Román Fresnedo Siri facts for kids

Román Fresnedo Siri (born February 4, 1903 – died June 26, 1975) was a famous Uruguayan architect. He designed many important buildings in South America. His work often blended art with practical design. He was known for creating buildings that fit well with their surroundings.

Who Was Román Fresnedo Siri?

Román Fresnedo Siri was born in 1903 in Salto, Uruguay. Salto is a small city by a river, about 300 miles northwest of Montevideo. Not much is known about his early life. He went to primary and secondary school in Asunción, Paraguay.

In 1920, he became a surveyor in Paraguay. This background helped him later to connect buildings with the land around them. At age 20, Fresnedo Siri returned to Uruguay. He went to Montevideo to study architecture.

His Education and Teachers

Fresnedo Siri studied at Uruguay's University of the Republic. He was there from 1923 to 1930. A French architect named Joseph Paul Carré taught at the university. Carré believed that good architecture needed to be both useful and artistic. He thought buildings should combine different parts in a balanced way.

Fresnedo Siri learned this idea well. Throughout his career, he paid close attention to everything. This included the building's outside, inside, and even its furniture. He was also an artist himself. He enjoyed painting, photography, music, and designing boats and furniture.

How Modern Ideas Shaped His Work

Architects in Uruguay watched new trends from Europe and the U.S. In 1929, a famous architect named Le Corbusier visited Montevideo. This visit likely influenced Fresnedo Siri. Modern ideas in architecture were quickly becoming popular in Latin America. Governments there supported these new designs early on.

For example, Brazil's Ministry of Education and Health building was built in 1937. It was designed by Lucio Costa and Oscar Niemayer. Le Corbusier was a consultant on the project. Later, Niemayer and Julio Vilamajo from Uruguay helped design the United Nations headquarters in New York.

Important Buildings He Designed

Román Fresnedo Siri designed many famous buildings. These include schools, hospitals, and even horse racing tracks.

School of Architecture

In 1938, Fresnedo Siri won a competition. He teamed up with Mario Muccinelli, another Uruguayan architect. They designed a new complex for the School of Architecture in Montevideo. This was his first big project. The project covered several city blocks. Today, it is seen as an important early example of modern architecture in Latin America. Uruguay's government made it a national historical monument in 2000.

Organic Architecture and Design

Fresnedo Siri was a fan of Frank Lloyd Wright's work. He liked the idea of "organic architecture." This means designing buildings that fit naturally with their surroundings. The goal is for the building, its furniture, and the landscape to work together.

In 1940, the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York held a design contest. It asked designers to create "Organic Design" furniture. Fresnedo Siri was one of five Latin American winners. He designed chairs using Uruguayan leather on a steel frame. His work was shown in a 1941 MOMA exhibition. This exhibition also introduced famous designers like Eero Saarinen and Charles Eames.

Palacio de la Luz

In 1941, Fresnedo Siri visited the U.S. He was the chief architect for Uruguay's power company (UTE). He spent five months studying modern office buildings. When he returned, he worked on the UTE project from 1942 to 1948. This project created a whole new "company town" in Montevideo. It included homes, schools, shops, and a power plant.

The main building was called the Palacio de la Luz (Palace of Light). It was an 11-story building that filled a whole city block. It had a rectangular shape with tall white columns and dark glass. This design was later used in the PAHO building. The Palacio de la Luz was one of the first large buildings in Uruguay with central air conditioning. It won a Gold Medal in 1948.

Sanatorio Americano (American Hospital)

Another important building by Fresnedo Siri was the Sanatorio Americano in Montevideo (1946). This hospital had a new design idea. Instead of isolating patients, Fresnedo Siri wanted them to see green spaces. He wanted them to feel connected to the city.

The hospital building had a long curve. This showed his interest in adding artistic shapes to his buildings. His focus on blending the building with the landscape showed his commitment to organic architecture. This project made him a leader in hospital design. He spent much of the 1950s working on hospitals in Uruguay, Brazil, and Paraguay.

Hipodromo do Cristal

Fresnedo Siri also designed sports buildings. Horse racing was very popular in the region. In 1951, he won a competition to design a horse racing complex in Brazil. The Hipodromo do Cristal is known for its modern design and engineering. Brazilians see it as a landmark of South American modern architecture. The city of Porto Alegre listed it as a protected cultural site in 2003.

PAHO Headquarters Project

Pan American Health Organization building, Washington, DC

In 1961, Fresnedo Siri won an international competition to design the PAHO headquarters in Washington, D.C. The building was finished in just over two years. It had about 170,000 square feet (16,000 m²) of space. It was decorated with marble, paintings, and sculptures. The council chamber could hold 400 delegates. The new headquarters officially opened on September 27, 1965.

After this success, PAHO asked him to design their regional headquarters in Brazil in 1971. They wanted a similar look to create a "brand" through architecture. The Brasilia complex also has a curved main office building. It has a round annex for the main meeting hall. He also worked on a PAHO project in Lima, Peru, in 1973. Román Fresnedo Siri died in 1975.

Other Works

Román Fresnedo Siri designed many important buildings across South America. He also had a love for the ocean and designed racing yachts.

• Tribune Folle Ylla(1938) and Local Tribune(1945) in Hipodromo Nacional de Maroñas;
• Building of the Faculty of Architecture, Montevideo, opened in 1947 (with Mario Muccinelli);
• Palace of Light, the headquarters of UTE in Arroyo Seco, Montevideo;
• Luis Batlle Berres monument, Montevideo, opened in 1967;
• American Hospital in Parque Batlle, Montevideo;
• Hipodromo do Cristal, in Porto Alegre, Brazil;
• Headquarters of the Pan American Health Organization in Washington, D.C., United States, opened in 1965.

Images for kids

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  Pan American Health Organization building, Washington, DC

See also

In Spanish: Román Fresnedo Siri para niños