Abstract
This investigation looks at the role of architecture as a communication system in the restorative justice processes in Colombia, Argentina and Chile. The premise is that architecture is used as a policy strategy because it has the capacity to create political capital for memory processes through its capacity of creating collective imaginaries in the public opinion. This happens as architecture in these countries is perceived as a legitimate practice that can lend its positive perception to political processes, as those related to memory. To understand this phenomenon, three architectural projects are studied in terms of their mediatic coverage in relation to the transitional justice processes they participate in. The projects are museums of memory (Fragmentos gallery, in Bogotá; Museum of site at ex-Esma, in Buenos Aires; and the Museum of Memory and Human Rights, in Santiago) developed under the boom of memory spaces in the region that happened between 2005 and 2017 according to database created to characterise the phenomenon. For each case, the coverage of specialised and mainstream media was followed during their creation (institutional and architectural), inauguration and first two years of functioning. On them was possible to see that project of new buildings, with major positive presence in architectural discussion, were also more present in the public opinion with a positive evaluation than those where the spatial strategy was to protect heritage, which implied less architectural intervention. Therefore, the more meadiatic the architectural project the more the space is debated in the public sphere.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Architecture and media, Latin America, Public Opinion, Memory process
