PlanCHA: from Master Plan to a Master Process

This article discusses the case study of the Master Plan for the Historic Center of Asuncion, Paraguay. From a historical, cultural, urban perspective, the paper situates the area as a major locus of memory for the city and country, and a scene of civic and cultural events nowadays. The article focuses on the Spanish office Ecosistema Urbano’s proposal, winner of the international competition organized by the country s National Government in 2013, and its implementation process during the following three years: its socio-political context, its strategies, the steps implemented. This study is part of a wider investigation ongoing at Nomads.usp - University of Sao Paulo, Brazil - on digitally mediated urban diagnosis and intervention processes. The use of such means aims to search for new ways to conceive the city, broadening popular participation in decision-making processes. Researchers from Nomads.usp interviewed the Ecosistema Urbano office team in Madrid, which have authored the winning proposal of the international competition organized in 2014 by the Paraguay National Government. In Asuncion, we interviewed the partner team of Paraguayan architects who implemented the project locally, as well as historians, members and former members of national and local governments, real estate agents, community representatives, cultural producers, residents and academic researchers. We made as well several technical visits to the Asuncion Historic Center recorded in audio and video, in adition to the study of historical, urban, demographic, academic, and journalistic documents.