by Solbey Blanco

During the occupation (1898-1958), America invested more than 30 million dollars in the Cuban islands and ruled the Cuban market. Compared to other Latin American countries, Cuban independence from the Spanish yoke started late. The ‘American way of life’ had permeated the Cuban lifestyle by the early 1950sCuadra, 2019: S. 19. The strongest expressions of the American style of architecture in Cuba can be found, for example, in the neoclassical Capitolio in La Habana, built in 1929. However, the country changed drastically after January 01, 1959 right after Fidel Castro and the ‘M26J’ movement, led by him, took possession of the country. At the time of the victory of the revolution in 1959, Cuban society was highly stratified and a large part of the population lived in poverty^[1]. Thus, housing was one of the main objectives of the first social programs of the Revolution. The idea of anti-imperialism as a decisive factor in the development of the Caribbean island can be explained by the desire to finally break away from the long political-economic and cultural influence of the United States. To achieve this goal, it was necessary to break away from monocultures and the traditional export model^[2]. In the process, Cuba succeeded in forging an alliance with the communist Eastern Bloc. Geopolitically, Cuba became an important strategic point since the nation declared itself socialist in 1961 and established trade relations with the USSR.

With the reforms that the revolution brought, the first phase of the new history of Cuba (1959 – 1975) begins, which is called the transition period between the prevailing capitalist system of the island and the planned economy that arrived in the country in the 1970’s^[3]. The first 15 years after the revolution, Cuba grew enormously. The first steps of the revolution were aimed at improving the living conditions of the population in the cities and in the countryside. Residents of precarious neighborhoods were given new homes in communities or neighborhoods planned and executed as a whole with finished, turnkey housing, services, infrastructure and public spaces. In the first decade of the revolution, numerous experiments were carried out in search of suitable technologies and the necessary forms of expression for the new “contents”^[4]. Through research and testing of construction technologies, attempts were made to find solutions that would allow the rapid and massive construction of affordable housing with the available resources. There was a need for direct policies that can bring about the goals of rapid industrialization through urbanization in the countryside and in the city. Through regulation, modularization and standardization, that is, through a targeted planned economy such as the use of five-year plans, this step was possible. So at the same time a literacy and education process began throughout the country. The level of education increased drastically fast and schools and universities gained autonomy.

The architects who were still available in the country founded the first architecture faculties in the country. They very quickly taught their students craftsmanship and technical skills. The first architecture students, due to the shortage of architects in the country, and the enormous demand for construction, worked hand in hand with the architect professors, building the country together. In this way, bureaucratic structures were created very early on to facilitate the design and construction processes throughout the country at the same time. This was the case of architects such as Josefina Rebellón, Gina Rey, Graciela González and Blanca Hernández who matured their careers by working from the beginning of their architectural and urban planning careers and quickly rose to management positions in these controlling entities. Josefina Rebellón, for example, worked from the beginning to improve the prefabricated school system, thus developing in 1964 the Gran Panel System and most of its derivations, such as the Girón System, Gran Panel IV and E System, which is a very important legacy for the Cuban people^[5]. With the use of prefabricated building systems it can be seen that not only the production of prefabricated elements represent the development in construction per se.

A phenomenon that characterized housing production in Cuba in the 1970s was the microbrigade movement, in which factories formed brigades to build houses that, once completed, were awarded in workers’ assemblies to those who most needed or deserved them, whether or not they participated in their construction. The work of those who were to build the houses was taken over by the rest of the collective, so that everyone contributed with their efforts to achieve this goal^[6]. The construction of semi-finished buildings with traditional technologies that did not require highly skilled labor was the most common method used. The population participated in the construction of the buildings, but not in their planning and design. Gina Rey, a cuban Architect, worked together with the communities of the microbrigades, helped design the concepts of the different microdistricts and provided support to these communities^[7].

The recognition of the benefits of traditional urban areas over open, as well as the declaration of Old Havana as a “World Heritage Site” in 1982, prompted the questioning of the modern urban model and the study of the traditional city in order to find new and better solutions adapted to today’s conditions, giving momentum to the process of urban regeneration. In this way began the rehabilitation of the historic center of Havana, which today is a pioneering example at the international level of a management process that allows the recovery of cultural heritage, self-financing through tourism generated revenues and, at the same time, the preservation of the traditional inhabitants, thereby preserving not only the urban environment, but also the social environment. So Isabel Rigol, an Architect, who has been director for more than a decade of the National Center of Conservation, Restoration and Museology (CENCREM)^[8].

Even today, there is a National Community Development Group, which is mainly led by women, helping to support the community within the municipalities, which enters both sociological and planning fields of activity. Women architects and planners in Cuba have mostly social as well as political commitment, and hold leadership positions.

^[1] Cuadra, M. (2019). Träume und Räume einer Revolution: Architektur und Städtebau in Kuba 1959-2018. kassel university press GmbH. S 21.

^[2] Couret, G. D. (2009). Medio Siglo de Vivienda social en Cuba. SCielo. https://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0718-83582009000300003

^[3] Cuadra, M. (2019). Träume und Räume einer Revolution: Architektur und Städtebau in Kuba 1959-2018. kassel university press GmbH. S 22.

^[4] Cuadra, M. (Ed.). (2018). LA ARQUITECTURA DE LA REVOLUCIÓN CUBANA 1959-2018: Relatos históricos regionales-Tipologías-Sistemas. kassel university press GmbH. S. 38.

^[5] Cuadra, M. (Ed.). (2018). De primera mano. Entrevistas con sus protagonistas y cronistas. kassel university press GmbH. Josefina Rebellón Alonso. S. 95.

^[6]  Couret, G. D. (2009). Medio Siglo de Vivienda social en Cuba. SCielo. https://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0718-83582009000300003

^[7]  Cuadra, M. (Ed.). (2018). De primera mano. Entrevistas con sus protagonistas y cronistas. kassel university press GmbH. Gina Rey Rodriguez. S. 213.

^[8] Cuadra, M. (Ed.). (2018). De primera mano. Entrevistas con sus protagonistas y cronistas. kassel university press GmbH. Isabel Rigol. S. 265.