From Walls to Communities  

Exploring Identity and Connection: Architecture’s Role in Shaping Communities and Environments

Sponsored by Sto Corp. and Construction Specialties | Presented by Fernanda Canales

In this course, Fernanda Canales, founder and principal of Fernanda Canales Arquitectura, examines 10 of her recent projects, five of which are residential and five that are civic, community projects. The projects, which are mostly located in rural areas of Mexico, and deal mainly with public spaces, scarcity of resources and the need to create a sense of identity. Canales explores the relationship between buildings and the environment, while examining different programs and scales, and addressing the collective implications of individual buildings.

 
     

 

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In this course, Fernanda Canales, founder and principal of Fernanda Canales Arquitectura, examines 10 of her recent projects, five of which are residential and five that are civic, community projects. The projects, which are mostly located in rural areas of Mexico, and deal mainly with public spaces, scarcity of resources and the need to create a sense of identity. Canales explores the relationship between buildings and the environment, while examining different programs and scales, and addressing the collective implications of individual buildings.

 
     

 

Cover

Originally published in Architectural Record

Originally published in October 2024

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
  1. Discuss the challenges of working in rural locations where much of the housing is built without the help of any specialists.
  2. Explain how using cheap materials is essential to create housing in these rural locations that can improve the conditions of the inhabitants.
  3. Describe how the projects question the divisions between the public and private, the rich and the poor, the working and the living, and the rural and the urban. 
  4. Discuss how architecture is not only the buildings, but how we relate to the environment and with people.