Guatemalan architecture: Guatemala from pre-hispanic to modernity

Abstract

The history of architecture in Guatemala has had several moments over the years,
among them, there have been the architectural manifestations that have marked each era. The purpose of this article is to present a proposal of a chronological sequence to read Guatemala’s architecture through the years, dividing it into four periods: Authenticity (pre-Hispanic), First Invasion (Colonial), Second Invasion (Republican), and Transculturation (modernity); with the aim of calling for careful consideration towards the architectural typology that is taking place in Contemporaneity, and at the same time draw attention to the following questions: Will it be produced in the country architecture of Guatemalan or Guatemalan architecture? Authentic architecture or architecture without identity? Based on this, a general appraisal is issued of each of
these periods, obtaining a critical proposal of how to interpret them from a personal
perspective or personal reading; to be able to give an assessment about the lack
of identity in the current architectural typology in Guatemala, and with it the lack of authenticity of it.