Esguerra Sáenz Urdaneta Samper: Architectural Ideals in Modern Colombia

The Colombian architectural firm ESUS (Esguerra, Saenz, Urdaneta y Samper) played a key role in the development of modern architecture in Colombia during the mid-20th century. Notable for their technical innovation, elaborate language and careful execution, ESUS’ buildings also carry broader significance in terms of our understanding of how the international ideals of architectural modernism were adapted to local Latin American contexts. Yet until now there has existed no English-language study of their architecture and legacy.
Published as part of the Bloomsbury Studies in Modern Architecture series, which brings to light the work of significant yet overlooked modernist architects, this book examines ESUS’ work from an array of perspectives including the technological, formal, material, urban, and global, showing in particular how their high-rise concrete buildings contribute to new understandings of the history of concrete architecture.
Including previously unpublished archival documents, images, and drawings, this is an important new account in the expanding scholarly history of modernism in Latin America.

Maarten Goossens is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Architecture and Design of University of the Andes, Colombia.

Hernando Vargas Caicedo is Professor at Civil and Environmental Engineering and Architecture Departments at University of the Andes, Colombia.

Catalina Parra is Assistant Professor at the Department of Architecture, University of the Andes, Colombia.