CHECKING IN WITH FELIPE CORREA
Founder and managing partner, Somatic Collaborative design practice and professor and chair of architecture, University of Virginia School of Architecture
Many Guayaquil colonial buildings have been lost. Has the city done a reasonable job of restoring its historic structures?
The Las Peñas neighborhood is a great example of a conservation project that gave this area a new lease on life while also showcasing important samples of 19th-century architecture.
Most of the urban fabric downtown was built in the 20th century, yet one can find several architectural projects of design significance. Three that come to mind are Municipal Palace, Mercado Municipal Sur and the Moorish Clock Tower. All three show the civic dimension of public works projects in the early decades of the 20th century.
Other than the Ciudad Nueva project, what other urban revitalizations projects are in the planning stages?
In the last 20 years, Guayaquil witnessed major transformations in the rehabilitation and creation of new public spaces in the form of city parks. In addition to Malecón 2000, we have seen projects like Parque Los Samanes which, when fully implemented, will be the third-largest park in Latin America, serving as an important green lung and water management infrastructure for Guayaquil. Such projects are essential in a city that will have to aggressively confront and adapt to sea level rise and the impacts brought by environmental change.
What would you suggest first-time visitors see and do in Guayaquil?
I would take first-time visitors on a tour of the broader aquatic landscape of the city. The ecologies created by the mixing of waters between Daule River and Estero Salado (a salty estuary part of the Gulf of Guayaquil) create one of the most fascinating urban ecologies in the world and is a powerful laboratory on how cities engage their larger natural environment.
As an architect, what cultural attractions in the city do you find especially enjoyable?
I like to visit Centro Cultural Simón Bolívar/el Museo Antropológico y de Arte Contemporáneo. I always enjoy the temporary exhibitions and the larger archaeological collection they keep on display.