Construction of the University of Puerto Rico Theater - PRAHA

Construction of the University of Puerto Rico Theater

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Description

Building under construction that will house the Theater of the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus. The falsework with formwork used to form concrete walls, two wooden cylinders, each with a coiled cable inside, the construction machinery, the pumping chute for pouring concrete, workers, and trees can be seen.
Origin Name
PRA 0031 F0004
Relation
Archivo de Arquitectura y Construcción de la Universidad de Puerto Rico > Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration > Cartapacio 6
Geographical Coverage
San Juan
Date
1938
Descriptive Notes
Title assigned by the cataloguing team. The general description contains information provided by the Architectural and Construction Archive of the University of Puerto Rico (AACUPR).
Descripción decolonial
The construction of the Theater at the University of Puerto Rico's Río Piedras Campus reveals tension between colonial imposition and decolonial possibilities. This architectural endeavor, concrete forms, and industrial machinery would seem to reflect the agenda of the state under US control. Yet, the building also resonates as an image of educational sovereignty and futurity in Puerto Rico, pursued through the very lessons taught by theatre arts. A case in point comes more recently. In 2010, the UPR campus shutdown due to student protests, which took the form of a theatrical resistance against administrative neglect and police presence. Taking lessons taught through the educational discipline of theatre, students drew on the spectacle of mass rallies, performances, and symbolic gestures like giant puppets and mourning processions to challenge administrative (and by extension colonial) authority, redefining the campus as a stage for asserting educational rights and cultural autonomy against both external pressures and internal strife.
Historical Background
Architectural Subject
  • Construction (assembling)
  • Buildings (structures)
  • Auditoriums
  • Falsework
  • Construction material
  • Arches
  • Reinforcing bars
  • Framework (construction equipment)
  • Workers
  • Concrete
  • Concrete work
  • Construction equipment
  • Wood (plant material)
  • Paths
  • State universities (institutions)
  • Universities (building complexes)
  • Campuses
Decolonial Subject
Rights
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Editor
Fundación Luis Muñoz Marín
Resource Format
JPEG
Resource Type
Image
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