International School of Design and Architecture

The present research and design proposal departs from a pertinent - or gut - necessity of exhuming, probably in the most literal sense of the term, the remnants of an urban component that, for centuries, defined and determined our ancestors' way of life. It implies the dual validation of a cultural resource whose relevance is defined, beyond its tangible value, by its conscious and deliberate eradication.

The the lobby restoration of Edward Larrabee Barnes' El Monte Apartments in San Juan, Puerto Rico entailed unprecedented efforts in identifying and validating a decorative feature of the recent past manufactured in France en the late 1950's.

The property known as Edificio Comunidad de Orgullo Gay de Puerto Rico (commonly known as Casa Orgulllo) is statewide significant under Criterion A, in the area of Social History, as the building served as the meeting hall for the first gay/lesbian organization properly established in Puerto Rico. Founded in 1974, Comunidad de Orgullo Gay became the first gay/lesbian attempt to organize in order to confront the social, political and legal discrimination against the local LGBTQ community.
Inspired by the 1969’s Stonewall Revolt and its aftermath, Comunidad de Orgullo Gay pioneered the organized resistance against the heterosexual social dominance through political action, outreach educational programs, public exposition and confrontation and social support and assistance to the local LGBTQ community. Although short-lived (disbanded by 1976), and with less than fifty-years in achieving its significance, the Edificio Comunidad Orgullo Gay, evaluated under Criteria Consideration G, is exceptionally important as the home of the organization that spearheaded the gay liberation movement in Puerto Rico.

Casa Márquez (also known, as Hacienda Valentina) is statewide significant under Criterion C in the area of Architecture as the property is a unique example of a residential dwelling from early 19th century, allowing us to comprehend construction techniques and their historic evolution. The house is also significant as it is the only extant example of vernacular residential building representing the 19th century urban development in Hormigueros. As the property was founded by José Marciani in 1823, the period of significance of the resource extends from that date until 1965, the fifty-year cut-off date.

The office buildings for the legislators, adjacent to the Capitolio de Puerto Rico, are significant under Criterion C on a statewide level as they represent an early introduction of the Modern Movement ideals within Puerto Rico’s architectural milieu. By integrating traditional and innovative concepts, materials and construction techniques, their design proves a unique concern towards the island’s tropical context and the preservation of an existing historic monument. Within Toro Ferrer Arquitectos’ body of work, its design stands out as one of their most representative examples of Commonwealth architecture. Despite interior alterations –specifically in the office space layout- and a rehabilitation project carried out in 2004, both buildings retain sufficient integrity to convey their significance.

The Supreme Court Building is significant state wide under Criterion C in the area of architecture as an outstanding example of the Modern Movement and its application within the local context. It is also significant under Criterion A, as the building embodies the historical development of Puerto Rico's highest court of law.

In this interview, one of the youngest architects of our mid-century generation, looks back and, with even more vigour, forward. Here, he recalls his days with Barragan, shares the key to his achievements and anticipates the challenges of the near future.

The Ballajá Infantry Barracks was built in San Juan, Puerto Rico between 1853 and 1864 to house two thousand Spanish officers and soldiers. It has been regarded as the last and larges structure built by the Crown in the Americas. In 2011, major renovations were carried out in the property to turn it now into the first and largest sustainable, historic building in the island.

For decades, the Puerto Rico State Historic Preservation Office has fulfilled its mission of identifying, evaluating, surveying and nominating cultural resources to the National Register of Historic Places. But how exactly does the mid-century legacy in the island has received the same validation through recent efforts?

Created in 1943 by one of Roosevelt's brain trust, Rexford Guy Tugwell, as an emergency agency in during World War II, the Committee on Design of Public Works was not only in charge of preparing the plans and specifications for the vast construction projects to be carried out in Puerto Rico once the conflict ended. It would also become a paradigmatic and influential design laboratory on tropical modernism.

Built in 1936, Victory Garden is locally significant under Criterion C in the area of architecture as an outstanding Spanish Revival building of San Juan, representative of the apartment building type which resulted from the rise of urban development in the area of Santurce and an excellent example of the work of the renowned Puerto Rican architect Pedro de Castro y Besosa (1895-1936).

The Edificio Del Valle is locally significant under Criterion C in the area of Architecture as an outstanding Spanish Renaissance Revival building in San Juan and also representative of the work of a master, renowned Puerto Rican architect Rafael Carmoega Morales (1894-1968).

The Puerto Rico Insular Penitentiary, is significant at State level for its importance in the areas of architecture and social history. The building, inaugurated in 1933, was designed by architect Francisco Roldan (1890-1988) and constructed Antonio Higuera Peña (1921-1992) for the Puerto Rico Department of the Interior. The InsularPenitentiary was the crucial in the implementation of the Government of Puerto Rico's prisoner rehabilitation program on the Island. The property is eligible by criterion C under the area of Architecture as the first modem penitentiary built in Puerto Rico and for the unique way it combined traditional Hispanic references and novel outlines representing a progressive public image for Puerto Rico.