Tensions On Display at the Costa Rican Architecture Biennale

Interplays Between Expanding Practices and the Institutionalization of Architectural Exhibitions in Costa Rica, 1992–2022

Bibliographic Data

ID21875559
AuthorsNatalia Solano-Meza (0000-0001-8447-9167, Universidad de Costa Rica, corresponding author), José Daniel Picado García (0000-0001-5632-0239, Universidad de Costa Rica)
Year2024
Volume12
Issue3-4
Pages325-347
Publication date2024-10-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueArchitecture and Culture (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2050-7836 • E-ISSN: 2050-7828
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/20507828.2025.2501338
OpenAlexW4411377672
LanguageEN
References cited10

In 2022, the Costa Rican Museum of Contemporary Arts and Design (MADC) inaugurated the exhibition “A Project of Trends: 30 Years of Architecture Biennales in Costa Rica.” Using the MADC’s retrospective as a starting point, this paper studies the dynamics of architectural exhibitions in Costa Rica, specifically exploring the context and tensions surrounding the establishment of the Costa Rican Architecture Biennale (BACR). By analyzing the history of the BACR’s foundation, internal organization and awarding patterns, the article examines the conflicting forces emerging from encounters between architecture’s intellectual sphere, late modernization processes, and the creation of regulatory frameworks, classification systems, and organizational codes that inevitably stem from consolidated institutions such as professional associations. Drawing information from public archives and private collections, interviews, and interdisciplinary scholarship, this study offers insights into the tense interplays between architectural practice, disciplinary debates, and institutionalization present at the BACR

Aesthetics · Art · Civil engineering · Exhibition · Institutionalisation · Landscape architecture · Political science · Sociology · Visual arts · Architecture, Art, Education · Engineering · Law · Architecture

Tools

Open DOI