Critical and Interdisciplinary Research Centre for Architecture (CIRCA)
The Critical and Interdisciplinary Research Centre for Architecture (CIRCA) is a research centre dedicated to the study of the history and theory of architecture. Its approach, rooted in the critical humanities, is deeply interdisciplinary, integrating both local and global perspectives.
- Modern architecture of Quito,
- History of Ecuadorian architecture,
- Modern histories and theories of architecture.
CIRCA examines the complexities of the built environment, with a critical stance derived from the interrelation of architecture with the humanities. It includes research projects investigating the historical development of architecture and its theories, allowing for the identification of past situations that need to be reevaluated; in this manner, contemporary concerns and considerations for the future can be enlightened. Architecture is thus conceived as a field of study composed of diverse ideas, practices, experiences, spaces and objects – all sites of cultural and political contestation.
While focusing on architecture as a social practice, with rigorous scholarship, responsible for the natural and built environments and commitment to social equality, the CIRCA’s agenda aims to contribute to the regional and global impact of its projects. The projects cover various themes, locations and periods of study, organized into three overarching categories:
- Modern architecture of Quito,
- History of Ecuadorian architecture,
- Modern theories of architecture.
The vision of CIRCA is to become a leading academic space for the emergence, support and consolidation of critical thought in architecture – the first of its kind in Ecuador, with an international presence. The Centre will leverage its location in Quito, using it both as a key theme of study and as a scholarly approach characterized by the evocations of circa – around economies and cultures, in between technologies and aesthetic expressions, approximating disciplines. Rather than continuing to build on the belief that the world can be shaped according to human needs in a clear and objective way, the projects embedded in CIRCA offer complexities, questions and ambiguities, contemplating their relevance for similar studies, locally and globally.
CIRCA responds to three main objectives:
(1) Research consolidation
Since 2017, the faculty of the College of Architecture and Interior Design (CADI) at Universidad San Francisco de Quito has developed research projects around related concerns, themes, and methodologies. These include the history of architecture in Quito and Ecuador, the intersection between architecture and literary disciplines, and theorizing the modern built environment. CIRCA seeks to bring these projects together and consolidate them into a body of work that not only fosters new explorations, but also strengthens CADI's academic culture.
(2) Promotion of interdisciplinarity
The second objective is to promote interdisciplinarity within CADI. The active implementation of a critical gaze, rooted in the humanities, will broaden the understanding of architecture as a field of study that encompasses all aspects of the built environment. This approach overcomes the traditional view of architecture as an autonomous discipline focused solely on the assembly of buildings. Instead, it proposes an active dialogue with other specialties, in collaboration with experts interested in the integral analysis of the built environment. This exchange also seeks to enrich the teaching activities of researchers, reinforcing interdisciplinarity at all levels of the College.
(3) International dissemination
The third objective is the dissemination of CADI's projects to a wider audience, particularly internationally. This communication will seek to establish networks with scholars and institutions for new research work, thus broadening the discourse on how influences near and far shape the ideation and construction of architecture.
CADI has also received donations from the archives of Max Ehrensperger, a Swiss architect who worked in Ecuador in the 1950s, and Fausto and Diego Banderas, prominent local professionals. CIRCA will support the digitization of this material to make it publicly available through USFQ's main library.
Research Projects
- Andrés Chiriboga: The First Modern Landscape Architect in Ecuador. Leader: Mauricio Luzuriaga.
- Bodies, Boredom and the Architecture of Home in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Dessert. Leader: Christian Parreno.
- El Panecillo: Resisting Modernity in the Andes. Leader: Cristina Bueno.
- From the American Dream to the Andean Havens. Leader: Karina Cazar Recalde.
- Hotel Quito: Capturing Landscape. Leader: Mauricio Luzuriaga.
- Max Ehrensperger, Swiss Architect, 1954-1959. The Arrival of the European Avant-Garde in Quito. Leader: Mauricio Luzuriaga and Pablo Dávalos.
- Public Stages: Architecture, Nature and Urban Cohabitation. Leader: Felipe Palacios. Collaboration: Karina Cazar.
- The Boredom of Will Alsop. Leader: Christian Parreno.
- The Mo-Tel in Quito: Adaptation of an Imported Type. Leader: Karina Cazar. Collaboration: Ana María Carrión, Daniela Campoverde and Cristina Campos.
Publications
Selected Publications (since 2021):
Books
- Dávalos, Pablo. Ciudad brutalista, Quito 1960-1980. Quito: USFQ Press, 2022.
- Parreno, Christian (editor). Arquitectura moderna de Quito: Lo global, lo local y lo intermedio. Quito: USFQ Press, 2024.
- Parreno, Christian. Boredom, Architecture, and Spatial Experience. London: Bloomsbury, 2021.
- Parreno, Christian (editor). Modern Architecture of Quito: Global, Local, and the In-Between. London: Bloomsbury, 2024.
Book Chapters
- Cazar, Karina, and Ana María Carrión. “El motel en Quito: Artefacto Urbano para el Ocio Sexual”. In Ocio y negocio: El hotel de la posguerra en las Américas. Edited by Alexandra Kennedy and Shayarina Monard. Cuenca: Universidad de Cuenca, 2022.
- Luzuriaga, Mauricio. “Charles McKirahan y el surgimiento del hotel moderno internacional.” In Ocio y negocio: El hotel de posguerra en las Américas. Edited by Alexandra Kennedy and Shayarina Monard. Cuenca: Universidad de Cuenca, 2022.
- Parreno, Christian. “Aburrimiento, espacios posmodernos y experiencias de ocio”. In Ocio y negocio: el hotel de posguerra en las Américas. Edited by Alexandra Kennedy and Shayarina Monard. Cuenca: Universidad de Cuenca, 2022.
- Parreno, Christian. “Dolores Veintimilla’s Necrology: Experience, Public Space and the Death Penalty Debate in Ecuador” in Women Writing Architecture 1700-1900: Expanding Histories. Edited by Anne Hultzsch and Sol Perez Martinez. Zurich: gta Verlag, 2025.
- Parreno, Christian. “Intertwined Architectures of Boredom, Desire, and Transgression.” In Transgression and Architecture. Edited by Carmen Popescu. Leuven: Leuven University Press, 2025.
Academic Articles
- Cazar, Karina, Ana María Carrión and Mauricio Luzuriaga. “Reimaginando Quito: Una ciudad andina pospandemia. Entre el habitar y el auto sustento de alimentos”. Revista de Arquitectura (2022).
- Cazar, Karina. “An Anonymous Byproduct: The Urban Morphology of The Motel in Quito”. ISUF XXVI International Seminar on Urban Form. Cities as Assemblages. Roma: 2022.
- Luzuriaga, Mauricio. “Translucent Concrete Shells in Ecuador”. In Design and Fabrication: Proceedings of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures Annual Symposium. Edited by Yi Min Xie, Jane Burry, Ting-Uei Lee and Jiaming Ma. Melbourne: IASS, 2023.
- Luzuriaga, Mauricio. “Cristo del Consuelo Church in Ecuador by Luis Monsalve. A Replica of Candela´s San Vicente de Paúl Chapel”. In Innovation, Sustainability and Legacy. Proceedings of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures 2022 Symposium Affiliated with APCS 2022 Conference. Beijing: IASS, 2022.
- Luzuriaga, Mauricio. “Luis Monsalve. Sus cascarones y paraboloides hiperbólicos en Ecuador”. ESTOA (2022).
- Parreno, Christian. “Notes on Architecture and Stickiness”. Architectural Histories (2023).
- Parreno, Christian. “Para Reconsiderar los Objetivos de la Arquitectura”. Revista de Occidente. Madrid: Ortega y Gasset, 2023.
- Parreno, Christian. “Boredom, Suicide, and Postmodern Architecture: Life and Death at No. 1 Poultry”. The Journal of the International Society of Boredom Studies (2023).
- Parreno Christian. “Architectures and Experiences of Joie de vivre”. Emotions: History, Culture, Society (2023).
Alliances
Advisory Board
- Iain Borden, The Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London.
- Florencio Compte, Universidad de Guayaquil.
- Ana Esteban-Maluenda, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.
- Felipe Hernández, University of Cambridge.
- Mark Jarzombek, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
- Mari Lending, Oslo School of Architecture and Design.
- Inés del Pino, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Quito.
