They Built a New City in Guatemala And It's STUNNING
They Built a New City in Guatemala And It's STUNNING
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👉 In this video, we discover the newly built city of Cayalá, in Guatemala. This project by Léon Krier and Estudio Urbano redefines how we can build cities, by showing how putting the community central in the urban design works to connect people from all walks of life, and how building beauty is still possible in this day and age. Not only that, it shows how this model can be both profitable for developers and still add value to society.
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🙏 Special thanks to:
Maria Sanchéz & Pedro Godoy, Estudio Urbano
estudiourbano.com.gt/
Léon Krier
& all our patrons!
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🎶 Soundstripe:
O9EVEBRRDGGCQEWK - Victory - Elision
T4NH7NIKSNMAFSPO - As we Stand - Strength to Last
SB3VVNYWEMW2DVSL - Outrun - Aardverk
3HDQJ8YPGOKIDAEL - I’ll Make You Famous - Neon Beach
XSIL3SSWWJEH5D4T - Aurora - Featherland
LAB0WLLZDKWHDO7O - Chaos Reigns - Salon Dijon
A1E8DQ0TH42W76V8 - Sentinel - Falls
MOQHZOOXVGQOWLZO - Before Time - Moments
LNG2TOJ2PHJITBNS - It Comes To This - Moments
TZPIDTDI5RZSXT0F - Constellations - Chelsea McGough
P114YJCTMQVIHGR5 - The Cover of Darkness - Falls
FNS1SIYW5OPO0RVA - Into the Storm - Moments
QXI0MWXAHCLYBDWO - Chasing the Northern Lights - Sounds like Sander
XNQM6VBH9I02JVER - Just Stay - Strength To Last
Z2V0MOFMHRWH9G5W - Life Moves Pretty Fast - Adrian Walther
Tags:
The Aesthetic City,Place-Sensitive Design,ciudad cayala,cnu,leon krier,interior design,traditional architecture,the local project,Guatemala Real Estate,real estate,guatemala city,guatemala city travel guide,canal de la ciudad,Guatemala City Development,Architectural Studios,Urban Design Projects,Architectural Harmony,Urban Planning,Urban Development,Community Building,Socially Inclusive Cities,Cultural Identity in Architecture,Real Estate Development
Our miserable world needs more architects like this couple.
We just have to fight off the hordes of modernist trolls first who insist that beauty doesn't exist.
Agreed, there are objectively beautiful things that make us comfortable and objectively ugly things that make us uncomfortable. While some modernist designs might look interesting they're generally not made with any real consideration for long-term comfort or beauty. For instance things that appear sharp/spiky and disorderly make most people feel uncomfortable, such a visual representation is perceived as threatening on a primal level, like the teeth of an apex predator. Yet modern architects will try to convince us that this visual is not threatening, they try to defy and forcibly change our basic instinctual perceptions of things as if that'll make us believe that what they're making is beautiful. I wish to see a future where modernism at least has some consideration for human comfort and our basic perceptions of beauty and order, but for this to be possible architects need to stop trying to defy the human spirit and take inspiration from classical forms.@@CheeseBae
@@CheeseBaecities like these aren’t possible in high population centers. And if they were they’d be sprawled to hell
@@lanxy2398 I never said they should replace existing city centers. All cities have an area of low-rise residentials between the centers and the suburbs where a Cayala could be built.
As a Guatemalan Architect is funny to see this video and what people takes out of it. That's just a big ass mall for rich people, most architects actually see it as an insult to our native colonial architecture being somewhat a tumor in the city without any kind of context relating to it. Not only there are social concerns about this proyect about how is overwemly a white "neighborhood" with dozens of brown ppl as the security team but also the bases where its build as a "walkable city" when below it's surface there is huge parking lot and it's consider when of the biggest traffic makers of the city. There are also enviromental concerns behind it, there were plans to build a second phase to it but it got declined because of huge enviromental impact.
Projects like this give me a lot of hope for the future of cities. Really hope this catches on in the rest of the world and more people realize the infinite benefits of building with people and culture in mind instead of just cars and money.
Local people and local culture to. vs "copy-paste modern postmodernist world-citizen multicultural utopia culture".
European architecture in a globalized world that demonizes Europeans? Hardly. This place in Guatemala is rather an exception. A very nice exception, but still an exception.
local culture, local people. (edited from my original comment cause it was shadowed for bad speak.)
@@MissEldiramodernist or post modernist? Do those commenting in here even know the difference? I hear both referred to, with apparently little understand of what either are.
60% of Guatemalans don’t even have a bank account, you think this was built for the general population? LOL
I`m from Serbia and this project is so amazing and wonderful. In our country, we build a lot of new churches, which looks like they are from different period of medieval architecture, especially the byzantine style. Some of them are very gorgeous and if you saw it for the first time, you would not even notice they were built 2 or 3 years ago. Most famous church architect is Predrag Ristic and his works are really magical. Greetings!!!
He built a beautiful orthodox church here in Mississauga, Canada (All Serbian Saints Serbian Orthodox Church)
Unfortunately in our country (I am also from Serbia) the cities with historically good architecture are getting desecrated by gentrification.
Serbia and the entire should build schools and universities. We have churches enough.
@@vasacarapiccDon’t worry, soon your cities will collapse from the REPARATIONS you’ll have to pay Ukraine! Sanctions will not be lifted until you leave Ukraine and pay for the damage and lives you have destroyed.
@@fm7551 Only schools but not universities. Very few young Serbs are interested in continuing their education by going to universities. Most of them would just drop out and work on low-income jobs
Architecture is slowely going trough a new renaissance. Everywhere there are projects that try to respect the classical style in at least a minimal way. This is the best I have seen so far.
As a Mexican I am extremely proud of the wonderful countries we have as neighbors. Viva Guatemala
Viva México hermano mayor de Guatemala
Tell your cartel brothers not to mess things up there.😢😢😢
@@OguejiDavid-ey4cw 😅
@@OguejiDavid-ey4cw 👍
+But the people are leaving and trying to get into the US....why?
I always find it funny when people criticize communities like this as bad because they are too expensive. The reason they are too expensive is because everyone wants to live there and so those who can pay more will. The solution to this problem isn't to not build beautiful cities, it's to build more more beautiful cities so that prices will go down. Personally, I think it's worse to force lower income(and in many cases middle income) people to live in ugly, run down, disgusting places
100%! Few people get this
I find it funny how they complain that places like this are "for the rich" when there are plenty of modernist settlements which are _genuine_ gated communities, yet you never hear anything about them. Let's be real journo's: you don't hate the rich, you hate beauty.
Eh that's somewhat true but often times people are literally referring to the original construction cost being higher or higher cost to sq foot due to lower property utilization when they say that not the increase after the fact....
@@maddiekits4998 the only people who have a reason to care about the price to build this stuff are developers, and honestly I can't bring myself to empathize even slightly with "people" who see homes and communities as nothing more then a way to make a quick buck for themselves
@@maddiekits4998nicer buildings will cost more. In North America areas for the less wealthy are usually very car dependent which costs more to pave such a large area.
So happy for those architects. Designing buildings like these are the reason why people want to become an architect. Sadly ver few get to do this.
Que hablas es copia de italia Francia y Grecia??? Ahí dioss p3e
Y cual es el problema?
I'm from Guatemala, and I live 5-10 minutes from Cayala, and I never really thought much about the place. The point in your video where you said that the place feels like its always been there, is very true, I never really payed much attention to the environment and the detail of the buildings; to those of us living around the area, its just a place, a place of commerce to hangout, it doesn't feel like anything special, because its something we've become acustomed to. This video has made me appreciate it more, I never really knew the backstory of how the place came to be, and I'm very impressed that it ever got to the stage its currently in. However, I feel like in this video you could have talked more about the impact the city has had around the area surrounding it. When my parents bought our house, the area was kinda desolate, a bunch of trees and houses. When a supermarket was built nearby, it was seen like the pinicle of human achievement, but move forward a couple of years, and BOOM, malls are being built left and right, new highways are always under construction and land prices are skyrocketing to ridiculous levels. The price of a house has gone up 5 times since the city was built. Its really impressive, altough I will say one final thing, driving around that area, is a pain in the ass, theres always something going on, from obstructions from construction to just random traffic jams, that area is always full of cars and people.
Would love to see more trees to combat CO2 and provide natural shade to cool the city
Lucky you live so close to Cayala.
These are not private individuals…….this is an old world banking group of investors that create these things all over the world……and ther3 are always Judases available and lend themselves to construct the false narrative…….take the thirty pieces and try not to get too excited………
youre very lucky to live there. you just dont realize it. i hope the rest of the world can have that one day. the fact that you even have a hangout spot in cayala is because of how nice and beautiful it is. if it was a desolate parking lot or ugly plaza or run down neighborhood it simply wouldnt be a hangout spot. i and many others would kill to live next to a nice place like that to hangout. truly. and yes, it can be a pain to get around because its such a nice area so its become popular, everyone wants to be there! that is a result of its beauty unfortunately. this happens in other cities as well. but if the rest of our cities/towns were this way, that wouldnt be such a problem. people want to be in beautiful places. it makes people feel happy and healthy. its priceless. please be grateful of what you have and cherish it.
It's awesome seeing a small country like Guatemala being a pioneer in making our cities pleasant 🇵🇱♥️🇬🇹
It really is surprising in a way, Guatemala is happy to have the excellent architects Maria and Pedro who happened to go to Notre Dame. Without them, Cayalá wouldn’t exist like it is today
Beauty matters, no matter the style.
@@the_aesthetic_city People say it's pretty but expensive which is called gentrification - if Mexico tries to create high prices (cities that are unaffordable) - that's the wrong way to go. Most important to most people is to clean up the rampant crime there.
oh my gad .. some ivory towered highly educated elitist trained and overpaid academics and designers have came up with an idea that any five year old child could see.. and they managed to implement it.. wow.. we are all saved !! hurray… thank gad for the ruling class, the intelligencia, the social planners and visionaries … they have finally saved us from the mess of the ruling class, intelligencia, and the social planners and visionaries… now how about putting your really clever minds onto some bigger environmental problems……… like instead of digging for lithium how about planting trees.. wow I know you will get there in the end.. maybe in another 100 years.. but well done you.. wow
@@matham625 YA. They bought some land in a place that gives free reign to developers. They built another place for those with deep pockets to live and the less fortunate can visit and wish they could live there. New development old story...
Guatemalan here, not only the success of Cayalá has been evident in itself, but other big developers are now starting to build other similar urban projects in different parts of the city. While at the beginning it was perceived purely as an "open mall", now people do, as the video says, use it as a city centre of sorts. While a portion of the population here still criticize it as a symbol of privilege and inequality because of the luxury real state and expensive businesses, you don't have to live there or have an office there, you can just go and hang around for a while, go watch a movie or just walk. The crime and bad state of the city took the opportunity for many people of actually using the city to go for a walk for example. Cayalá gives the people that opportunity again. Also, since I'm an architecture student, I have heard all kinds of critiques about the architectural style, saying it's a pastiche and it doesn't hold any architectural value. Personally, while I agree that it's a simplistic blending of many architectural styles that don't necessarily represent Guatemala, I do believe new classicism has the advantage of never going out of style, while more modern approaches will look outdated in 20-30 years. In the end, the only people that care are us architects 😂 regular people just look at it and think it's nice, and want to come back there.
Great to hear from someone from Guatemala!
It's strange that people say referencing history in architecture is "pastiche." Women have been wearing makeup for 100 years. Is that pastiche? We've been eating the same foods for hundreds of years, are the recipes "pastiche?" Why does everything have to be new without reference to history? If so, why is 20th century urban planning not "pastiche?" It's been done for a long time now and has been shown to be ineffective, and people generally don't like how it's centered around the automobile.
@@CheeseBae thing is, it doesn't really reference history. There are a few things here and there: the maize capitels and a few ornaments that kinda look like Antigua, but apart from that, there is not really much of Guatemala in the architecture itself.
@@miguela.6155 referencing history doesn't mean copying history. The thing about traditional architecture is if you copied exactly then you're criticized for being unoriginal and passé, and if you don't copy it exactly but change some things, then you're criticized for not being "authentic." So ultimately arguing about it is nothing more than an exercise in subjectivity and expressing an opinion that is neither correct nor incorrect.
Modernism has already survived for nearly 100 years so far. Unless, as usual with this channel, we are confusing “modern” and “modernism” ?
I love the fact they keep classic architecture it’s beautiful
kept? this is all new lil bro and in european style
@@YOYO-xy3ygClassical colonial architecture is european in origin and part of Latin Americal architectural tradition.
This isnt "Classical colonial architecture" idiot, its based on neo classical architecture and no its not a latin american tradition, you beans love to pick and choose which european things you want to keep and leave out when ever it benefits you @@XxLIVRAxX
@@XxLIVRAxXwhy does latin americas european heritage take priority over its mesoamerican heritage? especially in a place like guatemala where stunning mayan ruins litter the landscape?
@@joseph8762porque la arquitectura europea española es superior, no todo lo nativo fue abandonado pero sí las cosas Inferiores.
Cayalá gave me a sense of being in an Italian town, except everyone spoke Spanish. It is a very interesting concept, the first time I was there I thought it was a sort of "open air shopping mall" until I realized that there are also residential and office spaces. If you really want the "city like it used to be" experience, nothing beats Antigua. Spent a week there and didn't want to leave, luckily the volcanoes were on their best behavior.
Come back soon...
You call Colonial Spanish Architecture |talian? You've never been to Italy.
@irvinargon I have, in fact, never been to Italy, but I have lived my whole life within "colonial Spanish architecture," and Antigua is the best example. Straight streets in a grid, as opposed to meandering streets where the buildings don't line up, because they were built on the side of a hill. While the Spaniards did have a bunch of mining towns in colonial times (born and raised in one), Cayalá did not feel like one. The building with the columns has more Roman or Greek influences than Spanish.
@@chrisflores4788 absolutely no one would ever see this as Italian from roofing,the warm colour,plan layout and the mudejar decor i must also remind you columns are Egyptian and Greeks would learn from Assyrian empire and make them popular across Europe.
@agentarcher2542 I must be the exception to the rule, then. I'm expressing what I perceived from this place, as it is sufficiently different from normal Spanish architecture. I think that was what the designers were going for, using influences from several cultures to create a "city" that is attractive and different for foreigners and locals alike.
As a Brazilian I am happy those sorts of amazing projects are starting to make their way to latin America, I never expected this to leave Europe.
@@r.mariano8118Minas gerais tem bastante
As a Brazilian, what do you think of the urban design for Brasilia? Do Brazilians like the work of Oscar Niemeyer?
Guatemala already has old European style buildings and city centers. So do most cities in latin america. what happened was car culture took over there, just like everywhere. Replaced the trains and busses that used to help create more walkable cities.
@@paulheydarian1281 Yes. Those with some aesthetic sense like it.
It's already booming in north America, so it's not only an European thing... And I can assure you that even in Europe it's a rarity to build new developments like this, most Europeans still don't care about beauty.
Honestly, I hope the world can learn from this. It's stunning. It's a place I actually WANT TO BE.
exactly, there is no such thing as open city, there is normal city and there is psychopath city where rich prey on the poor then put a wall around so the poor can't retaliate. we have this nonsense here, they privatized water, gas electric and now the rich who own that live in gated communities so they can parasitize single mothers and elderly without their sons robbing them back at knife point.
@@mythbuster6126what on earth are you yapping about💀
As an architect in the states, what bothers me is this will never happen here so long as our highly restrictive building code dictates everything. I fully understand the need for a strict building code but they don’t have no where near the same restrictions we have here in the states. Beautiful area and I hope to visit some day!
tbf I think a strict building code can be a good think if it enforces traditional style architecture, someting that would be easier to implement in Europe, in the states I can only see it happening in places more well know for their unique traditional arquitectural styles like New England, San Fracisco or New Orleans, places people would visit for this reason and places with more insentive
@@billyroy7812 every community has its own municipal code which will, at times, dictate the over all design/look. Building code in the states tend to be for safety and building standards and almost never has to do with the actual styling of the building. If anything the ADA regulations (Americans with disabilities act) control a ton of your design due to the legal requirement to make any public building handicap accessible. That’s why you’ll see tons of ramps, handrails, etc in the states.
"Strict" building code doesn't forbid any of this. Building codes are mostly there to protect people, and allow for plenty of architectural styles. it's zoning laws and bad development practices combined with a lack of cultural respect for nice architecture and various economic issues that result in community-less communities and garbage-looking cities.
@@Ithirahad actually yes, ADA code wouldn’t allow a lot of this as it’s laid out now. You can definitely replicate this architectural style and feel BUT there’s going to be a shit load of ramps, handrails, and other accessible elements. I mean it’s great having those things for the handicapped but it does drives a lot of the design at times.
@@Carlos559Caps Ramps, handrails, accessible doors, etc. wouldn't hurt this sort of design much... Sure it wouldn't be exactly as compact and quaint as this design, but it would still look good and function well.
Been to Guatemala once a few years ago and damn did my heart fall for it. Such an amazing country with kind people
Siempre serás bienvenido! 💚🇬🇹
Im not guatemalan but im hispanic and I love this idea soo much! I wish this happened more often & in other coutries. I love this channel👍
first time i heard of a country called Hispanic 🤔
@@isenhertor Is not a country, is a cultural label.
oh ok. was thinking maybe he was saying he's Spanish.
You’re Latino not Hispanic. Unless you’re from Spain
@@Noah_GOAT No I'm hispanic because everyone who is from a spanish speaking culture is hispanic. But also I'm certain I have spanish ancestry besides being "latino" but that's irrelevant to the label.
Cayalá is definitely a step in the right direction for Guatemala. I'm from El Salvador and people travel there every week almost exclusively to Cayalá; people travel there because it's a safe, beautiful space. Great video, you should also dig in the history of Zona 4, which was an area close to downtown Guatemala that has been "rescued" with a lot of smaller, more affordable but still beautiful living spaces.
Thank you! I didn’t know about Zona 4 yet, will dig into it
@@the_aesthetic_city You'll enjoy it! Has a more modern feel than Cayalá, but it's still a great feat of urban planning. 4 Grados Norte is like a smaller scale, more hipsterish Cayalá
🇸🇻🇸🇻🇸🇻🇸🇻🇸🇻🇸🇻
My dad is Salvadoran so seeing stuff like this being achieved by Central Americans is meaningful to him. Knowing that the streets in El Salvador are becoming safer, I'm hoping El Salvador has projects like these ones.
But are you satisfied with the recent election results? I've heard the winner is very pro-Chinese.
Magnificent. I am so happy to see this project happening in a "developing" country. And my contempt for the architects and urban planners in Australia increases with every one of your videos I watch.
I hope to visit again Guatemala. I miss everything there.
People are starting to understand everywhere that beauty and order is better than chaos.
I am guatemalan, and everyone loves Cayala. All importants events such as concerts are now taking place at Explanada Cardales de Cayala, and no longer in the stadiums in the City, everyone loves Cayala, and we wish we have more places such Cayala in the rest of the City but our authorities struggle and this was done thanks to those guys that reach that architect, he's a genius.
bullsh*t. cayala is just a facade to tourists. Or like they say in Spanish, “para taparle el ojo al macho”
Gracias, al fin. Iba a escribir un comentario similar, son puras babosadas Cayala. Todo un lio y dudo que siquiera se pueda hacer una investigacion sin ser desaparecido.@@GersonRGomez
cuando alguien productivo hace algo bonito siempre salen resentidos como este@@GersonRGomez
@@luisbranger1133amen
Still, I dream they make a proper Arena for the Cayalá concerts, that should be the cherry on top
I have dreamed with this concept for decades. So thrilled to see this wonderful example of what can be accomplished! May this be like the movie, "Back to the Future."
I saw about this place years ago, and turns out one of my uncles also have a house there so I was fortunate enough to visit it last year once the covid was lifted. It was absolutely stunning. They did such an amazing work to create it. It's similar to one of the places in Taiwan in here it's an entire mountain turned into a new city with some of the finest hotels in the country, an absolute tourist attraction. I simply love these kinds of places, they're truly one of the greatest creations in this era.
Impressive, I wish politicians would follow the same principles when it comes to urban planning
Corruption is a hindrance to the quality of life many south of the border deserve. Demand quality.
The Government needs some serious reform, we’re pretty much ruled by a mafia coalition between politicians and companies.
What principles? Profit? "Christian" cities with churches excluding the majority of the population? Toy city for the rich only, proles need not attend? While it's better than nothing, there is a lot of wrong with this and we can do far better than pet profit of two ignorant rich profiteers who have little clue how low and mid classes of society actually work and live...
@@AverageBrethren No, it's that this concept tells us nothing about whether these types of cities are workable at scale. All this concept shows us is beautiful cities can serve as destinations for people. But we already knew that. That's what Disneyland is. The interesting question is if this is actually a solution that scales, and there's nothing about this that suggests it's a scaleable solution. This isn't solving any transportation dilemmas for when people want to travel anywhere outside of this 1 square km area. Like this whole city is a destination that people most likely drive to, where they park their cars outside. This whole concept is just a microcosm that ticks a bunch of aesthetic boxes without being a scaleable proof of concept.
@@oheddhave you seen europe? People risk their lives and pay millions just to take in a day of what the average middle income europeam experiences.
This kind of urban planning is what's needed today. It's for a slow paced, allowing people to look around and enjoy the scenery. Like what in video stated, cars are not really allowed inside the city and thus making people walk. It's open enough where people can meet and talk and slow down. People centered urban planning like this is just awesome. I hope more follow.
Slow passed is the moto of latin america they value leasure over development
kzhead.info/sun/Y7ymeLKQpaKuhKs/bejne.htmlfeature=shared
Easy to do when there’s good transportation in the city. Otherwise, people gotta park somewhere or they’ll be getting Ubers and taxis maybe
@@biellaspointofview2054 as explained in the video, cars as considered as guest. they kinda just drop people off and people walk off and the cars are parked somewhere. They prioritized people over cars.
@@biellaspointofview2054 Comments on ‘They Built a New City in Guatemala And It's STUNNING’ 0437am 11.9.23 ummmmm.. they emphasized the pedestrian aspect of the city and it's walkways not the attendant easy links via the lazy assed taxi or uber.... maybe you gotta think putting some effort into re-colonizing those places usually left to dirt and constant flux of public and private transport. there's a lot to be said for allowing a more laid back and pedestrian approach to engaging with your town or city or village, even... still; that's not to say let 'em walk 20 mile to get to and from the metaphorical big smoke is also worthy of championing. decent links between a town or city or town and village etc et need to be stressed. again, cost effective... less damage to the environment travel isn't the dreaded dystopia it's made out to be refer to the protests and the idiocies they dish out when scuppering travel conventional wisdom re: conventional travel arrangements.....
This place looks and sounds stunning, it seems better than cities from "developed countries" Good for Guatemala!
Hermoso, felicito a los guatemaltecos. En Latinoamérica tenemos una fuerte influencia del desastroso urbanismo gringo en el que se priorizan grandes edificios, parqueaderos y amplias carreteras de concreto como un sinónimo de "desarrollo" Da algo de esperanza que mas ciudades en latinoamerica puedan seguir esas propuestas urbanas
Gringo urbanism. Really? You're allowed to be so racist?
as an american who purchased a home in nearby Antigua, Guatemala, we went recently for the first time to Cayala. I had heard the same comments "it's only for the rich, etc"....but people of all demographics were walking around. That's what makes this area alive--it's the diversity. The beauty is undeniable! The climate of Guatemala is fantastic, 75F in the day & 60F at night. It encourages outdoor patio dining & the architecture & people watching. Just beautiful! The family, the architects, everyone involved in this project should be so proud of what they have created. Congratulations!
Like nearby the Zocalo in Mexico City,, normal ppl walking around, but never in the expensive stores buying anything. Lol
Not _all_ demographics. It takes just a few crazies and criminals to ruin everything for everyone, no matter how pretty your buildings are. Just like no matter what slum one may live in, it depends on the culture and civil society of the people there.
It is just for the rich to live there though. The only difference is that anyone can *visit* the public spaces. But not anyone can live there though. That privilege is reserved for the rich.
@tymiller176 yes cause it's such a nice place, but if more places are built like cayala. Eventually the supply and demand will equalize
@@Distress. It would take an ungodly amount of places like this to eventually lead to poor/working class people to live in a place like that. And by then, rich people will have access to even more liveable, beautiful places to live in; aka the system we have now anyway. Or, they could just build places like this explicitly for the working class to begin with. But they won't, because it's still about making money to these people, whether it's short term or long term. If they actually cared, then 70% of the housing there would be rent-controlled, affordable housing.
This project is an absolute triumph. Kudos to Estudio Urbano for their genius in building human scaled spaces respecting tradition and putting an emphasis on beauty! Fantastic work!
A triumph for who? The wealthy that can afford to live there? To look out their tiny windows? Live inside the dark rooms? There’s a reason these videos rarely show interiors. Just bland aesthetics. No ideas, no progression, just lazy regression.
Thank goodness for Notre Dame Architecture School. They teach traditional design that's beautiful, unlike Most other universities and their architectural programs. I hope this encourages more cities and counties in the US to dump the usual garbage "contemporary designs" and get back to aesthetics
@@LA_HA Complete with tiny windows, no natural light, cold, damp, cramped for most people. Top floors for the monarchs and wealthy. Brilliant
@@On_The_Piss Really? And how do you know? Do you have a link to the video showing this?
@@LA_HA Just look at the exterior windows bro. It’s not hard to imagine. Also I have lived in Victorian apartment buildings. They ain’t nice inside. Trust me.
I love it . I have been definitely weary of endless glass and steel buildings each one competing with the next for attention and totally indifferent to real people and how it “feels” to live in a place . This way of thinking is long overdue . Bravo to those planners and architects and I would love to see this idea spreading around the world .
Beautiful. This is how new developments should be built.
This is incredibly impressive! As a Filipino, this gave me hope that someday my country does the same. We have lost a lot of our heritage houses that were built during the colonial times, they say that because it was built during our colonial times that it should be destroyed or neglected, but those were also a part of what shaped our country to be what it is today because our ancestors lived inside those. Almost every single buildings that are being built here goes with modern or post-modern, I don't believe that traditional architecture are out dated or shouldn't be used. This just shows that traditional architecture could fit in, in the modern world.
the phillipines have some great traditional architecture as well. combined with spanish architecture this could be done in your country too
@@coraldestroyer4202 Yes, they have many interesting styles. Indigeneous ones as well as the many later foreign influences. The Spanish weren't the first to exert control. The different kingdoms had Chinese, Indian and Islamic influence but those, unlike Spain, didn't directly integrate them into their empires. So all these influences should make for great potential and variety of traditional styles
With the state of intramuros, quite unlikely
That could be possible but it should be built in suburban areas just like in USA not near the tall modern skyscrapers if you wanted it to become the main attraction. Anyways blame the Americans and Japanese for bombing and destroying this type of architecture in Manila on WW2.
@coraldestroyer4202 Yes the Philippines do have amazing traditional architecture. I actually think that a city that combines traditional and colonial styles of architecture would be phenomenal, we could even transform the traditional architecture to fit in with the now higher buildings getting the designs of the bahay kubo or the bahay na bato. With the colonial architecture tho I think that historical cities should promote the type of architecture used before on that area, like Intramuros and it's surroundings.
I spent about 6 months in Guatemala learning Spanish and the country has a special place in my heart. Thanks for this awesome video showing what cities can be. New sub.
Come back soon...
From South Africa 🇿🇦 huuuge congratulations to these Guatemalan architects. Beautiful country too, would love to visit and learn more 🇬🇹❤ very inspirational to other “””third world””” countries.
Welcome to Guatemala, the eternal spring country. Come soon
Beautifully designed. We could use a town like that in Melbourne Australia
I'm Mexican and I love Guatemalan people so much, there's not a single person from Guatemala I've met that I don't vibe with, awesome people!
Greetings from Gutemala city... Hugs..!
@@frodocomarca535 Greetings to you as well, stay good!
Se les olvidó el español a estos vatos.
@@Quijote-Salvaje si no sabes ingles, nunca es tarde para aprender.
@@aserher215 Claro que sé p...%*to. Se creen greendios los cerotes
Not too many city planning videos make me feel hope for the future. This one 100% did. True value and a legacy, thank you for sharing this
This is not a city planning video, kid. It is about a PRIVATE DEVELOPMENT. People like you are also inspired by big fancy shopping malls. Wow city planning!!! They made a fancy shopping area! WOW! lolol
I am blown away at the details. What an insane amount of work to build this even with 12 years to do so. And I agree, for someone with very little to be able to just buy an ice cream and hang out helps to bridge that invisible wall that so easily creeps up between the wealthy and the poor.
This reminds me a lot of Valquirico in Tlaxcala Mexico, an old hacienda turned into a Tuscan Village, very posh, very expensive, and yes very exclusive, although I believe this beautiful architecture can attract and lead to inspiration, I believe there must be an effort to integrate the general population into a better community, right where they live, and not wait until the whole country is redone in the beautiful image of Cayala.
We need more cool traditional looking cities like that
It is not a City! ...it's a hotel and commercial center... It is still very lovely though.
@@fanatik9590 🤓☝️
I moved to the USA from Italy, and people always ask me what I miss. They are confused when I say that it's the architecture! Thank you so much for this inspiring channel!💛
Americans can be proud of their most free and best of the best overall country in the world. But the truth is that cities in the US are most inhumane and depressing in the developed world. They don't realize it because they were born in this conditions and most of them have no examples to compare, so they think it's kind of normal. It is not. It definitely isn't normal when everything is build with car in mind, as a consequence all you see around is just roads and parking lots. That's it. You literally guys live on the road. "Car is freedom and comfort" a lot of people says. And they don't realize being bounded to their cars like invalids to wheelchair. Because what can you do without car? Right, mostly nothing, as handicapped.
@@alexkhorne7733 Cars are just inefficient, it is better to have your destinations nearby than to have a car to go to destinations further away. With cars you are basically bringing 2 tonnes of steel with you because you can't or don't want to walk, waste of energy. In the end what did cars really bring us, with the rise of cars we moved our jobs, shops and entertainment further away because we had cars, resulting in there not really being that much of a difference in travel time and us wasting so much energy while stacking living costs on people, keeping the average workweek at 40 hours a week. Now people HAVE to get cars basically, it's not freedom.
@@regenen Yes, not to mention earth as we know it is dying because of them
@@alexkhorne7733 Yes. Hopefully the mentality will change, pedestrian only streets are a slowly becoming a thing and younger people feel different about cars. I will always remember my medieval village during the 70s embargo, no cars on Sundays: it was heaven!
Amazing!!! I'm so proud to see this! Cheers from Colombia!
So refreshing to see this kind of architecture. Beauty, detail, and style like this are such a rare thing to see nowadays. This gives me hope. I would love to see this type of architecture spread throughout the world embracing the individuality of all the different areas cultures worldwide.
I was in Guatemala in the mid-80s. I enjoyed the culture, the people, the mountains. Beautiful nation. I'm over due for a visit.
This brought a tear to my eye.. This is what a city is supposed to be, inviting, peaceful, good for the mind The same thing can't be said about concrete jungles tho
Yes it’s nice to be wealthy and live in gated communities huh
@@On_The_Piss Yes it is nice to be wealthy and live in a gated community. What's your point?
@@On_The_Piss they wouldn't be so expensive if they were built more, and the reason why it isn't built more is because people like you are unable to recognize that
@@charliervr Point is, while different people can *visit* this city, only the rich people can live there. Poor people are just guests there.
It's nice to live in or near a nice place. A new development doesn't have to be bare-minimum crackerboxes and cul-de-sacs.
Wow! This is incredible. Good job, Guatemala! Saludos desde Mexico
Absolutely gorgeous city. I wouldn’t want to leave. Very excited for Guatemala.
I never thought I would see the day when beautiful design and it's relationship to the human experience would once again be a MAJOR priority. So very tired of neurotic design hiding behind the word "modern". There is no award big enough to give to this marvelous couple! Thank you for your wonderful work!
A lot of time I think the Modern epithet hides just laziness or the desire to dazzle with cheap tricks.
Oh, okay. Lol. Well if not these architects, then who? At least something was done.
Award? they were millionaires who made more millions off of this
This is one of the best things I've heard in the recent years, what a lovely town. I'm from Mexico, we're neighbors with Guatemala, and I had no idea about this project. What a great looking town, I absolutely love this project. Congrats to everyone involved, and congrats to our neighbours, the Guatemalans. This brought me a lot of hope, knowing that there's still people that care about classic architecture. Now I want to visit that place! Thank you for the video, great job.
Guatemala alberga 3 ciudades de este tipo 1 ciudad de cayala 2 Ciudad del condado naranjo 3 Najab city actualmente en construcción en el norte de Guatemala y sur de México en el estado de Huehuetenango
So great to see my professors Leon Krier and Richard Economakis from Univ of Notre Dame working on this! Wonderful job guys!
This a couple of true heroes. Generations and generations will be grateful of their work. This is wonderful. Thank God, these people exist and have the power to do what they did.
If only cities like this existed in the US, instead of the bland blueprint of modern living dictated to us by corporations and planners. This city reminds me of the centers of old European cities that evolved over hundreds of years. Everything is beautiful, a lot of details, and it all hangs together stylistically.That fact this city is all new shows things don't have to be very old to be beautiful and characterful. I hope this gets much more exposure so planners and developers see what is possible. I firmly believe this is what most people want.
Trust me it’s horrible life you can even talk to to your family the neighbors hear 👂 everything about you and wtf is going on in ya’ll life you have no freedom You Americans have the best city your neighbor is not on your next room be happy with your homes This kind of home are shit*y that’s why whenever a person becomes rich they go live in villa 😂😂😂
Check out Seaside Florida...this was started in the early 80's and is thriving.
You have Boston.
Ummm we do have cities like this in the US it just depends what colonial European architecture you’re looking at in New York City they still have colonial streets like in the west village neighborhoods (British/ Dutch colonial ) , Boston you have British architecture colonial, Philadelphia has many colonial streets european style in the center Philly region . There’s plenty more Washington DC has a ton
The old Mexican and French colonial cities are very like that
Hope to see more places like this in the future!
I have often felt such depression wandering around many soulless modern American cities. I sadly accepted that classical architectural beauty would never return. Seeing this video filled me with hope that perhaps a new generation of Americans will come to the fore, having learned that the almighty dollar is NOT more important than beauty and a stable, integrated society. God bless Guatemala…they are leading the way.
Hope this city goes more bigger than already is… so beautiful.
Central Americans are hard-working, family people. It's a shame their leaders are so corrupt and refuse to deal with corruption and the gang problems.
THe same in many parts of the world, great middle classes, the backbone of most countries, terrible creepy muderous political leadership with mafia thugs doing their evil work.
Mind your own business
Plenty of politicians want to better the country but they also don’t want a US Fbi agent to shoot them
Right back at you @@AlwaysSleepy13
Guatemala has gang members and narc dealers in important government positions. It’s kinda hard to make a difference between government, big corporations, and narc dealers. There may be good people around, but it’s not easy to trust any politician. Nevertheless, there are hopes, Guatemala voted against someone known for having connections with money laundry, her own daughters and sister have pending trials. We are hoping the next one makes a difference.
This is truly amazing to see in this day and age, and in Guatemala of all places. The architects, designers and laborers did an amazing job, and I hope everyone involved are able to spread their influence and success to other cities and countries, so that everyone can have cities that pay respect to their own cultures, heritages, minds and souls.
that's great for Guatemala. viva Guatemala
Wow. This is incredible. This will bring in tourists and travelers from all over. It will help the country immensely. Hope they build more cities/towns like this.
I’ve been twice to Guatemala and I loved it. Went entirely to the Pacific Coast and loved the black volcanic soil. The authenticity of the old city of Chichicastenango is marvelous! My hotel room had a fireplace with a gentleman who came at dusk to set and light it for me. Splendid! American here! Proud of our Central American neighbors! ❤
But you didn't go to cayala? 2:24
This looks very impressive, I must admit. I hope more cities around the world will follow this example. @The Aesthetic City: You should check out and visit Selfoss in Iceland one day. They are constructing a completely new downtown in traditional styles called Miðbær, with mixed used buildings. Even though only the first part is done, it already looks very impressive in reality. It's already a very popular place for locals and tourists.
I've heard of it and definitely want to visit & film it. A good reason to visit Iceland!
This is a private development that the city had nothing to do with really.
Beautiful. As a Landscape architect and city planning degree, along with having a Guatemalan family Im extremly upbeat about both: the future of cities, and the future of Guatemala.
amazing example that modern architecture can be different
Beautiful city, beautiful country and beautiful people, cheers from Brazil 🇧🇷🇬🇹
It is not a City! ...it's a hotel and commercial center... It is still very lovely though.
@@fanatik9590 I'm sure he's referring to Guatemala City, so he is correct.
@@Rachel-ct3jc The title of the video is: "They Built a New City in Guatemala And It's STUNNING"...I'm sure he agreed with the title of the video! and the people are not beautiful either!🤣
@@fanatik9590 you sound racist.
Que bonito...gran proyecto, ojalá pronto los hermanos de Guatemala tengan su país así de prolijo, saludos desde México
Talvez con el nuevo presidente pero los corruptos no quieren dejarlo llegar a la presidencia.
Será un gran desafío pero debemos luchar por un país mejor y obviamente más estético
It is incredible how much this resonates with my own decade-long urbanistic thoughts. This needs an international community❤️❤️
When there’s a plan to build with consideration for humanity. This gives me hope for future cities.
This is so impressive! As a person of Centroamérica is incredible how this country have improved. Another very amazing project could be Las Catalinas in Guanacaste, Costa Rica 🇨🇷 Would be very interesting to see a video about that mini city!
Guatemala has always been my favorite country in Central America❤
Wow, if only more urban areas could be designed and built with this level of creativity. Excellent work.
How refreshing to find traditional style construction nowadays, everywhere else is just glass and metal. The attention to detail is admirable.
So beautiful. So inspiring I'm visiting the old town of Alexandria, Virginia, at the moment. The city planners clearly understand the principles you emphasize on your channel. The vast majority of the new buildings imitate the established architecture. It's wonderful It also strikes me, and my family, that Washington DC has no tall buildings -- the Washington monument is the tallest structure in the city, and dominates the skyline. So, the entire city feels quite old. It's wonderful
Grew up in there and mount vernon, most underrated places in the world in terms of beauty
@@zfr33ze87 So true This is our third visit to DC. It gets better and better, the more we explore the outlying areas -- this time, Alexandria It reminds me of Kingston, Ontario, and Quebec City, Quebec in Canada -- both date from the mid-1700s
This is beautiful. It gives uniqueness and culture rather than blocky and isolated buildings.
Kudos to those architects. You guys have done a wonderful job
I have lived near many of these types of developments and never resented that I could not afford to live right in there but enjoyed walking around them.. We now live outside of Chestertown Maryland where the average cost of historic homes in the Town Centre are half a million to 2 million. I know I couldn't afford that, but I love going down there walking around and looking at the beautiful homes and the Waterfront and the little shops. I don't resent that I can't live right in it, I just enjoy the beauty around me and the Aesthetics of the architecture and realize that I could never afford the upkeep to make these places look good, nor the tax base.
You know it gets real when the urban planner gets "Boss Music" when he enters the video.
I couldn't help myself 😂
Hope for the future of urban spaces.
I'm impressed, it's beautiful. Finally we are moving back to creating beautiful and harmonic structures. 👏👏
"Architecture is a bit like a language, and here they used the local vocabulary." Outstanding! Excellente!
I visisted it in 2016, then in 2019. When I first went it felt like a small mall showing the possibilities Guate has for its future. In 2019, it felt more neighborhood like. It was so beautiful to see, especially to see it in Guate. Really beautiful architecture.
Léon Krier for the win!
Absolutely beautiful 😍!
This is the first architecture video that made me cry. I wish there were more projects like this.
Love the fact that this video gets 500k views in just 6 days. Keeps the movement moving!
I am very happy with it too as you can probably imagine 😇
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS!!!!! 🙌🏾 The world needs more of this kind of urban planning!
I love this kind of project. When people get inspired and add this inspiration to their projects. I will visit this new place it looks beautiful.
Thanks for the video. It answered all my questions. So happy to see hope for our cities!
I was there 2 weeks ago, and it’s stunningly BEAUTIFUL! A lot of development, areas like Houses, apts and businesses! The City of Guatemala is also on of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever been to. I love this type of development, the ones that prioritize pedestrian and not cars just like my home state (Texas)
This is so incredible. By building a new place like this with a different outlook it creates new micro cultures. Incredible stuff. I hope to see something like this in the US
The us does not need this as of now, what we need to do is shut down the border, deport the illegals and start getting back on track. Then we can start these projects.
There will never be any new cities in the USA .
This city design would greatly suit California, especially because of the local Spanish heritage.
My brother bought a house there in cayala!!. It's awsome because you have everything walking distance, and you always feel safe. Also there is a club house for residents with a spa, heated pool and huttub and a nice relaxing room. It's amazing
Gorgeous, they should be very proud, it looks and works perfectly well. What a wonderful project!!!❤
Better than any city I’ve seen here in Canada. Fantastic work Guatemala! 🇨🇦🤝🇬🇹
People saying this looks more like Spain or that it looks exactly like other latin cities do not realize that our architecture is based on Spanish architecture, and that it also influenced the architecture of all the other latin countries. That is part of who we are. Mayan architecture cannot be replicated exactly because it is too different to what we as a modern society need, and the it would only be interpretation of it. But we Guatemalans also take pride in Antigua, and the historic center of the city, that actually look like a town or city in Spain... We did not invent that, but using that style for new developments is new. And of course architects will have some creative freedom of changing things, but that is how new styles are born. Maybe in the future we will talk of a new colonial style because of this.
They want a "native style" that doesn't exist. Funny they say nothing when you see old US cities like Boston, then you never hear them Say "that's British architecture!! Why build in the style of the colonizers?? Why not have AMERICAN architecture??"
This is the proof that past people was much more happy than us today!
really great vid. i am fascinated by that project. hopefully we can use it as precedent for more like it.
It was so nice to see Guatemala in a positive light for a change, watching this kind if made my day.
Yes, this new development is beautiful on many levels! The actual layout, the beauty of the architecture, the variety of open spaces, the amazing diversity of all the people visiting, strolling, shopping, etc! It is definitely a new beautiful destination - that offers a very modern take of integration! It’s definitely not a cultural destination, it’s just a very nice place to live, visit, & shop! I was there this year & I have family members that live there as well - their homes’ interiors are equally beautiful & spacious! The streets feel very American, in a good way!
We feel in love with the beautiful city from the first visit. You created an incredible city.
Is the crime rate lower in Cayala than in Guatemala City as a whole? By how much? It's inspiring to see urban areas that are both beautiful and cultivate peaceful interactions. The ability to quantify that 'peace dividend' is yet another selling point for this approach to development.
Crime is definitely lower there, but it's because there is security in the centre. Public parts of the city that don't have that, don't have that advantage unfortunately. It's a sad reality - beauty can do a lot, I even believe it can make places safer by drawing more people to them, but it can not fix structural issues. And busy areas might of course also attract pickpockets. I do believe building mixed use places can lead to more jobs & opportunities, but that only goes so far... If a country has little trade, industry or other sources of income a mixed use, beautiful city will not help that much
Vienna also didn't have the problems it has now. By importing a specific demographic, these unprecedented problems were created. It could have been avoided, unfortunately the mantra of mass immigration is stronger than common sense.
@@j.langer5949go on I'd like to hear you name that "specific demographic" that they are "importing" to make the do all of those increased crimes. Don't be shy.....
@@rio425ee Non-European immigrants, a cultural "enrichment" we did not ask for. Access to white people is not a human right.
I wouldn't consider it a good test of crime reduction via urban planning as its already somewhat separated from the main city in a wealthy enclave so naturally will have lower crime.