Mario Romañach and Latin American Modernism

In conjunction with the survey exhibition Mario Romañach: “Do you love architecture?” now on view at the Architecural Archives, the Office of the Dean presents a panel discussion on Mario Romañach (1917-1984), the influential Cuban architect and longtime PennDesign architecture professor, and how he fits into Latin American modernism.

A beloved teacher at Penn and a visionary architect who transformed modern architecture in his native Cuba in the years before the Revolution, Romañach saw architecture, not as an abstract phenomenon to be developed though analytical techniques, but rather, as a discipline which made full sense only when framed in terms of human experience. “Architecture...you’ve got to touch it,” he would say, and it was that sensuous, experiential connection to buildings, cities, and landscapes that animated his art and inspired his students. 

Panelists include Associate Professor of Practice in Landscape Architecture David Gouverneur; Associate Professor at the University of Texas at Austin Fernando Lara; and Professor and Chair of the Graduate Program in Historic Preservation Frank Matero.

The program is moderated by Curator and Collections Manager Architectural Archives William Whitaker.