This personal project is meant as a short analysis of the unintended style of residential facades in the 5th district of Guatemala City. 30 Facades located in the neighbourhoods of San Pedro, Santa Ana and in-between.

In 1945 the city started to grow exponentially and we were in need of more houses. At that time, we did catch up with some styles like Art Decó and Modernism. We even grabbed  from older architecture movements like Spanish Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo. But some neighbourhoods didn't really had the budget for that, they needed something more practical, fast and just functional. 

That was the point when this unintended style was born. The reduction of elements and the use of simple construction materials evoke an effortless charm. Only from the facade you may recognise not only the construction method, but also the two or three materials used for it. The only decorative elements used, are the ones seen on the window bars. But then again, all of them taken almost from the same construction catalog. Apart from the colours, the window bars were visually the only way to differentiate one house from another. They used geometrical and very well known-forms not only on the window bars but also on the main doors and garage entrances, almost as a signature for the house.

This unintended architectural vocabulary is important, because it was one of the first times we didn’t follow any European or Worldwide-known architectural style. It is just a pure and functional reaction from that time of need.