The El Alto VS is a three weeks workshop in La Paz, took place from the 22nd Jan to the 11th Feb 2018. The course investigated the question of identity, folklore and rituals translated into architecture - that becomes thus a collision among a multitude of symbolic fragments, far beyond its disciplinary boundaries.
The project started with the Alasitas - a religious festival where objects of common use are transformed into holy miniatures - in order to gather as many ready-made fragments as possible. Then, following a constructed narrative, students de-contextualized in terms of meaning, proportions and materiality to create radically new artifacts.
Through the study of Andean architecture examples in El Alto, students had the opportunity to assemble their elements through an architectural hierarchy. From the cholets of Freddy Mamani Silvestre, to the investigation of textiles, masks and the ancestral ritual of mesa de la challa - all these references have been dissected to collectively build a new identitarian piece of architecture.
The workshop ended with the Carnaval of Oruro, where students put together their individual pieces, spatially assembled and choreographed as parts of an architectural folkloristic dance.

2018

2018

Sabrina Morreale
Lorenzo Perri
Ronald Grebe Crespo
Freddy Mamani Silvestre
Delphine Blast
Mario Sarabia