Solano Benítez and the defamiliarization as design strategy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35305/23626097v10i19.414Keywords:
architecture, defamiliarization, brick, Paraguay, Solano BenítezAbstract
This essay proposes a critical appreciation of the production of the Paraguayan architect Solano Benítez (1963) based on defamiliarization as a design strategy. The study is based on a close reading of a set of representative works that cover the different stages of the first twenty years of his professional career: Architecture Cabinet Office, Abu & Font House, Unilever Paraguay, and Teletón Paraguay Foundation. The extensive and unusual use of brick in expressive forms and experimental operations highlighting Benítez's production in recent decades, is also responsible for the sensations of estrangement that his works usually cause. It is assumed that estrangement -operated to give rise to uncanny feelings as well as novelty- was a recurrent practice in 20th century modern architecture, and that Benítez -by continuing with this strategy- not only claims the vitality and pertinence of this tradition but also expands the compositional repertoire of his predecessors. In addition, it is also expected to demonstrate the diverse and inclusive character of his architecture through the analysis of the material, geometric and figurative aspects of his works.
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