Amancio Williams

pub_fac_silvetti_amancio_williamsAmancio Williams was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on February 19, 1913. He has always lived and worked in his native city. In 1931 Williams entered the School of Engineering of the University of Buenos Aires, where he studied for three years. After working as an aviator for several years, he entered the School of Architecture in 1938, graduating in 1941.

From his early projects onward, Williams approached contemporary programs with an innovative attitude, rooting his designs in patient research and elaboration. These projects were published in many major international design publications after WWII. Among them, the House over the Brook in Mar del Plata, one of Williams’s few built works, probably best represents his hallmark: a synthetic approach to design is coupled with painstaking care of every detail. Williams also participated actively in disseminating the ideas and realizations of the Modern Movement. He represented his country as a member of the CIAM and was in charge of the construction of the house that Le Corbusier designed for Dr. Currutched in La Plata, Argentina.
Williams has been a member of the Argentinian National Academy of Fine Arts since 1961, and is an honorary fellow of numerous architectural instititions, including the American Institute of Architects, the Instituto de Cultura Hispanica, the Colegio de Arqitectos del Peru, and the Instituto de Urbanismo y Planificación del Peru. Among his honorary appointments, Williams is an honorary professor at the University of Montevideo, Uruguay and at the Federico Villarreal University in Lima, Peru. His work has been exhibited in the United States, Europe and Latin America. Williams has served as an honorary advisor for many urban and regional plans and has developed his teaching through his studio-office. He is also the head of the Conservatorio de Musica de Buenos Aires, which was founded by his father, Alberto Williams.

Project Assistant: Gabriel Feld

Harvard University Graduate School of Design, 1987