Olianna Gonzalez, an architecture student at Simon Bolivar University, will present her final project on Venezuelan architecture and urban planning. She will analyze characteristics like color, texture, lighting, circulation, space, scale, acoustics, and rhythm. Venezuela is a tropical country with most people living in cities like Caracas, the capital, which is notable for its valley landscape and illuminated mountain views at night. Caracas struggles with overpopulation and traffic due to high car ownership from insecurity in public transportation and infrastructure issues. However, it retains pedestrian spaces using textures, corridors, and ramps to symbolize walkability. Examples of large buildings like Previsora Tower demonstrate a variety of scales and the relationship

1. Universidad Simon Bolivar English for architecture and urban planning III. Teacher: Dafne Gonzalez. FINAL PROJECT Venezuelafrom an architecture and urban planning point of view. Olianna Gonzalez 08-10469

2. Hello everyone! I am Olianna Gonzalez and I am a student of architecture at Simon Bolivar University. For my final project in English for architecture and urban planning III, I am going to show you, from an architectural and urban planning point of view, what I consider makes Venezuela an exceptional and unique country applying all the concepts and characteristics learnt in this term: color, texture, lighting, circulation, space and scale, acoustics and rhythm.

3. Venezuela is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It is one of the most urbanized countries in South America, where most of the habitants live in the cities of the north, especially in Caracas (its Capital). This city is notable for being a valley, having the honor to count with one of the most unique landscapes that this country and city may offer to the world, The Avila Mountain Together with this, Caracas count with a range variety of buildings located not just down the valley but also in the mountain, what offers a nice illuminated landscape in the night.

4. Caracas, for being an overcrowded city, has to deal with a problem that some cities in the world are having: overpopulation + demand of cars from the citizens. Public transports in Caracas are not the best choice due to the insecurity that this country is facing at the moment, and also these types of transport are not working properly neither. For this, many of the people that live in Caracas feel the necessity of acquiring private way of transports, which causes lots of traffic. Another reason why it has become difficult for the city to have a horizontal circulation, were people feel free to walk and be in the streets, is because some places lack of sidewalks.

5. In spite of this, Caracas count with few pedestrian spaces: “Boulevard of Sabana Grande”, “Alfredo Sadel Square”, “Universidad Central de Venezuela”, among others. In these, the architects use a different type materials or structures to symbolize the horizontal circulation. In the first two examples, the texture in the floor; and in the last one, corridors and ramps are used.

6. On the other hand, we have “La Torre La Previsora” (Previsora Tower) and “Las Torres del Silencio”, which are examples of the varieties of buildings, in what scale refers, that you may find in this Capital city being one of the highest buildings in Caracas. In here, you may also see the use and relationship between public and private spaces, vertical circulation and the rhythm used in the design of these buildings (setbacks, bay spacing…)

7. Color is another characteristic of Venezuelan architecture. In colonial towns like: “EL Hatillo” (Caracas), “Bocono” (Trujillo), “Pampatar” (Isla de Margarita), etc; colors are important, and it is the principal distinguishing of these towns all over the world. Texture is another crucial point in Venezuelan architecture and urban planning, not only in the colonial style but also in the modern, for example in “Alcaravan Residence” or “Atrium Building”.

8. “Aula Magna”, Teresa CarenoTheather and “La ConchaAcustica” are the best examples of acoustic architecture in Caracas, where the most important ballets and operas are being held.

9. To conclude, I believe the architect and urban planning in Venezuela is unique because it offers to the public different fundamentals and characteristics typical of these country and its citizens, which is part of the range of cultures that existed and are real in these countries. Even though we, Venezuelans, are trying to face some problems like the traffic and insecurities, I think this country has so much to offer to the world in an architecture and urban planning point of view, that most of those negative things are being overshadowed by the positive ones. After all, positive and negative things are what make our culture so special, and our citizens so determined to contribute with this amazing country to make it everyday a better place to live.