lined with giant shining bronze candelabras from Tiffany's..."I believe it will be a jewel of Havana," argues Mr Leal, unfazed by the oddity.

Sarah Rainsford reports in from Cuba where Raul Castro wants the Capitolio Nacional (designed by Raúl Otero and Eugenio Rayneri Piedra) to become the new home of the National Assembly.

What Is It About Cuba's National Art Schools?

2012-02-28T04:28:00-05:00

After I mentioned attending a screening of the new documentary film, Unfinished Spaces, about the National Art Schools in Havana, [my dinner companion] burst out: “What is it about the Art Schools? Why do foreigners love them so much? There’s nothing Cuban about those buildings. They’re ridiculous architecture for Havana and I always hated them.”

On Places, architect Belmont Freeman reconsiders the National Art Schools in Havana — the subject of John Loomis's groundbreaking book Revolution of Forms, as well as a new documentary film and an opera, and a cult favorite among architecture buffs. Does the North American obsession with the art schools carry a whiff of latent colonialism, or even racism? Freeman argues that the dramatic saga of the art schools has obscured the larger narrative of post-revolutionary Cuban architecture.