Final+Project

Hello, I’m Daniela Hernandez and I’m going to talk about the principal characteristics of the architecture in Venezuela and try to explain why is it so special. I’ll be linking these characteristics to the concepts learned in the English course, such as: colour, light, texture, acoustics, horizontal and vertical circulation, rhythm, space and scale. First of all, I have to write about the particularities of Caracas as a city. Caracas is a city located in Venezuela and where the vertical buildings prevail. This city has characteristics of an overcrowded city and it wasn’t planned for its growing. Color is one of the most important topics to describe Venezuelan architecture, because, as in other caribbean countries, it’s present in almost all of the autochthonous architecture as a sign of joy and encouragement of the Venezuelan people. The use of color gives the city a touch of warmth very representative of this country. All of the buildings are conceive to use the natural light. Venezuelan is located in the tropic and thanks to this condition we can enjoy the natural light all year long, so the architecture in Venezuela tends to be very well illuminated and presents a great use of the natural light because the designs are made to allow its entry. However, some streets and avenues are not very well lit and this affects all the drivers and people who need to walk in the nights. Rhythm is presented in some of the most iconic buildings in Caracas, one of the great examples of rhythm on the Venezuelan Architecture can be found at the Caracas Palace Hotel, and is given by stripes that represent the windows at equal intervals. Another example of this characteristic are “Las Torres del Silencio” due to its symmetry and proportion.

In the Venezuelan architecture the texture is so important because it presents a wide variety. We can see buildings like “U.C.V.” that presents mosaics walls decor given by the texturing of concrete, or we can talk about another kind of building like “El cubo negro” which presents an smooth façade made almost totally of glass. These variations just makes Caracas a not monotonous city and provides the difference between buildings making it more varied and diverse. Analyzing the circulation in some of Caracas buildings and boulevards to show how the tendency is, we can see that the vertical circulation dominates in buildings because it allows producing more living space in a smaller portion of land, and Caracas doesn’t have much free land, and this is why the vertical buildings have seeing as a solution for this overcrowded city. Also, there’re spaces that presents horizontal circulation in the city, like “boulevard de Sabana Grande”, that help with the transit of people who need walk to displaces. Another good example of horizontal circulation is “Ciudad Universitaria” designed by Carlos Raúl Villanueva and it’s one of the most important constructions in Caracas because it was declared “Universal Heritage of Humanity” by UNESCO. This one can be transited by people walking and cars.

The Exterior Space is defined as “Territory needed by communities and peoples to develop”. In an overcrowded city like Caracas is really difficult to find this kind of spaces, but even so, there can be found with some areas that characterize Caracas from other cities. For example there is an enormous and beautiful mountain surrounding the city called “Waraira Repano” which present an easy way for Venezuelan people to have some fun and practicing sports, also there’re parks closer to the city like “Generalisimo Francisco de Miranda” and some others, all of these places connect people with the nature and take individuals out of the chaos of the big city. Also there can be found lots of plazas and public parks in the middle of the city, that presents an alternative for children, adults and pets to have fun, play games or practicing sports.

In conclussion, the architecture in Venezuela is quite unique because it presents a special mix of components mentioned above. All the designs respond to a context and this is why there’re these particular architectural works in the city.

The urban planning has failed in the arrangement of this city, and is needed a development plan to organize and improve traffic problems in the city. media type="file" key="holajkjj.3gp" 