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Thought Paper on South American Architecture

South American architecture is a rich collection of works of different styles, whether foreign or vernacular, that is heavily influenced by its equally rich history that began when peoples from Eurasia migrated to the Americas through land bridges. This migration meant that South America had a late start in technological advances and therefore developed a very different culture of its own as compared to the cultures and civilizations in the old world. Societies could be agricultural, complex agricultural, or hunter-gatherers. Their architecture would range from wooden dwellings to stone houses. When the Europeans came, disease struck the Americas and therefor subjugation became easier for the invaders. Assimilation to European culture was enforced and the conquered cultures adopted the cultures of their conquerors. For South America, this was Iberian culture. As a result, various European styled architectural works, referred to as Colonial Architecture, were erected in South America. They include gubernatorial palaces, churches, and stone dwellings. A few centuries after colonization, the native inhabitants rose up against the colonial authorities and declared themselves independent. Eventually, they would succeed and this would have dramatic effects on the society, culture, and architecture of South America. As a result of this history, we could divide South American Architecture into three: PreColumbian (as in before the discovery of the Americas by Cristoforo Colombo), Colonial, and Modern (where South American Architecture branched off into different directions depending on the country in question). Architecture I found personally intriguing were the architectural ruins of Tiwanaku, the stone ruins of Macchu Picchu, the architecture of the City of Cuzco, the Spanish Royal Palaces and Churches, the Art-Deco Statue of Cristo Redentor in Rio de Janeiro, and the works of Oscar Niemeyer.

*Pictures are from en.wikipedia.org

Architecture of Brasilia

Architecture of Cuzco

Macchu Picchu

Ruins of Tiwanaku

Cristo Redentor - Rio de Janeiro

So Miguel das Misses, Brazil