Contemporary architecture and awards in the Americas

Authors

  • Manuella Andrade Federal University of Alagoas, Maceió, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0728-2317
  • Ruth Verde-Zein Mackenzie Presbyterian University, São Paulo, Brazil

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22320/07196466.2025.43.068.09

Keywords:

contemporary architecture, awards, analysis, culture, projec

Abstract

Through the winners of the Rogelio Salmona Latin American Architecture Prize (RSLAP) and the Mies Crown Hall American Prize (MCHAP), this article aims to reflect on contemporary architecture regarding what the winning works say about the two awards, but also to point out underlying issues that reveal the nature of the latter, especially the MCHAP. Using an observation protocol, the works were analyzed individually, and the results revealed five recurring principles that structure the projects, demonstrating an exemption from the ideological distinctions of the awards and highlighting the dominance of open spaces as a qualitative characteristic in architectural Latinity. This distinction between the awards is the antechamber to the Latin American reflection, conducted after analyzing the works, which revealed an initial contradiction and a subsequent Latin twist in the MCHAP, and a continued coherence in the RSLAP, which is little valued. From MCHAP's credibility, the reflection glimpsed a risky ambiguity in the awards, where recognition is disguised as merit, to be usurped by the geopolitics of knowledge that contemporaneity needs to unveil.

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Author Biographies

Manuella Andrade, Federal University of Alagoas, Maceió, Brazil

Doctor of Architecture and Urban Planning
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning

Ruth Verde-Zein, Mackenzie Presbyterian University, São Paulo, Brazil

Doctor of Architecture and Urban Planning
Professor and researcher at the Faculty of Architecture

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Published

2026-02-05

How to Cite

Andrade, M., & Verde-Zein, R. (2026). Contemporary architecture and awards in the Americas. ARQUITECTURAS DEL SUR, 43(68), 174–193. https://doi.org/10.22320/07196466.2025.43.068.09

Issue

V.43, N.68 (JULY 2025)

Section

Article

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Copyright (c) 2026 Manuella Andrade, Ruth Verde-Zein

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