Enlace Arquitectura participates in the event "El CalvarioOpen Doors" in its third edition 2017. Seven canopies trace the path through the barrio, suspended from windows, posts and fences in the neighborhood. Knitted fabrics of synthetic plastic fibers in various color combinations and sizes witness the passing of shadows, quotidian affairs and the barrio´s built morphology.
The installation was exhibited between December 2, 2017 and March 15, 2018.
Elisa Silva participates in dialogues regarding what is common at the XX Architecture and Urban Design Biennial in Valparaiso Chile, curated by Claudio Magrini and Miguel Cancino. Presentations by Alejandro Echeverri of Medellin, Rua Arquitetos of Rio de Janeiro, Elisa Silva of Caracas and Gonzalo Undurragaof Valparaiso to exchange perspectives on city dynamics in light of Valparaiso´s present opportunity to design a new zoning and planning structure for the city.
Claudio Magrini: This is a reflection is about what Valparaiso has in common with other Latin American cities with experiences that can help better plan the future of this port city. Valparaiso faces the eminent challenge of formulating an organic plan that can face issues related to its particular geography, its exposure to natural disasters, high levels of poverty, the presence of informal settlements, a widely recognized historic center that is undergoing severe decay, a coast that is disputed between the interests of its inhabitants and private enterprise, and finally the lack of a clear vision on its urban territory that is nearly ungovernable. The idea is to share successful experiences in other cities that may be applicable to the Valparaiso context.
Elisa Silva participates in dialogues about identity at the XX Architecture and Urban Design Biennial in Chile, curated by architect Pola Mora. The conversation included Ana María Durán (Ecuador), Inés Moisset (Argentina), Cazú Zegers (Chile) and Sandra Iturriaga (Chile) October 27, 2017 at the Parque Cultural in Valparaiso.
Pola Mora: Why a panel of only women? Because images can generate social change, a panel comprised of women contributes a grain of salt toward normalizing the idea that women architects are key to the construction of better cities, just as sadly it seems normal for the list of architecture prize nominees in Chile to be comprised solely of male names.
Elisa Silva was invited to participate in the conversation series "Against Violence: debates to open the political field" together with Doris Barreto Fe y Alegria Community Center coordinator and Leandro Buzón of Caracas Mi Convive at Lugar Comun Paseo Las Mercedes September 28th 2017 at 5:00 pm. She spoke of Enlace Arquitectura´s work on the publication "CABA Cartographyof the Caracas Barrios", Pro-Inclusión with CAF and the program "City Planting" sponsored by Citibank Venezuela and coordinated by Fudep Venezuela.
Journalist Cheo Carvajal interviews Elisa Silva as part of a series dedicated to Caracas during its 450th anniversary. Elisa speaks of Enlace Arquitectura´s efforts to expand the mental map ofthe city through the recording of its informal settlements in the cartographic survey CABA and through the public-space-making-in-informal-settlements-program "City Planting"sponosred by Citibank Venezuela and coordinated by Fudep Venezuela.
Elisa Silva was invited to present the work of Enlace Arquitectura at SLOT Studio in Mexico City on the 4th of August 2017. "Mapping, intervening and integrating informal settlements in the city" included an overview of the publication "CABA Cartography of the Caracas Barrios" and the program "City Planting" sponsored by Citibank Venezuela and coordinated by Fudep Venezuela.
Impact Mezcal is a social entrepreneurship led by Bruxo Mezcal directors interested in returning the benefits of growing economic prosperity derived from an increased appreciation and demand for artisinal mezcal production. Enlace Arquitectura is leading the design of an integral program that will catalize beneficial ecological, social and productive processes for the community based on their existing culture, needs and participation.
Elisa Silva received a Grant from the Graham Foundation for the project "Pure Space: public space transformations in Latin American informal settlements." The grant represents a significant contribution to support the book´s publication and awards it with the prestigious honor of forming part of the Graham Foundation´s sponsorship that enjoys a wide network of alliances and avenues for dissemination.
Enlace Arquitectura was selected to participate in the XX Architecture and Urban Design Biennial in Valparaiso Chile titled "Dialogos Impostergables" with the project "City Planting". The Biennial is an initiative of the Colegio de Arquitectos de Chile in collaboration with the Association of Architecture Offices and the Network of Architecture and Urbanism Schools in Chile.
From the Biennial´s web site: "Considering the ‘unpostponable’ from within architecture and urbanism presents us with an urgency to work with those who reside in the margins and who have not seen their necessities and aspirations reflected in their urban environment. It is fundamental to generate a dialogue between the different forces that shape our cities, establish a connection with other countries of the global south countries and include in the discussion everybody who have been postponed throughout history."
Elisa Silva participates in the Panel "Informal City and Participative Design: physical and symbolic connections" at the conferences de 1st of May 2017 of the LASA 2017 conference at the Pontificate Catholic University of Peru UPCP in Lima. She will share the research work of CABA: Cartography of the Caracas Barrios 1966-2014 and the spatially defined premises for inequality present in the urban territory.