Contemporary light vaults in colombia. The origin of a modern tradition

Abstract

Le Corbusier used tile vaults in the structures of two buildings in the 1950s: the Maisons Sarabhai and Jaoul. These vaults were later very influential in Latin America, where they inspired numerous buildings in the middle of the twentieth century. However, little is known about the main inspiration for Le Corbusier’s vaults: a 1950 Colombian building, the home of local architect Francisco Pizano. The Casa Pizano was just one of the many modern Latin American houses built with vaults in those years. Some of these constructions were before Le Corbusier’s, so the influence of Maisons Sarabhai and Jaoul might have been more conceptual than technical. The hypothesis of this paper is that, although this influence existed, local networks were essential for connecting similar technical initiatives. To verify this, several examples from different Latin American countries will be studied, and some possible contacts between architects will be proposed. © 2018 6ICCH, Brussels, Belgium.