Unidad de Habitación Cerro Grande and Comunidad 2 de Diciembre, renamed Comunidad 23 de Enero after the overthrow of Marcos Pérez Jiménez’s military regime, are two public housing projects developed in Caracas, Venezuela, by the Taller de Arquitectura del Banco Obrero (TABO) during the 1950s. Both are part of the selection of Caracas buildings for the Interactive Atlas | Visual Register of Urban Architecture | Latin America 1940–1970, developed within the framework of two research projects on the relationship between photography and architecture in Latin America, directed by Professor Cristina Gastón Guirao at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia: “Recovery and Dissemination of Photographic Archives of Modern Architecture for the Development of an Operational Visual Heritage” and “Architecture, Photography and the City: Geolocation and Comparative Study of Photographic Records of Modern Architecture.” This paper focuses on a selection of photographs of both complexes corresponding to two different moments in their history: the first during and shortly after their construction, the second in the present day. Through images from both periods, the article examines the modern image of progress that the dictatorship attempted to project, alongside the architectural principles, design strategies, and values pursued by the architects. By comparing early images of both projects, Cerro Grande from the first years and 2 de Diciembre from the final stages of the workshop’s brief existence, it is possible to identify the concessions and reductions imposed on the architects due to budgetary constraints and, more significantly, the tight deadlines required to align with the regime’s propaganda program. Finally, the recent photographs offer insight into the deterioration and ongoing challenges these housing complexes face today, while also highlighting the enduring formal and spatial qualities of the original architecture and the everyday life it continues to sustain.
Cover image: Guido Bermúdez, Unidad de Habitación Cerro Grande, Taller de Arquitectura TABO, Caracas. Photograph by Julio Mesa, 2023.