Building Optimism

Discover design for urban life in South America that builds upon radical optimism—a belief that planning can shape and improve lives.

Spanning projects in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Peru, and Venezuela, Building Optimism: Public Space in South America investigates ways that emerging architects and designers instigate change through design in public space. Using photography, video, drawings, and models, the exhibition immerses visitors in inventive ways that public spaces become social spaces—sites that respond to the unique circumstances and pressures of their communities.