(est. 2007) is a professional practice invested in extending the tools of architecture, landscape architecture and urban design to territories beyond the discipline's conventional boundaries.
enlace arquitectura
Meaning “link” in Spanish, the term 'enlace' in the practice Enlace Arquitectura embodies an ethos of participatory engagement with communities through design. Founded in 2007 by American-Venezuelan architect Elisa Silva, Enlace Arquitectura's projects weave in and out of formal and [in]formal walks of life, creating projects that illuminate the existence and importance of marginalized communities and peoples. Operating through an interdisciplinary approach that rejects the prescriptive process of formalist architecture, Enlace Arquitectura combines research, design practice, and collaborates with local cultural organizations and activists to raise awareness of urban spatial inequalities shaped by socioeconomic forces and environmental pressures. One of the practice's earliest works involved their repavement of the Sabana Grande Boulevard (2011) in Venezuela, reclaiming a level and safe public space for pedestrians as a part of a collective memory. The following work in Media Legua (2018) continued to reflect the practice's commitment to empathetic design. Working together with the local villagers in Media Legua, Enlace Arquitectura used local materials of concrete and steel to construct a church in response to the community's need for a place of worship. The same and following year, Silva taught two graduate studios, both visiting the Central Valley in Oaxaca, Mexico to work with villagers to make Adobe bricks from mezcal waste, and future water-catchment basins, as well as tree nurseries, together with Rethink Foundation and the support of the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies Harvard University. Aimed to influence regional policies on reforestation and water catchment, the practice's involvement in the Central Valley illustrates their devotion to introducing methods to challenging climatic conditions, informed by the communities there and scholarship on the terrain. The practice's dedication to the ecological health of a landscape has also appeared in Enlace Arquitectura's completion of Acqua Aruba, a Radisson Blu hotel (2021). While completing the finishes on the hotel, the practice took care to minimize construction waste that could harm the almost 50 local plant species that they had cataloged. Whether working on a luxury hotel in Aruba or with the community in the Central Valley, Enlace Arquitectura acts with empathy toward clients' and communities needs, a practice borne from observations and dialogues with a multitude of voices.
(est. 2017) is a non-government organization that engages participatory design processes and cultural programs to build awareness of pressing social and environmental issues.