Elisa Silva is the director and founder of Enlace Arquitectura and Enlace Foundation. Elisa is an American-Venezuelan architect, with a Master of Architecture from Harvard GSD. She is the author of seminal publications on barrios and public space including CABA Cartography of the Caracas Barrios (FE 2015) and Pure Space: expanding the public sphere through public space transformations in Latin-American spontaneous settlements (Actar 2020). Her writings have also been published by Park Books, Birkhäuser, Actar, Arquine, Metropolis Magazine, Azure, Brooklyn Rail, Rassegna di Architettura e Urbanistica, NESS.doc, forA on the Urban, Manifest Journal and Venezuelan journals. Elisa is Associate Professor at Florida International University FIU with a joint appointment at the Wolfsonian Public Humanities Lab and the Department of Architecture. She also teaches at Harvard University Graduate School of Design and the Central University in Caracas, Venezuela. She has held positions as visiting professor at Princeton University School of Architecture and the Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Design at the University of Toronto and was assistant professor at the Simón Bolívar University in Venezuela.  

Awards, acknowledgements and grants

Grant from CAF development bank of Latin America for “Culture, environment and economy in the barrio La Palomera, 2024
 
Afield Fellowship 2023

100 Protagonistas Embajada del Reino de los Países Bajos, Impact Hub Caracas y la Alcaldía de Baruta, 2023

Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize Outstanding project - San Juan María Vianney Church,  2022

Chicago Architecture Biennial invited by curator David Brown, 2021 

Biennale di Venezia International Architecture Exhibition invited by curator Hashim Sarkis, 2021

Graham Foundation Grantee - The Center for Art & Culture (Casa de Todos Annex) in Caracas, Venezuela, 2021

Grant from the Venezuelan Affairs Unit - US State Department, 2020

Grant from the French Embassy in Venezuela, 2020

Grant from the Swiss Embassy in Venezuela, 2020

Awarded built project XI Iberoamerican Architecture and Urban Design Biennial in Asunción, Paraguay for the San Juan María Vianney Church in Media Legua 2019

Lucas Artist Fellowship Montalvo Art Center California USA, 2019

Grant from the United States Embassy in Venezuela Cultural Affairs, 2018

Finalists of the XX Architecture and Urban Design Biennial in Chile for the category "Activism," 2017

Graham Foundation Grantee - publication Pure Space: expanding the public sphere through public space transformations in Latin American spontaneous settlements, 2017

Winner of UN Habitat Public Space in Informal Settlements Competition, 2017

Publications

Books

Silva, E. Pure Space: expanding the Public Sphere through Public Space Transformations in Latin American Spontaneous Settlements. Barcelona: Actar Publishers, 2020.

Silva, E. Lineamientos y recomendaciones sobre la gestión de servicios en conjuntos de vivienda social sostenible alineados a la agenda 2030. Mexico City: UN Habitat Mexico & CONAVI, 2018. 

Silva, E. & Vaggione P. Pro Inclusión: Ejemplos prácticos de políticas públicas en ciudades de América Latina. Bogotá: CAF, 2016.

Silva, E. et al CABA: Cartografía de los barrios de Caracas 1966-2014. Caracas: Fundación Espacio, 2015. 

Silva, E. Inclusión de Habitantes en la Ciudadanía Plena. Bogotá: CAF, 2013.

Silva, E. (Ed). Espacios Públicos en Barrios del Municipio Sucre. Caracas: Fundación Espacio, 2013. 

Articles in books and journals

Silva, E. “Real-ize the integration of cities through drawing” SurLab. Ed. Xavier René Méndez. September 2022. Forthcoming.

Silva, E. “Barrio as City: The Agency of Art, Culture and Public Space” in Critical Neighborhoods (Ed) Paulo Moreira. Oporto, Portugal. Forthcoming.

Silva, E. “Practicing architecture to complete the city”. Rassegna di Architettura e Urbanistica Milan Italy. n. 165
September – December 2021. Print

Silva, E. The catalogue book of the 17th International Architecture "How will we live together" Biennale di Venezia Venice, Italy. 2021. 

Silva, E. "A Hybrid Discourse for Latin America's Urban Landscape" forA on the Urban Issue #0. University of Applied Arts Vienna, Ed. Andrea Börner, Cristina Díaz Moreno, Efrén García Grinda, Baerbel Mueller. Vienna: 2021 pp. 390-409.

Silva, E. "Histories of Place, Architecture and Underrepresented Communities: For a Complete City" Brooklyn Rail (September 2021). 

Silva, E. “Communal land, culture and production through mezcal producing communities in Oaxaca’s Central Valley”. Manifiesto 3: Bigger tan big - Journal of the Americas, 2021. pp 242-245.

XI Ibero-American Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism. "San Juan María Vianney Church" by Enlace Arquitectura. Madrid: Gobierno de España & FQ, 2019.

NESS.doc Landscape as Urbanism in the Americas. “Plaza Jorge Somaca” by Enlace Arquitectura. Ed. Mercedes Peralta, Florencia Rodriguez and Jeannette Sordi. Doral: Lots of Architecture, 2020.

Silva, E. “Caracas, Strategica e Vulnerabile”, Limes: Rivista Italiana di geopolitica. 3/19 (April, 17, 2019)

Silva, E. “Mapping the Barrios of Caracas” in Downward Spiral: El Helicoide´s Descent from Mall to Prison. Ed. Celeste Olalquiaga and Lisa Blackmore. New York: Terreform, 2017.

Diálogos Impostergables. “Sembrando Ciudad” by Enlace Arquitectura. XX Bienal de Arquitectura y Urbanismo en Chile, curated by Felipe Vera and Constanza Larach, 2017.

Radical: 50 Arquitecturas Latinoamericanas. "Pavement Sabana Grande Boulevard" by Enlace Arquitectura. Ed. Miquel Adria and Andrea Griborio. Mexico City: Arquine, 2017.

Operative Communities: Building Communities Through Public Space. "Sabana Grande pavement project" by Enlace Arquitectura. Ed. Alissa North. Berlin: Birkhäuser, 2012.

Interviews

Luz es lo que se ve, by Inés Espinal. November 9, 2023

Interview with Elisa Silva published by Rotary International France. Governor´s letter, 2023. 

Inspicio Arts, “Architect Elisa Silva: Combating Territorial Inequality” by Raymond Elman, February 16, 2022.

El Diario "La Palomera o de cómo un barrio puede ser una obra de arte" by Faitha Nahmens. October 8, 2021

Azure "Architecture is never complete: a conversation with Elisa Silva" by Evan Pavka. August 26, 2021 

Conversación con Elisa Silva, Mextropolis with Andrea Griborio, 2020

Metropolis Magazine. “On a Remote Venezuelan Mountainside, a Community Unites to Build a Church” by Vicky Sue. August 2, 2019

Deutsche Welle "Alternative attempts. The Architecture Biennial 2021". June 27, 2021

Climax "Lo Social no excluye la Belleza” by Faitha Nahmens. December 9, 2017

Prodavinci “El imaginario de una ciudad completa” by Cheo Carvajal. August 16,2017

Globovisión "Entrevista en vivo sobre la urbanización de los barrios." January 30, 2015

Construinfo “Entrevista con Elisa Silva” Edición Especial 09, December 2014. pp. 52-53

El Universal "Exposición Puro Espacio en los Galpones de Los Chorros" October 2013.

Articles online

Silva, E. "Practicar arquitectura para completar la ciudad" Prodavinci, December 5, 2021.

Silva, E. "Los caminos y jardines de La Palomera suspendidos desde los techos en la Biennale di Venezia" Prodavinci, August 15, 2021.

Silva, E. "La historia de cómo Enlace Arquitectura, el Barrio La Palomera y la Ciudad Completa llegaron a la Biennale di Venezia" Prodavinci, July 20, 2021. 

Plataforma arquitectura, "Caminerías, escaleras y jardines de La Palomera en Caracas: La instalación de Enlace Arquitectura para la Bienal de Venecia 2021" (July 19, 2021)

Prodavinci, “Una iglesia venezolana es finalista de la XI Bienal Iberoamericana de Arquitectura y Urbanismo”, (July 15, 2019)

Efecto Cocuyo, “Iglesia San Juan María Vianney seleccionada finalista a premio iberoamericano de arquitectura”, (July 11, 2019)

El Universal, “Iglesia San Juan María Vianney finalista en la XI Bienal Iberoamericana de Arquitectura y Urbanismo”, (July 11, 2019)

Plataforma Arquitectura, “Iglesia San Juan María Vianney – Media Legua/Enlace Arquitectura”,  (June 5, 2019)

Silva, E. “Las Cassandras urbanas de nuestros tiempos” Terremoto: Arte Contemporáneo de las Américas, Issue 13: La pared dividida curated by Ruth Estevez. (January 7, 2019)

Silva, E. “La inclusión social permite que las ciudades sean más eficientes y sostenibles” Prodavinci, (December 26, 2016)

Silva, E. “48 años de asentamientos informales en Caracas” Plataforma Arquitectura (June 29, 2016)

Silva, E. “Mapeo de los barrios de Caracas”, Prodavinci (June 17, 2016) 

Plataforma arquitectura, “Enlace Arquitectura, primer lugar en diseños de módulos de control mixto en zonas naturales de Venezuela”. (September 8 2015) 

World Landscape Architect "La Morán | Enlace Arquitectura, World Landscape Architecture" by Damian Holmes. (December 6, 2011)

Lectures

Latin GSD Symposium Public Grounds, 2024

Engagin Art Talk, Beyond Powerlessness. Zuoz Switzerland, 2024

Florida Atlantic University, 2023

Washington University St. Louis 2023

University of Colorado at Denver, 2023

Designing public space in common. Arc en Rêve, Bordeaux France. September 16, 2022

Women´s Leadership Summit – Venamcham, Caracas Venezuela. July 14, 2022

Narratives on the built environment. Public lecture at FIU. November 2, 2021

The Complete City: La Palomera, acknowledgement and celebration. Institute of Oporto Portugal. July 13, 2021.

Pure Space book presentation. PUCP Lima. April 16, 2021

Silva, E. Mónica Ponce de León and Tatiana Bilbao "Women in architecture" NOMAS Yale Architecture. March 22. 2021

Grafted, Hybrid (In)Compete. Public lecture at Princeton University SoA. March 18, 2021

Pure Space book presentation. Media + Modernity Princeton University hosted by Beatriz Colomina, George Baird respondent. March 5, 2021.

Ordinary Acknowledgement. Public lecture at Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design University of Toronto. October 16, 2020.

"Social Urbanism" discussion panel with Alejandro Haiek, Jorge Pérez Jaramillo and Carlos David Montoya. FIU. October 13, 2020.

Propagaciones ArchDaily and Universidad Católica Andrés Bello Santiago de Chile. September 22, 2020.

NESS.doc Landscape as Urbanism in the Americas. book presentation, July 2020.
    
What is packed in a 16kg building block?  Technische Universität Wien. May 15. 2020.

Design & Relevance 2007-2019. BEAT Building equity in Toronto. October 23, 2019.

Silva, E.  David Simon (London) Fish Yu (Shenzhen) and Samarth Das (Mumbai)  "Summit Dialogue: How can we create living space in cities?" TNOC Summit Paris. June 6, 2019.

Territorial inequality and the Cassandras of our times" Public lecture at Harvard GSD, October 29, 2018

Disrupciones–Dilemas de la imagen en la contemporaneidad. Fundación Cisneros Seminar, Chacao Cultural Center Caracas. March 16, 2018.

What is common: lessons from Valparaiso, Medellin, Rio de Janeiro and Caracas. XX Architecture and Urbanism Biennial Chile. Diálogos impostergables. Valparaiso Chile. October 28, 2017

Diálogos impostergables Identity: round table discussion on women in architecture. XX Architecture and Urbanism Biennial Chile. Valparaiso Chile. October 28, 2017.

Cartography of the Caracas barrios – record and analysis of 48 years of informal settlement growth in the city LASA Conference in Lima Peru. May 1, 2017

Mapping and visualizing the growth of informal settlements - Caracas 1966-2014. Limapolis. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Perú, Lima Peru. March 6, 2017.

Mapping 48 years of informal settlement growth in Caracas. Harvard University Graduate School of Design Latin GSD. September 15, 2016.