Architect Oscar Imbert called for a more tropical architecture, during the Primer Convite de Arquitectura Caribena Contemporaria held at the Fundacion Global, as reported in El Caribe. “We have forgotten about the breeze of the Caribbean,” he said. “We are erecting buildings in glass, typical of large cities like New York. I do not want to say here this is not valid, but we have to be aware that we are not a rich country and these buildings need lots of energy to operate,” he stressed. He recommended at the contemporary architecture discussion that architects instead design buildings that are best adapted to our economic condition and our climate.
Puerto Rican architect Andres Mignucci, who is participating in the design of the Parque Central de Santiago with Dominican architect Gustavo More, said that in both Puerto Rico and the DR there is a clash between a trend that recognizes the tropical Caribbean nature of the islands and a US or Nordic one that produces urbanism that does not feel part of the place. Mignucci commented on the artificial island proposed by the government, urging that it avoid catering to the elite or becoming an economic burden for the state.