"The Sense of Place in South American Colonial and Contemporary Architecture"

By Germán Téllez
Instituto "Carlos Arbeláez Camacho" para el Patrimonio Arquitectónico y Urbano, Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia

Part I
Some observations on the peculiarity of the theme of the Colloquium, as seen from outside the world of theoretical criticism.

Part II
Critical observations on the sense of place in urbanism and architecture of the colonial period in south and central America ? The relationships between natural sites and artificial volumes and spaces in the Spanish empire from the 16th to the 18th centuries ? The cultural encounter between indigenous and European senses of place, space and geography ? The importance of memory in the sense of place ? The social dimension of place and space during the colonial period.

Part III
The break in architectural tradition and sense of place during the 19th century in South America and particularly in Colombia ?
Modernity, eclecticism and political revolution ? The cultural movement away from Spain ? The 20th century as a backdrop for
yet another radical change from eclecticism to international influences in Colombia ? The decadence of the sense of place in contemporary urbanism and its abandonment in fashionable architecture ? The recovery of the oldest traditions of the sense of place in a few exceptions to the rule, in late 20th century ? The sense of place in the work of a fine Colombian architect: Rogelio Salmona.