Construction group for the Circo-lô at the IDE Association, in Botucatu | SP. Photo: Tomaz Lotufo
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https://www.archdaily.com/1034102/teaching-empathy-new-approaches-to-architecture-education-in-latin-america
Historically, the first universities in the contemporary model were established in Europe to educate elites for the State and the Church, rather than to promote social emancipation. With the rise of capitalism, they became privileged centers for producing and reproducing modern Western culture. However, from the 1960s onward—particularly after the student uprisings of May 1968—the academic focus shifted toward market-oriented values, displacing humanist and critical ideals. The humanities lost prominence, while technical fields gained central importance, often at the expense of reflecting on the social impact of their work.
In the era of neoliberal globalization, this trend intensified. In Latin America, many architecture and urbanism programs aligned more closely with capital interests than with social needs, prioritizing standardized, abstract solutions over local realities. Yet this is not universal: new initiatives are emerging to challenge this model, particularly in response to twenty-first-century challenges such as the climate crisis, urban inequality, and the urgent need for sustainable, inclusive practices. Against this backdrop, a critical question arises: how can we educate architects to act both creatively and critically while engaging with Latin America’s complex realities?
© Tomaz LotufoArchitectural education worldwide faces significant challenges amid rapid social, environmental, and cultural change. While the world evolves, many classrooms remain tied to traditional models that focus almost exclusively on technical and aesthetic concerns, keeping the profession distant from society’s real needs. This approach reflects the legacy of modernism, which emphasizes form and positions architectural design at the center of professional practice, often at the expense of experimentation and hands-on experience.
Architectural Education in Latin America: Seeking Alternative Approaches
In Latin America, this scenario, complex in itself, is aggravated by specific challenges that directly influence architectural education. Although the region is part of the so-called “global village,” it faces unique problems, such as profound inequality in income distribution, extreme poverty, the expansion of informal settlements in overcrowded metropolises, and intense migration flows, both internal and external. These factors produce critical deficits in infrastructure and housing, demanding urgent solutions from professionals. In response, scholars have proposed an “alternative thought of alternatives,” rooted in a Southern epistemology that seeks to unlearn entrenched concepts and relearn from local knowledge. This perspective enables architects to address social issues with a genuinely Latin American vision—more sensitive and attuned to the region’s specific needs.
Sondoveni Communal Center. Image Courtesy of ConstruyeIdentidad
This approach also counters the overemphasis on international references and timelines, such as the universalized culture of reinforced concrete, which marginalizes other construction techniques, or the focus on sole authorship, which positions the architect as the only creator. Such tendencies reduce academic debate on Latin American architecture and obscure the constructive and spatial heritage of Indigenous and African peoples. As a result, students risk becoming disconnected from the sociocultural realities around them, limiting their engagement with local challenges and opportunities.
This disconnection may be the central issue, as rethinking twenty-first-century architectural education requires fostering empathy. Architect Juhani Pallasmaa argues that education should cultivate “empathetic imagination,” the ability to deeply understand the experiences of those who will inhabit designed spaces. Many architects can build walls but remain unaware of the lives unfolding beyond them. Promoting empathy in education means integrating history and sociocultural context, encouraging students to design in a more human-centered, connected way—truly seeing what happens behind these walls.
Courtesy of COURB BrasilEducating in Context: Spaces, Subjects, and Objects
Ortiz and Trachana identify three essential dimensions for education in this context: learning spaces, which extend beyond the classroom; learning subjects, involving diverse actors in collaborative processes; and learning objects, practices directly linked to real societal challenges. Together, these dimensions support a more critical, practical, and contextually grounded education.
Learning Spaces (Where)
Architectural education is evolving beyond classrooms to recognize that learning can occur anywhere—on the street, in public squares, during conversations on a bus, or through observing and interacting with the surrounding world. This perspective values experiential, living learning drawn from diverse sources. Rather than relying solely on information transmission, it promotes collaborative, context-connected approaches where students actively participate.
Jerusalen de Miñaro Primary School / Semillas. Courtesy of Semillas
In Brazil, the “Floresta Cidade” project at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro collaborates with favelas in Gamboa and Maré, as well as Indigenous communities, to promote more sustainable and democratic cities. Organized across city, neighborhood, backyard, home, and body scales, it identifies strategic “forest points” that integrate nature as a central feature. The project combines academic and traditional knowledge through activities that allow students to experience the city directly.
Learning Subjects (Who)
Through workshops and community activities, students engage with real people—individuals with stories, faces, and concrete needs—giving meaning to the act of designing. Such contact fosters mutual exchange and a network of collective, living knowledge. Teachers shift from distant evaluators to mediators who encourage listening, dialogue, and critical reflection. By involving users in the creative process, projects gain depth and social relevance, moving beyond learning focused solely on personal or academic goals.
Sanjaynagar Slum Redevelopment Project – Participatory design process underway with residents. Image Courtesy of Community Design AgencyFor example, the Universidad Nacional de La Plata in Argentina organizes “Community Dialogue Cycles,” regular meetings between academics, professionals, and residents. These dialogues address urban planning, sustainability, and heritage, sharing knowledge about traditional and contemporary practices while strengthening community bonds through mutual learning.
Learning Objects (How)
Architectural education extends beyond technical skill development to prepare professionals capable of driving social transformation. Internships and practical projects allow students to work with real situations, fostering community learning, collaboration, and stronger peer connections. This hands-on experience—beyond drawing, including discussion and engagement with space—enhances critical understanding and encourages innovative solutions. The goal is to educate architects who are creative, environmentally conscious, socially engaged, and equipped to face twenty-first-century challenges, combining technical expertise with empathy and ethical responsibility.
In rural Colombia, the National University has implemented participatory architecture projects, collaborating with local communities to develop housing and urban solutions that respect cultural traditions and local needs. Students participate in all stages, from diagnosis to execution, promoting practical, context-aware learning.
Jerusalen de Miñaro Primary School / Semillas. Courtesy of Semillas
In a world marked by rising inequality, media dominance, and weakened democratic institutions, education becomes the driving force for understanding and transforming the relationship between people and their spaces. Therefore, architectural education must be reimagined: replacing abstract, universalist methodologies with empirical, intuitive, and context-sensitive approaches that value Latin America’s tectonic and cultural diversity. In this way, learning transcends mere model reproduction and becomes a space for resistance and innovation, forming empathetic professionals capable not only of designing buildings but of transforming realities.
This article is part of the ArchDaily Topics: Architecture Without Limits: Interdisciplinarity and New Synergies. Every month we explore a topic in-depth through articles, interviews, news, and architecture projects. We invite you to learn more about our ArchDaily Topics. And, as always, at ArchDaily we welcome the contributions of our readers; if you want to submit an article or project, contact us.