Paraguayan architecture

With the arrival of Europeans, and especially the Spanish, the architecture of the country developed with the construction of brick built cathedrals, palaces and many other European-style monuments.

The uprising failed, but it was the first sign of the independent spirit that was growing among the criollos, mestizos and natives of Paraguay.

This covered a number of new issues hither to unknown in the country, including the state building of schools, government offices, railway stations, docks, and arsenals.

The public work of Carlos A. López, plentiful and of excellent quality, became iconic of a national project and his time.

Specifically in the case of the architecture, the reign of Carlos López started the gradual imposition of a new cultural pattern that left behind colonial tradition : a pattern that would characterized as a transition towards classicism, understood as a sign of modernity, preserving certain values themselves as part of the national consciousness which was also part of the project country, as a paradigm of modernity.

From the technological point of view, this period completely left behind the wooden colonial structure, supporting and working predominantly with masonry bearing walls.

It saw the introduction of new building materials, including iron, present in the spiral staircase of the president's house in Trinidad, and in the unusual glazed metal stairs of the Cabildo.

[8] The architectural liberal period comes from the reconstruction of the country after the First World War, which brought a lot of European architects to Paraguay, including Italians such as Grassi, Rapetti and Pozzi.

This influence of European architects resulted in a new architectural style for Paraguay and the other countries of South America.

Cities like Asuncion received a new architecture which brought an improvement in the design quality and visual appeal of urban buildings.

This event helped to stimulate the growth of the entrepreneurial bourgeoisie, which created a demand for a new urban residential neighborhood.

The 1980s witnessed a process of degradation of the historical center and everything « old » but also a discrediting of the modern influence due to different and new expectations of the growing bourgeoisie.

Located in the center of Asunción, looking at the bay, this building was built by order of Carlos Antonio Lopez, to serve as the residence for his son, the General Francisco Solano López.

The materials for the construction of the palace came from several places inside the country, stones from the quarries of Emboscada and Altos, woods and odrajes of Ñeembucú and Yaguarón, bricks of Tacumbú, iron pieces molten in Ybycuí, etc.