Lima la Moderna: European Migration and Peruvian Architecture 1937–1969

The participation of foreign intellectuals in the urban development of Peruvian cities, and particularly of Europeans in the introduction of new types of buildings in Lima, remains one of the most important influences on local architects and engineers.

Based on the award-winning doctoral thesis of Javier Atoche Intili, a specialist in architectural heritage with roots in both South America and Europe, this monograph focuses on the study of the most active European designers in 1940s Peru, including the Austrian Richard Neutra, the German-born Paul Lester Wiener and the Spaniard Josep Lluis Sert.

It also considers the economic, political and cultural circumstances that underpinned the design and use of multi-storey buildings in the historic centre of Lima: from the introduction of urban planning regulations to the presence of European-born architects who designed a significant number of these buildings, including Paul Linder from Germany, Mario Bianco from Italy and Theodor Cron from Switzerland. Finally, it reflects on the protection, conservation and valorisation of this vast architectural heritage.

Javier Atoche Intili is a registered architect in Peru and Italy, with an office in Brescia. He is a specialist in monument restoration and urban composition, having received his Doctorate in History of Architecture from the Sapienza Università di Roma and the Università della Svizzera italiana in 2021. His thesis was awarded the ‘La Calcina – John Ruskin’ Scrivere di Architettura and the Enrico Guidoni Prize.