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MODERNI STHMUS
Modernist forms first appeared in Panama during the 1930s, mostly as skin-deep
reflections of art deco and the so-called streamline style. True modernism in the
ideological, functionalist sense arrived in the early 1940s through the work of a
handful of young Panamanian architects led by Ricardo J. Bermdez (19142000),
Guillermo de Roux (19162005) and Octavio Mndez Guardia (b. 1918), graduates
from US universities. Mndez Guardia had studied under Walter Gropius.
Panamanian modernism, centered mostly in Panama City, was initially imbued with
a strong social agenda and focused on low-cost housing, schools and hospitals.
Ambitious housing programs developed under the aegis of the state-run Banco
de Urbanizacin y Rehabilitacin (BUR), founded in 1944 to address the dismal
conditions in working-class districts. But Panamanian modernism was also
concerned with business and domestic architecture for the upper-classes. Several tall
office buildings, hotels and apartment tower blocks (initially seven to ten floors) were
designed in the late 1940s and early 1950s, a rarity in Central America at the time.
Domestic architecture was strongly influenced by the automobile-oriented suburban
life styles of Florida and California.
The main forum of discussion in the country was the School of Architecture at the
University of Panama, founded in 1943. The challenge was to adapt the language
of European modernism to the countrys tropical setting, which requires ample
natural ventilation and protection from sun and rain. This was a difficult task if time-
tested spatial concepts, roof forms and building materials were to be phased out in
favor of box-like reinforced-concrete structures with flat (or almost flat) roofs and
large glass surfaces.
In the 1940s and early 1950s design was mostly inspired by contemporary trends
in Brazil, which were seen as quintessentially tropical and vastly publicized in the
United States and Europe. Brise-soleils and pilotis became popular. Later on, a new
generation of architects (mostly graduates from the University of Panama) explored
new architectural scenes, with emphasis on complex volumes, sweeping roof lines
and long, open balconies and terraces. Domestic design developed low-rise plans
influenced by the work of Richard Neutra and the famous Case Study House
program. These design tenets remained valid until the mid-1960s, when a more
widespread use of air conditioning made natural ventilation appear obsolete.
The following selection arguably summarizes Panamanian modernism and its chief
concerns. These buildingsall of which are located in Panama Cityreadily
classify as Other Modernisms, assuming of course that meaningful variations of
European modernist themes were consciously intended.
Pes Building
Panama City
1948
ROSA PALACIO
The Pes building, erected in the working-class district of El Chorrillo, was part of the BUR
housing program. It has 68 apartments, each with its own bathroom and kitchen, a luxury
for Panamas poor urban population. Designed by Rosa Palacio, the first female architect
in the country, it is the best preserved of all extant BUR projects. It is low-rise and
symmetrical, and its open corridors and plaza-like open space effectively echo traditional
Panamanian architecture.
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Docomomo n36 / OTHER MODERNISMS
BY
EDUARDO TEJEIRA DAVIS

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School of Humanities, Rectory Building,
School of Economics
main University of Panama campus, Panama City
1946 ( or i gi nal des i gn) ,
1948 1950 ( c ons t r uc t i on)
GUILLERMO DE ROUX (19162005),
RICARDO J. BERMDEZ (19142000)
AND OCTAVIO MNDEZ GUARDIA (b. 1918)
The countrys showcase project of modernist ambitions
was the main campus of the University of Panama.
The project was meant as a symbol of serious
architectural renewal at a time when
the local elites still preferred the Spanish-
colonial revival or cosmetic modern
styles. Begun in 1948, its first classroom
buildings were designed as elongated
box-like volumes with Brazilian-like
brise-soleils and pilotis; of these, only
the School of Humanities (finished in
1950) is reasonably well preserved.
The rectory building, which originally
included the university library, is located
on a hill and combines an 8-floor tower
block with a low volume enhanced by
large glass surfaces. Among later
campus buildings, the most
outstanding is the School of
Economics (19501952), which
was shown in the celebrated
1955 MoMA exhibition on Latin
American architecture. Designed
by architects De Roux, Bermdez,
and the newcomer Ren Brenes,
it consists of two classroom wings
and an auditorium grouped
around a patio. The classrooms
are reached from spacious
balcony-like corridors which seemed highly functional when
tropicalness without air conditioning was still a virtue.
Compaa Internacional de Seguros Building
Panama City
1951 1952
GUSTAVO SCHAY AND RICHARD HOLZER
The striking Compaa Internacional de Seguros Building, one of the countrys first office
towers, reveals a move away from functionalist rigor. Designed by Hungarian-born
Gustavo Schay and Richard Holzer, a graduate from the University of Panama, it has
an open plan and window strips but it avoids boxiness by means of its striking curved
corner reminiscent of the Streamline Style.
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Docomomo n36 / OTHER MODERNISMS
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Tarraco Building
(also known
as Mara Teresa
Building)
Panama City
1961
GUSTAVO SCHAY
AND RICHARD HOLZER
The Tarraco Building
in La Exposicin
(1961), which was
likewise designed
by Schay & Holzer,
shows a different
formal approach, but the overall effect is equally striking. The tower, whose
sweeping balconies are subtly angled, has an L-shaped plan with one spacious
apartment per floor.
Former Carlos Rodrguez
Residence
Panama City
1959
JORGE YAU
The former Carlos Rodrguez
Residence, located in the suburb known
as El Cangrejo was built in 1959 after
a design by Jorge Yau, one of the first
architects to graduate from the University
of Panama. It is a well-preserved
example of the low-flung, airy house
types developed in the 1950s.
The C-shaped plan around a patio
effectively separates the living
and dining areas from the bedrooms.
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Docomomo n36 / OTHER MODERNISMS

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