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Colectivo Amereida. Amereida, volumen primero. Collección Poesía. Santiago: Editorial Cooperativa Lambda, 1967, pp. 3–9. [English translation from English Studies in Latin America, no. 26 (January 2024): 3–9.]

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Colectivo Amereida. Amereida, volumen primero. Collección Poesía. Santiago: Editorial Cooperativa Lambda, 1967, pp. 3–9. [English translation from English Studies in Latin America, no. 26 (January 2024): 3–9.]

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As I read the poem, my thoughts grew:

Wasn't the discovery strange for the discoverer? The seafarers of past centuries set foot on foreign shores, driven by the hope of riches. But what did they really SEE? The world they found was inhabited, already shaped by other ways of life, other ideas. But in their eyes , the only thing I would assume they did SEE was a canvas onto which they projected their own desires. What was a new beginning for them was the end of an established order for others.

Today, people are once again standing at the borders, but this time it is not the explorers, but those who are searching. They are not coming out of a thirst for adventure, but out of necessity. But while the ships of the past set sail for open seas, the boats of today encounter closed harbors. Voices echo across the water, questions remain unanswered. Has the world grown, or have only the paths shifted?

Signs can be deceptive, the truth often remains hidden. Structures that once shaped the world continue to have an effect, sometimes invisible, but noticeable in the paths people take, in the places they leave and in those they do not reach.

Couldn't movement be something natural? A continuation of what has always been? Or does the pattern persist, first exploration, then domination, then rejection? Spaces shape encounters, they open or close. If the past still reverberates in the present, are we not standing on a shore again or are we going to learn and grow ? The question is: what do we really want to “SEE“ this time? AND DO WE SEE ?

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Reading the poem, the notion of "blindness" stood out to me, leading to a reflection on how we as future practitioners could avoid the blindspots which are the cause of many planning errors especially in contexts we are not at all familiar with. This leads me to the following question; How do urban development projects, both historical and contemporary, mirror the "blindness" described in the poem, where progress leads to unforeseen challenges and inequalities?

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This poem is written as collective heritage, however it seems sort of timeless and open to me: I am really interested in the dualism of the discoverers and the discoveries, both with their hopes and fears coming together and interacting through poetry.

Emphasized also through the map, that shows only the outlines of the continent, the sea however in great detail, the poem is written from an outside, almost omniscient perspective.

What we know as architecture can not be understood clearly from this extract, however a great understanding of land and nature is tangible. How can we learn to perceive our surrounding and our own heritage through poetry as well? And how can this then be translated into architecture?

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The phrase "Did the first passion of gold in this way not leave the navigator blind" suggests that explorers, driven by their pursuit of riches, often overlook the true potential of the lands they encounter. This approach of wanting to fulfill our preconceived notions can limit our experiences and block the unexpected. When looking at the Open City of Almereida, it attempts to challenge these preconceptions by crafting a new urban landscape which didn't comply with the "norms" of a typical urban environment. A rise the question of how, as architects, we can creatively design while navigating the expectations of conventional architecture.

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Does discovery reveal truth, or does it distort and destroy? The poem makes me question whether explorers ever truly saw what was in front of them or just what they wanted to see. The line “Did the first passion of gold in this way not leave the navigator blind?” appears to me as a powerful critique of greed, suggesting that ambition doesn’t illuminate but blinds. Can anyone really see without bias? It feels like the explorers’ perceptions weren’t shaped by reality but by expectation, turning discovery into misinterpretation.

And then there are the consequences. The imagery of “abandoned houses” and “cruel rivers” lingers in my mind—these aren't signs of progress but of loss. It makes me wonder: does discovery actually create, or does it erase?

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The poem reflects on the paradox of exploration, where the excitement of finding new lands and treasures, like „the first passion of gold“ can lead to blindness or misinterpretation of reality.

Another important notion of the poem is the „unknown“, that is for example referenced in the phrases „inconsolable innocence“, the „pampas“ as „another white sea“ and the „ancient nocturnal people“. This is also quite present in the map that is attached to the poem. South America is represented as a white, „unknown“ surface, also touching upon the notion of emptiness, which reminds me of the text „Against the regime of Emptiness“ by Samia Henni.

Furthermore I´m wondering about the meaning of day and night that is repeatedly used in the text, it incorporates the cycles of nature and general concept of time (past, present future?), but how can we read this?

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Reading the poem Amereida, I was struck by how it questions the idea of discovery. It seems like the text wants us to think about how past explorers didn’t truly “see” the lands they reached but instead interpreted them based on their own expectations and desires. The line “Did the first passion of gold in this way not leave the navigator blind?” makes me think that the obsession with wealth and power made the explorers blind, preventing them from really understanding what was in front of them.

Connecting this to architecture, I wonder if we, as designers, face the same risk. Often, we see places only through the rules and expectations we already know, without noticing their true potential. This reading makes me reflect on how we could design in a more open way, without forcing a rigid vision.

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Colonisation is not always visible. It can take many forms. It is never there by chance, it always has a purpose. It is there to take resources, to control.

Colonisation has a goal and does everything it can to achieve it. Getting to know the customs, the traditions, the environment. When the time comes, all it has to do is take what it wants.

It is a bit like a disease, you don't know you have it until you see the first symptoms.

All it leaves behind is the destruction of societies, homes and cultures. It doesn't try to understand its environment, it just takes everything in its stride.

It creates a distance between the locals and the colonisers that will never close. The fear of a hidden intention will always be present. Trust is broken.

Is it possible to create a society made up of colonised and colonisers?

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The poem describes the arrival of the future colonizers to the "newly discovered" continent.

At the point of the colonization the Americas have culture, tradition and ways of living, that are not practiced and accepted in Europe. The colonizers do not address that, blinded by the riches this untouched continent has to offer.

The results are still visible today - exhaustion of the land, of its resources, and full oppression of the natives.

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For me the poem somehow negotiates between present and future. It flows as soothing honey down the throat of forced change. The colonizers appearing on the shores of the Americas, finding vast amounts of fertile land, new plants, unknown creatures. The wind must have had intentions, bringing them here. The treasures they found, leaving the navigator blind, not seeing the destruction and pain they’re leaving behind.
Transferring this to an architectural discourse, in the past the western, white male architect did exactly the same thing. Driven by opportunity and no sense of local identity, trying to enforce western structures to other cultures. Isn’t Brasilia a remnant of this past?

The poem embraces the present, past and future. The day follows the night and vice versa. How can we as designers consider alternating futures? Can we embrace a sort of randomness, suggested by the coincidence of finding a new continent?

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just like architecture, poetry contains the possibilities to imagine everything it desires

just like architecture, poetry allows to invent something that can be far from the reality it stands in

both can disregard the real circumstances of life in the pursuit of something more thrilling, more exciting and extravagant

both seem to long to “invent” and “discover” - often forgetting about what is already there

both have the power to meet people where they are and respond to their actual needs

but at the same time, both have the power to suppress

and both tend to prefer to speak to the more privileged

and to disregard those that would need the voice that poetry or architecture could provide

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"Porque el don para mostrarse equivoca la esperanza?"

Why does the gift of showing oneself betray hope? Who is revealing themselves – and for whom?

Is it the original inhabitants, unveiling their culture in the hope of recognition? Or is it the colonizer, presenting their "civilization" as a "gift", convinced that it brings value to the world? But what if this encounter was never a true dialogue, but an imposition? What if what was shown was not understood, but appropriated?

What does this mean today? Can visibility ever truly bring protection or recognition? Or does it make one vulnerable? Is being seen the same as being heard – or merely consumed, like a neighborhood that becomes "discovered", only to lose itself in the process?

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Perhaps the phrase ‘this sea that blinds the navigator to raise his face to the stars’ is about immersing myself in something unknown - like coming to a new city without background knowledge, without preconceptions that define my perspective. We need to stop looking at everything through the same prevailing frames and break free from inherited ways of thinking.

In architecture, this could mean approaching space without imposing rigid structures or theories on it, but letting the place itself shape the understanding. Perhaps it is not a loss to be ‘blinded’, but an opportunity to reorient oneself - to notice things that one would normally overlook. Rather than following a fixed map, it's about navigating through the experience, through what is actually there, and letting that guide you.

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It is a paradox of discovery whether it is ever truly objective or always tainted by expectation and desire. How desire can blind rather than illuminate. The navigator is likely a symbol of explorers or conquerors driven by greed and ambition. The images of cruel rivers, difficult trees, and abandoned houses imply loss, struggle, and forgotten efforts, perhaps the consequences of human ambition.
"…because there time is born under watch…". The time does not flow freely, but is regulated, observed, and even controlled. Time is consciously monitored. Forgotten stories are repeated. Overlooked civilizations are presented as victims, victims of fate or history.
Do human aspirations, exploration, ambition, knowledge - illuminate or obscure reality?

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It is interesting to read the ever so repeated stories of "discoveries of foreign lands" by Europeans in this poem as a narrative to be questioned. To me it sounds quite sarcastic. It is painting a picture of a very one-sided perception of history and very much points into the direction of the overseen. What the reality was of these "explorations" is known to us through history but what it actually meant, how it felt to have ones country and culture overrun by strangers is a perspective rarely told first hand, and even if told, rarely acknowledged. A question that came to my mind while reading the poem was clearly: who is writing this poem? What is their perspective?

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The poem Amereida, written in 1967, is rich in symbolism and mythic imagery. It portrays colonial interventions in an elusive way while simultaneously emphasizing greed and capitalist intentions (“Did the first passion for gold not leave the navigator blind?”). The so-called “discoverer” holds clear expectations of what he will find. However, the poem plays with illusion and perception, making it unclear whether the discoverer truly finds what he seeks or merely what he wishes to see (“[…] the sweetness of another white sea, inexistent”).

The line “[…] the empty light that still calls us” suggests a lingering temptation to continue exploring and claiming land. The final words, “to begin another past,” reflect the cyclical nature of colonization, implying that it will persist and repeat itself.

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Who has the power to declare a space empty and therefore available for conquest? The poem suggests the deception of discovery: “when the earth modest is delivered”, but does it truly offer itself, or is it taken by force? The navigators see new lands, ignoring the civilizations that already exist. The same happens in the cities of the Global South, where entire neighborhoods are labeled as degraded or underutilized to justify redevelopment and gentrification projects.

Like “the sweetness of another white sea inexistent”, these spaces are rendered invisible until someone decides to rediscover them. But who determines whether a landscape is empty or full? Is a slum empty because it does not follow Western urban logic? Is a forest empty until it is parceled out for development?

The poem shows how power defines reality through language: the true signal lies and deceives like the day. In urban planning, words shape the landscape before construction even begins. Declaring a place abandoned is the first step toward seizing it. Perhaps the real question is: who has the right to imagine and decide the fate of a space that was never truly empty?

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"Was the finding not strange to the discoveries?"

This line questions the nature of discovery, the colonializing that supposedly „discover“ a territory, do not discover it in any true sense, their findings were rather predetermined by their own preconceptions and desires. „The naked people as amongst their gods“ also shows this view on a landscape and culture that is to be claimed by the colonializers, rather than seeing the colonialized beings with their own culture and history. This attitude is also shown in the poem with this question: „Did the first passion of gold in this way not leave the navigator blind?“. The colonial obsession for gold and therefore wealth and power made the colonializers „blind“ of truly seeing what was before their arrival. Also, the poem does not give voice to the colonized.

All this clearly shows how colonial perceptions distort the reality they were confronted with. Can this ignorance towards existing ever lead to a fruitful urban development without discrimination and with equality for everyone living in it?

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The poem reflects on the discovery of new worlds and the illusions that came along with it. The explorers arrived at the coast of America, encountering unfamiliar beings, „unknown people“, and fertile land. Their obsession with gold blinded them, preventing them from truly seeing what stood before them.

The greed for gold drove the colonizers to exploit both, people and nature.At the same time, they constructed cities and infrastructures that enabled them to assert power and maintain control. This underlines how architecture can function as a tool of colonization. In this context, Peter A. Makachias work is particularly relevant, where he distinguishes between "high architecture“ - modern and monumental, institutional buildings - and the everyday architecture shaped by local communities.

"And neither daytime nor nighttime did the third time not arrive like an isle and smoothly without violating deceits?“ This line suggests that colonization did not always begin with overt violence but often unfolded gradually, for example through trade or religious missions. Yet, it can also be interpreted in relation to architecture. Could the "third arrival" represent a postcolonial architectural approach, as described by Makachia in his concept of modern vernacular? A form of architecture that integrates rather than imposes, that adapts rather than conquers?

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"Amereida" is a poem that reflects on the experience of discovery and colonization. It explores how the excitement of finding new lands, like by sailors and explorers, can sometimes lead to misguided hopes and blindness. The poem suggests that the pursuit of riches (like gold) clouds the true understanding of what is being discovered.

It also talks about how history is shaped by mistakes and errors, yet these mistakes still contribute to shaping the future. The poem questions the truth we are taught, showing that it can often be deceptive or incomplete. There’s a theme of lost or ignored cultures, especially indigenous peoples, whose stories are buried but still offer important lessons.

Overall, the poem highlights the contradictions in discovery, where things are both revealed and hidden, and the way history is influenced by both errors and grace.

As this poem was written in 1967 by someone from these colonized lands, I wonder what impact or change it made to to take the power back by giving a voice to the colonized instead of the colonizer. How has this narrative evolved in today's context ?

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Time in the poem feels fluid and cyclical – an eternal return of conquest, power, and fate. The past does not fade; its consequences ripple forward, shaping the present. Discovery is never a single event but a recurring act of possession, a blind pursuit driven by desire and illusion – maybe hope. The world appears open, vast, unclaimed. Is it freely given, or must it always be taken by force? The unknown is not empty; it resists, even as it seems to offer itself. Power defines reality – then and now – turning every act of exploration into a question: is it an opening into the world, or the quiet repetition of violence disguised as destiny?

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The text by Colectivo Amereida explores by poetic means the experience of an arrival in the new space of an unknown land. It begins with the perspective of the sailors and then questions and explores their presence, its motivation, and the spatial conditions of the site. Here an “us” is introduced to bring the present place/city into its history, intertwine interpretations, and link the landscape of the sailors with the present one. The text is a dance in space and through space as well as time. It links, it portrays, it evokes. It brings the world around South American cities to life and induces the reader to reevaluate how the histories and presences can be read and observed in the city.

This leads me to wonder—how does the use of physically and metaphorically spatialised language, poetry, impart an image of a city and experience in a more multimodal way that would then contribute to an architectural understanding?

Further, the text places with conviction the space in its landscape, evoking the sea, the mountains, the pampas, thus bringing the reader to a more evocative encounter with the place. In the text I find an examination of the voice, of agency, a probing of the animate and inanimate in a newly encountered world and time to be a fascinating aspect of engaging with space. The emotion of the explorer and the explored, the encounter of land and sea, all become so much more vivid in expression. I am curious about the ways in which temporalities can be better translated in this way, better understood, is it a way to communicate at the intersection of architecture, language, history, and philosophy—to write space?

This prompts me wonder how does using imagery and rhythm in language translate into physical space and an understanding of it? Is it a way to conduct research? To transmit the illusion of perception, of changing understandings, for example, of colonisation?

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Navigating through different territories and sites, and discovering the potentials of places we encounter, puts architects in a position not unlike that of a sailor. Foreign shores are new opportunities to expand, capture, and seek more material to sustain our designs and ambitions to the point where we become blind to the extent of our actions. Following examples of extraction elsewhere of minerals and resources for building construction, the prospect of more matter and more material in newly encountered places “holds the gaze”, distracting us from the bleak future that awaits if we continue ignoring the signals presented by the earth. The tomb mentioned late in the poem becomes useless because the past is not buried and mourned, but instead repeated, awakening the same destiny as held by those before us.

Can poetry or rather writing/designing with emotion help us to imagine cities that aren’t obscured by our ambitions, or the roles prescribed to ourselves? How can it deepen our understanding of place, especially places which we are yet to experience or discover?

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The poem reflects on the nature of exploration, both physical and metaphorical. It references physical explorers, such as sailors and navigators, as well as ships, while also alluding to metaphorical explorations, such as the search for meaning, truth, or destiny. The mystery of discovery is evoked through phrases like "strange findings" and "uncertain sea," which suggest encounters with the unknown or the primal aspects of existence.

The theme of misleading appearances is also repeatedly emphasized. For instance, the navigator's passion for gold is described as blinding, symbolizing how the pursuit of material gain or superficial clarity can obscure deeper truths. Time is another important motif in the poem, suggesting a cyclical understanding where past, present, and future intertwine. Destiny is portrayed as emerging gently from missteps, implying that mistakes or errors might ultimately lead to deeper insights or truths.

Natural elements, such as the sea, wind, and mountains, serve as prominent symbols in the poem. They represent not only the physical world but also the forces that shape human experience, evoking both beauty and indifference in their vastness and mystery.

While reading this poem, the following questions came to mind:

- What does it suggest about the relationship between discovery and misunderstanding?

- What might it suggest about the human desire to find meaning or truth in the unknown?

- Is destiny presented as something inevitable, or is it shaped by human error and generosity?

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The poetry of the "Amereida collective" can be seen as a critique of colonialism. The poet reflects on the process of discovery, revealing how encounters with "the other" are often accompanied by a false sense of hope, which ultimately conceals a deeper cultural and social conquest. The reference to the "gift" might symbolize this initial illusion of an encounter that, in the end, brings oppression and the transformation of indigenous cultures. After this first illusion ”Day-time”, and the disappointment “Night-time”, the poet introduces a third moment: a metaphor for colonization that gradually settles in, without any violence, but instead subtly reshapes local realities. Colonization, then, is not a single traumatic event, but a continuous, insidious process that integrates itself into indigenous societies, imposing a dominant culture while eradicating local traditions. While colonialism, from a political prespective, belongs to the past, the influence of the "Western world" still persists in developing countries today. This raises a question: How can we engage with developing countries without imposing a new form of colonization? As foreigners, can we contribute positively to a country’s cultural heritage?

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The poem is a comment on the paradox of exploration, questioning whether discovery reveals truth or distorts it. It critiques how greed blinds explorers, making them see only what they desire rather than reality.

This theme of misinterpretation is echoed in the imagery of “abandoned houses” and “cruel rivers”, which suggest that discovery often leads to loss, erasure and destruction, leaving behind a legacy of devastation and forgotten histories, rather than progress.

The attached map representing an empty, white South America, reflects the erasure of indigenous cultures, as explorers project their desires onto a land they fail to truly understand.

Considering the other side of the story, I was reminded of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, which describes the daily life and struggles of Igbo villagers once British colonial rule and missionaries arrive. The protagonist, Okonkwo, is unwilling and unable to accept or adapt to the new rules, laws, and social hierarchies. His resistance culminates in his tragic suicide.

For me, the notion of intrusion becomes really strong in this poem, which leaves me with the question: Could encounter at eye level have happened if travel, exploration, and exposure had been free from power hierarchies? The poem’s critique of colonial exploration highlights the imbalance of power that shapes these encounters, where discovery often equates to domination rather than genuine understanding. If exploration had been driven by curiosity, respect, and equality rather than conquest and greed, perhaps the exchange between cultures could have been more mutual and transformative, rather than exploitative. This question makes me reflect on how much history could have been different if these power dynamics were absent...worth a dream.

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The key concept of "Amereida, first volume" is the exploration and redefinition of the identity of America through a poetic and philosophical journey. It seeks to uncover the unique cultural, historical, and natural aspects of South America, challenging traditional narratives and proposing a new vision of the continent. The text delves into the themes of discovery and identity, questioning the traditional narratives of the New World and proposing a new vision that is rooted in the unique cultural and natural landscapes of South America.

The urban issue at stake in the poem is the relationship between the built environment and the natural landscape. It reflects on how urbanization and architectural practices can either harmonize with or disrupt the natural beauty and cultural heritage of South America. This tension highlights the need for thoughtful and sustainable urban development that respects and integrates the region's unique characteristics.

We can then ask ourselves, how can contemporary urban planning and architectural practices in South America reconcile the demands of modern development with the preservation of cultural identity and natural landscapes?

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Without really being able to explain why, the poem evokes with me a sense of violence and injustice. Even though I have not fully understood the story that it is telling, it leaves me feeling unsettled.

This might be due to the way it is written and uses words, especially combinations of words that are contrary and thus create a certain tension or even paradox. For example, words appear in the same line in pairs like “smoothly/violating”, “abandoned/house”, “true/deceive”. It creates an atmosphere of ambiguity and mystery, that becomes threatening due to words with negative connotations like “violate” or “deceive”.

The way the poem is written suggests for me the story of a foreign people discovering and colonizing a peaceful land and reflects about the fate of the “discovered” and colonized landscape and people. One line stood out to me: “did the path not seek its opening probing on the coast like in the night the eye its adventure”. The paradox of a human eye seeking anything at night struck me with its impact. In my opinion it implied blindness, ignorance and arrogance, maybe bravery.

The concept of trying to see at night reminds me of the ambition of learning or trying to understand new concepts. With our prerequisites, we might see some shadows and grasp some ideas, but the reality of the night remains tainted by our perception. There might be other, truer ways to discover truth learn about something, but we are hindered by what and how we are.

This makes me wonder – how might we try to learn and acquire new knowledge without being biased and hindered by our nature and past?

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There are people who, in their blind pursuit of material good, push everything else on their path through life into the background, leaving newly discovered realities undiscovered and then at some point reality catches up with them. It doesn't seem to be a timeless phenomenon but a human vice since time immemorial. Why are there so many people who are so captivated by material things and subject their lives to them?

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While reading the poem from Amereida, I could quickly notice the presence of two contrasting semantic fields: the one of the risk, the danger, and the one of comfort and docility. The first one is used to describe nature: « uncertain sea » (p.3), « cruel rivers », « difficult trees » (p.4), « adventure », (p.5), « danger », and even « tomb » (p.6). The second one, yet contradictory, is always linked to the first semantic field, with words such as « smoothly », « meekly », « complacencies » (p.4), « opening », « greeting », « gifted » (p.5), or « offerings » (p.6). It gives an impression of attraction felt by the narrator towards the site that they are describing as « wild », which reminds a colonizer’s discourse (fetishization of what they consider as wilderness). Who is this narrator? And what is their relationship to the site that they are describing?

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The poem „Amereida“ describes the colonisation of latin America. It is written in a smooth, not-linear structure that seems to mimic the fragmentation of the continent itself.

The line „Did the first passion of gold in this way not leave the navigator blind?“ Talks about the greed of the new settlers, that were blinded by the resources they could extract in their new found land, instead of seeing the potential and peace of the untouched.

It urges the reader to step back and see the potential in the rest of the land like „the wild birds and uncertain seas.“ Applying this to architecture means to me, that a planer or settler in the case of the poem, can never truly understand a land without emerging oneself into it and experiencing it itself or taking into consideration the people that already life in it.

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Poetry, with its internal rhythms and fragmented imagery, recombines diverse experiences into a cohesive whole—a platform or network inviting readers to wander through textual landscapes. Has this poetic approach influenced, or could it influence, urban design? While poetry is decentralised, contemporary urban design typically remains focused on creating central points. Could a decentralised, fragmented urban design—akin to poetic structures—be feasible and worth exploring?

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Although the poem was written in the 70s it still evokes thoughts about current affairs troubling the modern world we live in. It portrays space as a very personal and spiritual concept containing the very essence of the people inhabiting it.

The newly arriving sailors I would guess are the Europeans setting foot in South America. The poem portrays a very strong duality between the explorers : “did the first passion of gold in this way not leave the navigator blind because of that clarity” and the inhabitants: “the naked peoples amongst their gods !”, with which the aspects of the old and new world, the spiritual and material clash in those newly discovered lands.

It results in an act of identity erasure and raises the question of how is it that some human groups decide they have the right to invade a spatial configuration of another group? How is it that some humans feel a superiority towards other although we are all the same species and the space itself becomes the very reflection of this mental invasion ?

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In the text «Amereida, first volume.” by Colectivo Amereida was written in 1967. I interpret the lines I have read as possible trains of thought in the discovery of South America. In architecture, you repeatedly enter unknown territory and try to understand and shape it. This initial uncertainty always brings with it a wealth of experience and the opportunity to create something new.

I also understand the first passion of gold as the greed of our living beings, which is unfortunately also evident in today's world through wars.

The different times can be read as different temporalities in relation to architecture. We all experience time differently, perceive it differently and a building also changes over time. An interplay of change and a change in usage activities.

For me, the allegory of the abandoned house symbolizes a forgotten place beneath the permanent structures, which can also become the scene of a transformation. The powerful creations above will remain in our changeable world.

To what extent can architecture be understood as a space for discoveries and transformations?

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From what I understood this poem shows the contradiction of colonisation: on the one hand the hope of the ‘discoverers’ in the face of the ‘new world’, on the other hand the destruction or perhaps also how hope can be deceptive and perhaps also to some extent the realisation of danger and transience or the turning of the times.

It encourages us to interpret history not as a series of events, but as a continuous process of becoming. In other words, a dynamic causal network.

As the text was written in the form of a poem, it is important to point out that this was a conscious decision for the presentation of the facts. In general, it must always be remembered that words/the choice of words are always loaded with meaning and are always political, which is precisely why historiography can never be neutral. This is precisely why I have also put expressions that seem insignificant but are sensitive in my eyes in inverted commas.

When a reader is presented with a poem, it is automatically assumed that this type of text is to be interpreted. A poem is densely packed with information that must first be decoded: Ambiguities, hidden messages, stylistic elements, reflection on language, rhythm and other liberties of this form of writing.

So I would like to ask whether my fellow students have ever noticed a term in relation to architecture that seemed innocent or rational but turned out to be loaded with meaning or simply were not in agreement with the choice of words in the teaching?

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The poem raises questions about discovery, perception, illusion, and fate. It suggests that the explorers may have lost more than they gained—they believed they were finding new worlds, yet perhaps it was the essential truth that slipped through their grasp. Blending critique, melancholy, and philosophical reflection, it speaks to the impossibility of truly possessing truth.

Is there a goal, or is the search itself the meaning?

+ paradoxical twist - how can the past begin anew? Perhaps because history is not a straight path, but an eternal circle?

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While I was reading the poem, I was thinking of not having any rules in itself. Somehow everything felt a bit random.

The freedom of form of the poem suggests to me that the content is almost negligible here. The form tells the story of the poem itself. The paragraphs and units are not chosen at random, but have a rhythm of their own. It is about consciously taking in the surroundings. The picture that is drawn of South America at the end also has a deeper meaning. The author is looking for a personal transformation through an understanding of natural forces. The impermanent also acts as a central element for me. On the one hand, the impermanent in relation to nature and life, and on the other hand, the impermanent is reflected in relation to freedom of form.

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In the first abstract/introduction of the poem/text Amereida it reflects on the contradictions of discovery. Were explorers seeking for the truth, or just blinded by gold? It portrays untouched lands and people, yet hints at the deep changes colonialism brought. Discovery feels both like a gift and an illusion, something gained and lost at the same time.

But does the poem really challenge the topic of colonialism, or just make it sound poetic? Calling indigenous people naked carries a very Eurocentric view, and the text stays overall vague instead of taking a clear stance, whether from our perspective or the other side. Was discovery an act of wonder or of destruction? The poem invites me to think critically about all these topics but it doesn’t really take a position.

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The comparison with a river or body of water suggests a sense of unpredictability but also excitement in the text. The discovery of something new evokes both emotions. In retrospect, we can understand these conflicting feelings, as the explorers lacked the objectivity to grasp the true implications of their actions.

Today we recognise that their exploitation was fundamentally wrong, but at the time exploration was seen as a right. Their excitement did not come from a genuine interest in new cultures or an appreciation of existing values, but rather from the advantages they sought to gain. At the same time, fear arose from the uncertainty and unknowns of their travels.

With this mindset, the land was not seen for what it really was, and the real treasure the knowledge and richness of the existing culture was ultimately lost.

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The descriptions in the text remind me of Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing’s Contamination as Collaboration. She describes "contamination" as the starting point for transformation and diversity. The discovery of America brought with it a contamination of the place—the purity that once characterized it was destroyed. The indigenous population was subjected to immense suffering, marked by repression and displacement. Tsing argues that such contamination and the suffering that comes with it create new connections and collaborations. She calls the result of such developments "contaminated diversity."

"Did the first passion of gold in this way not leave the navigator blind..." The European perspective was clouded by greed, preventing them from recognizing the true value of the land, its cultures, and the multiple layers of its history. In her text, Tsing discusses "self-contained individuals," who act solely in their own interest and do not engage in collaboration. This seems to me to be an apt description of the driving forces behind colonization, which, with their "one against all survival" mentality, embody a capitalistic mindset leading to self-centered decisions.

It is fascinating how both texts, though very different, offer a new perspective on colonialism—whether through a poetic engagement with the topic or the opportunity to view the past from a new angle. From a European perspective, I find it difficult to fully immerse myself in the events of the past and understand them in depth. However, such texts help to reframe the discourse and open up alternative ways of understanding.

To what extent does Amereida truly succeed in overcoming the colonial structures of thought it seeks to question? Does its poetic reinterpretation of the "discovery" of America still reproduce Eurocentric perspectives by centering the viewpoint of the travelers?

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The poem is written in a very vivid sensory language that really expresses both the beauty and force of nature, but also talks about the [collective] weight of history. It broaches the topic of exploration without romanticizing it. There is this tension of the excitement of discovering something new, but also facing uncertainty and risk while doing so. It mentions this «gift, which is the misleading hope» that I think represents the allure of the unknown itself. Historically, that would have been explorers going on a journey with visions of riches, but then being confronted with the reality of the place they would arrive at and that would potentially shatter the initial expectations. But generally, this «gift» has a deeper meaning of chasing something positive, but then being disappointed. The text alludes to looking beyond the surface to find truth; it is not just about physical exploration, but about exploring and potentially overcoming own [personal and societal] assumptions and beliefs and about being open to new perspectives. Thus it invites to «begin another past», which means that one should question the past and to use the knowledge and wisdom to navigate its interpretation and to shape the future. Even the choice of conveying the message in a poem leaves the option open to interpret this message in different ways. It requires the reader to actively engage with it and to find his individual path. It wants the reader to participate in the creation of meaning and of a new narrative.

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I like the bottom-up approach of designing architecture not just technically, but through participatory perception. Often places are analysed superficially with photos and maps, without really experiencing their spatial impact. Architecture is more than function; it creates emotions and experiences.

I am inspired by the poetic translation of perception as described in Amereida. The poem shows how architecture can emerge from language and experience rather than fixed plans. But how does it become built space? Do architects simply follow impulses? How do words become architecture? Or is the end result not the most important thing?

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„was the finding not strange
to the discoveries
— oh sailors your wild birds
the uncertain sea
the naked peoples amongst their gods ! —
since to be shown the gift
is the misleading hope?“

The first verse of the poem Amereida talks about the alienation the Europeans felt when they first arrived on the South American continent and were confronted with a world that was still foreign to them. In this first verse already, a gift is mentioned. At first glance it is probably the gift the explorers believed to bring the indigenous, but on another hand, it also could signify the gift, that could have been theirs, but they did not really see. The gift of a land, a people, new impressions, that could widen the limited horizon they so keen tried to discover. It is ironic to see how eager the explorers were to explore new lands and then at the same time kept their eyes completely closed.
To me this realization raises the question of how our training as architects and the perception of our environment with this background shapes how we perceive and then as well shape space. Are we equally as blind as the explorers to what we find and encounter?

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For me, the text explores the sea and its surrounding environment, highlighting the arrival of sailors driven by a singular objective—profit. In their pursuit of resources, they show little concern for the destruction they leave behind. The phrase "its inconsolable innocence over the pampas" suggests the vulnerability of those living in the countryside, innocent yet subjected to the consequences of both their environment and the ambitions of foreign settlers who covet their land. Over time, we tend to forget the past and the events that shaped it.

Are the emotions and the stories conveyed in the text passed down from generation to generation?

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The poem captures the arrival of conquerors in the Americas, painting a scene that, while not tied to a specific location, one can think it could resonate across various countries. It is a poem full of metaphors, it uses elements of nature—such as gold, mountains, fruits, and rivers—to evoke a range of emotions experienced by both conquerors and natives, marking the intersection of two worlds. This reflection on personal and collective identity suggests that our sense of self is deeply intertwined with past experiences and place of origin.

The poem made me consider the role architects play in shaping spaces, which can be both physical and intangible. How can architects create environments that not only honor and respect the cultural identity of a community but also foster a sense of belonging and connection among its members? There’s the need to respect and understand the existing, the context and the development story. This ties into the broader themes of preserving, restoring, reconstructing, and designing spaces that resonate with the collective identity of the community.

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"...that clarity without name

with which the evening awards and destroys appearance..."

The "clarity without name" suggests a deceptive ambiguity, where the sailors believe they see clearly, but in reality, their vision is clouded by their own preconceptions and desires. This false clarity both "awards and destroys appearance". It gives the illusion of understanding while simultaneously distorting reality.

The act of discovery is deeply intertwined with misinterpretation and therefore never neutral. The land is not simply "found" but rather constructed in the minds of those who arrive. Especially in a colonial context, the land is perceived through a lens of possession, expectation, and projection rather than its independent existence.

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This poem is about the invasion of Latin America. We are told how they arrived, guided by money on ships sailing uncertain seas. How they arrived by the coast and invaded the pampas. How the natives had to submit in the face of danger. During the conquest, I red that forts and towns were established throughout the country. For sure, this would have profoundly changed the way the country functioned. Not least in the way the inhabitants and their homes lived. This poem uses metaphors to explain the history of this continent. Could metaphors be used in architectural design today? Poetry is a way of synthesising complex information and making us think on an emotional level.  Architecture can also make us feel emotions. Is it possible to somehow link these two arts?

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The poem offers a critical reflection on the narratives of discovery and the illusions that accompanied them. It portrays the arrival of European explorers as a moment of both awe and blindness – fascinated by unknown lands and people, yet unable or unwilling to truly see beyond their own expectations and desires. Their obsession with wealth, particularly gold, overshadowed any genuine understanding of the world they encountered.

What stands out is the way the poem questions the established historical perspective. The traditional narrative of discovery is presented as one-sided, omitting the voices and experiences of those whose lands were invaded. How did it feel to witness strangers claiming ownership over what had existed long before their arrival? The poem hints at the gradual process of colonization – not always beginning with open violence, but often through trade, religion, and infrastructure.

Architecture plays a crucial role in this process, shaping power structures and control. This recalls Peter A. Makachia’s distinction between monumental, institutional buildings and the local, lived architecture of communities. Could the poem’s imagery of arrival and transformation be read as a commentary on how spaces are reshaped through colonization? And if so, is there space for an architecture that integrates rather than imposes?

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The poem is about the misunderstandings and ‘wrong’ intentions of European colonisation in Chile. Both sides are described, the colonised as well as the colonisers. It addresses the naivety of the Europeans, who probably had false expectations of what to expect, that they would bring order and civilisation and that the indigenous people would be happy about it. They brought with them promises and plans that were false promises for the local population, as they already had a functioning and existing culture and civilisation.

The poem addresses the duality of colonisation, a gain and wealth for one side and the end for the other.

The poem thematises the ‘great cruel river’, which could stand for the consequences and structures that continue to oppress the land and its people to this day. The colonised are still in the shadows today. Their view of history is not part of a historical discourse, their culture has been forgotten and ignored, extraction of special earths are going on. Colonisation has been labelled in history as something that was unavoidable - everyone did it.

The end of the poem holds a certain hope for indigenous culture, it proposes a new historiography - the narrative of indigenous culture. The question that now arises for me is how can this story be rewritten? With all the events, cruelty and misunderstandings that have occurred in the past and continue to occur today? As a student in Europe, how can we deal with this heritage? What can we do to best support the local culture?

I also see a certain reference to architecture in the poem. As an architect, you usually design something in a specific place, which you often perceive and change very subjectively. This subjective perception is our ‘point of view’ and is characterised by our past. I think this can also lead to ‘misunderstandings’, because a project is often seen as a ‘gift’ without really knowing whether it really is that for everyone. Are we as architects sometimes also in the position of the colonisers? - We take up space with our projects with the intention of doing something good, which is perhaps not always the case. How can we overcome this discrepancy?

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Poetry

as a medium for re-naming and reclaiming spaces.

How does language influence our perception of identity?

Words and things - whether places, people, or concepts - are alienated from another, therefor names do not always correspond to what they signify. This reflects the idea that identity is not fixed but is continually reconstructed through language.

Poetry

as an act of cultural and historical inscription, allowing for new ways of seeing and understanding identity.

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First of all, I read this poem after already engaging with the guest literature on the philosophy of Amereida and the architectural practice at the architecture school in Valparaíso.

With that in mind, the main theme of this poem, for me, revolves around discovery, exploration, uncertainty, adventure, and the space for trial and error. The imagery of a sailing boat embarking on new and uncertain shores carries the poem, and with the accompanying map outlining the continent of South and Central America, it becomes clear which ships and sailors are being referenced.

The poem highlights the tension between discovery and founding: “and even with others – did the path not seek its opening – probing on the coast – like in the night the eye its adventure?”
I also interpret these lines to suggest that only through venturing into uncertain realms can one truly explore with modest curiosity, openness, and a “surprised gaze.”

I wonder, does an adventure into unknown spheres has to be a discovery that is marked, or can it remain a finding that is embraced with its openness and curiosity? And do they share the same consequences on the subject that is ventured?

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03_Amereida First Volume

Structural analysis:

The unconventional poem follows a free verse structure. The enjambment throughout the poem, along with rhetorical questions, generates a sense of movement just like the journey it describes. The lack of punctuation marks enhances the fluid movement of the poem even further. Using this linguistic device the readers thoughts and ideas are allowed to flow more freely in his mind.

Content:

Reinterpretation, deception and unearthing of history seem to be the core themes of the poem. The “sailors” who encounter the “naked peoples amongst their gods” emphasises the arrival of European pioneers in America. The “gold” that blinds the navigator could stand for destructive greed of the pioneers consuming the land with their arrogance and ignoring the beauty that lies behind the simplicity of the indigenous beliefs and traditions.

Besides all the critique that the poem evokes there is still a spark of positivity and the possibility of new beginnings. The error seems to not only create destruction and loss but also reflection, hope and learnings from the past.

Question:

Possession is not a moment but rather an ongoing event which leads to uncertainties, misbehaviour and oppression. Nevertheless generosity creates an antagonist to this sort of greedy possessive thoughts created by a system that takes more of humanity than it gives back.

The error used and described as a force that raises unexpected possibilities within failure. What is the possibility to challenge conventional narratives of history and progress concerning these narratives?

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The first stanza reminds me of images from history in which Columbus ‘discovers’ South America. His intention - the hope of reaching India from the east - leads him on unknown paths, an uncertain journey. But it misleads him, because when he arrives at his destination, a different, even new world opens up that he could not have imagined at the beginning - South America.

What if we were to look for parallels with architecture? It has a goal, a building. Uncertain ideas of how to get there are the starting point. Through countless iterations, the idea is formed, dropped, refined - in the end, a design results.

What are the architect's intentions? Wealth? To immortalise themselves in architecture? A spectacle?

(S. 2)

Whatever the case may be, architecture is left to its destiny. True architecture is not about perfection. It is in a constant state of change. Behind the original complacency of the design, it becomes apparent whether the architecture has substance. (S. 5-7)

Architecture always sends a message - a signal. Architects are courageous when they create architecture, because what they want to communicate can be interpreted differently depending on the context. (S. 8-9)

These are just a few thoughts on what the verses could mean. However, the main message remain unclear to me.

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The poem points at the duality of the mysticism of discovery and the disappointment of the “discovered land”. It’s an ironic polarity, as mysticism comes from an unexpected unknown, and disappointment stems from expectation.

“did the first passion of gold in this way, not leave the navigator blind because of that clarity without name with which the evening awards and destroys appearance?” seems to allude to this disappointment, as the same way I imagine how colonizers felt upon arriving in the new lands of the “naked peoples amongst their gods” as “the misleading hopes”.

Is it truly discovery, when the explorer is already predetermined by consciously made preconceptions and biases of their own ideals?

We could draw this question back to our own practice, reflecting critically on our own predetermined biases before we confront ourselves with new explorations in vernacular forms of urban design and architecture.

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or me, the idea of third time (neither day nor night) is a fascinating element in the text that lifts the reader out of a purely objective, physical world. It expands the duality of life-life/death, day/night, past/future-into an intermediate stage, a state somewhere in between. A space that does not want to be conquered, but rather received.

Just as the sails of a ship take in the wind, the purely rational gaze should step back in order to intensify the sensuality of all the senses - like a blind person whose remaining senses are sharpened. From this perspective, architecture, inspired by this poem, should not be thought of as a hermetically sealed space, but as a threshold that mediates between states: Past and future, light and darkness, exchange and introversion.

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Can we see ourselves in the eyes of the sailors, even in our own land? Blind by globalized references, unable to see what the place is offering to us after decades of neglecting our ancestral knowledge, fearing everything outside of our standards and norms, designing through the greed of our creative egos.

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The art of poetry compared to other medium bring a blur or subjectivity that arise by the invitation in freely interpreting the narration exposed. The diversity of medium used in the architectural practice and process is for me necessary in order to investigate and test different perspective that emerge from those tools. In the case of Amereida, poetry is used to narrate the conquest of the Latin America continent. The choice of right words and their formulation in the description of a situation, a fact or object is very important influencing the reader. The use of poems appeals to our sensitivity and emotion in the creation of our perception. Incorporating this art into the design process could disrupt the pragmatism of certain methods. How to use properly this tool, words being full of personal meanings? How could the act of poetry influence urban development and the way we built?

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At first, I was confused about what Neruda’s text was exactly about. Without the context of the course, it felt like just a poetic description of a messy camp or village. However, reading it in this setting made me realize how Neruda is using his text to challenge traditional ideas of what a city should look like. Instead of grid patterns and linear boulevards, he celebrates the improvised, chaotic, and incomplete nature of the city. He shows how its brokenness and constant repairs give it character, making it feel alive.

This makes me wonder if cities that grow organically, without strict planning, can be more meaningful or authentic than those designed to be perfect. But is embracing organic growth possible in a western city like Zürich with an obsession with cleanliness and order?

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Personally to me the poem of Amereida works like an imprint on the land, much like the Land Art of the 1960s. It does not just describe landscapes - it interacts with them, leaving an echo that lingers beyond the moment of reading. Just as Land Art pieces (like the earthworks of Robert Smithson) change how we perceive space, it is more than just a discovered territory. It is about poetic space, shaped by movement, language, and history.

This way of looking at land is crucial today, especially when discussing land ownership, urban expansion, and cultural heritage. The question is not just about who owns land, but how we relate to it, what histories and stories already exist there and who will tell them?

It is about carrying meaning, how land got shaped by not just one component, but a layer of multiple ones.

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The poem starts by narrating the experience of an explorer, a sailor whose travels overseas have lead him to unexpected discoveries. The intentions of his travels - namely “gold” - are questioned and described as blinding. But in his travels the sailors eyes have been opened, for he has discovered a “third time” beyond day and night. This awakening has been a gentle one. This third time, these newly discovered place or land lures and entices the sailor to new adventures with the “sweetness of another white sea[…] whose surprises hold the gaze”. Yet the true value - the signal - of these findings lies concealed to protect these from being misused. In spite of being hidden, “the strangers” and - in this case the sailor - still hear the "melody" of this new light.

Can this poem be interpreted as a “stimulus” to question our habitual perception of colonised or newly discovered spaces/places?

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The text describes the discovery of the Americas. By writing poetic the space becomes mythical and obscure.

Fitting to our lecture series it is a contrast to the scientific and exact description of western urban studies. An analytic text usually leaves no room for imagination and emotions. Poems evoke subjective impressions from the reader and do not long to be objectively true.

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In my interpretation, this poem evokes the idea that discovery is not a singular moment but a process shaped by perception and power. It reminds me of how architecture, too, is often seen as an act of “imposing” form onto space rather than revealing what is already there. Just as the poem questions the blindness of explorers who misread the lands they encountered, architects risk imposing rigid visions that do not acknowledge the layers of history, culture, and meaning embedded in a place. Can we shift our approach from one of conquest to one of listening, allowing architecture to emerge from the nuances of its context rather than forcing it upon the landscape?

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I find it difficult to interpret the poem by the Amereida collective, yet there are two or three aspects that stand out to me. First, there is the sensation of being right by the sea—feeling the spray, the wind, and the vastness—combined with a certain melancholy, as well as a sense of uncertainty or even danger. In its naturalistic style, with descriptions of trees, mountains, and water, and also in its rhythm, the poem strongly reminds me of the works of Pablo Neruda, arguably the most famous Chilean poet. I wonder what is meant by the "difficult trees"? They catch my eye, yet I am unable to interpret them.

The second point is the reference to the sailors, also called strangers, who are presumably the Spanish seafarers that once set sail toward South America to colonize it. Interestingly, the poem is not written from a European perspective—it is not an adventure story—but rather from the viewpoint of the people on-site. However, it is also not from the perspective of the "naked peoples amongst their gods"; instead, it seems to reflect a more contemporary view. It somehow becomes clear that these sailors do not bring anything positive, but rather "violating deceits."

Overall, I can say that I really like the poem, especially because of the atmosphere it creates and the vivid imagery that allows me to immerse myself in the scene. Yet, I feel like I am only scratching the surface of its deeper meanings.

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As soon as the poem mentioned the “passion for gold”, my mind wandered to the European conquistadores, desperately seeking legendary, yet unfounded myths of endless riches and profit ; a “clarity without name”. Yet, this poem does not focus on specific description or any events but paints an unsettling picture of the past  through a series of metaphors. South America’s nature is described in an unforgiving way – “cruel”, their houses “abandoned”. The arriving sailors are “misled” by hope . “The true signal… deceives like the day… the empty light that still calls us”. The poem evokes a deep feeling of emptiness and destruction, a grey sky dominating a ravaged land, and its perpetrators – Blinded by illusion, driven by the fascination of a “newly” discovered continent. But all that’s left, is a harsh reality.

Despite all these poetic descriptions, the most inspiring passages regard the notion of time. A new dimension is introduced – “The third time”, and the poem ends with the beginning of “another past”. I drew a connection to architecture in these passages, describing a colonial attitude. Strangers regard developing countries as a playground for architectural experiments, for own visions and theories developed through their own lenses. Urban planners and architects, driven by the mysticism of “new land” and a “deceiving signal”, trying to achieve their illusionary dreams – Be it finding a golden city, or erecting a utopian society. Their arrival creates a new setting, “a new past” – which differs from the local one – Driven by a blind attitude, that ends in despair.

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"If discovery is an illusion that blinds rather than reveals, as suggested in Amereida, how does this critique apply to the way cities in the Global South are 'discovered' and theorized within Western urbanism?" Western urbanism “discovers” cities in the Global South—imposing rigid frameworks onto places that breathe with their own rhythms. Amereida warns that discovery can be a blinding act, mistaking clarity for understanding. Likewise, when urban theories reduce cities to problems in need of correction, they erase the rich spatial intelligence already present.

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Poetry and literary elements are used to break down the traditional boundaries between different forms of preconceived ideas. In this text, poetry is used as an artistic expression as well as a means of expressing the ideas underlying architecture and the visual arts.

In this way, poetry is used to articulate the collective's vision of a Latin America liberated from colonial and foreign influences. Going beyond the rejection of colonial aesthetics, the text allows the continent to be reimagined as a place brimming with cultural riches, evoking the existential link between the land, the people and their history.

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The poem at the start talks about the discoverer blinded through treasures. Why are they so blinded? The idea of talking and writing poems to design seems beautiful to me. In my understanding writing architecture in poems means letting the imagination roam and accepting abstraction but even more to discover ideas, spaces and maybe the invisible side of a space. The schools principle of talking and/or writing before acting to learn unknown possibilities seems very sensitive to me and is maybe also linked to the poem in the beginning of the text and the history of the Americas. Maybe if the discoverer talked with others while discovering he wouldn’t have been blinded by treasures but instead open to the unknown.

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This poem explores the relationship between past, present, and future, focusing on the impact of discovery. It highlights how explorers, driven by the pursuit of wealth and opportunity, often overlooked the consequences of their actions. Their expectations shaped what they saw, while the realities of the places they arrived at remained secondary.

A similar issue exists in architecture. Western architects have often imposed their ideas on unfamiliar environments without considering local identities or needs. Cities like Brasília reflect this approach—planned from above rather than evolving through the experiences of their inhabitants. This raises the question of whether architects should design with fixed concepts or allow places to develop more naturally.

The idea of being “blinded” by the unknown could be seen differently. Instead of approaching spaces with predefined expectations, architects could work with what is already there, allowing design to emerge from local conditions. Rather than following rigid plans, can we create spaces that remain open to change and shaped by those who use them?

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The poem is a description of two opposite sides of a process, namely the process of colonisation.

On the one hand, the side of the coloniser.  Seemingly blinded by the allure of gold, his behaviour is guided by greed and ruthlessness. On the other, the side of the natives. They are described as not fully aware, perhaps even naive, of the looming danger, especially from the coloniser.

The poets wonder why not enough of the natives took the warnings and dangers seriously enough.

They write of "the difficult trees that bear fruit", describing the natives' land as both a gift and a misfortune.

I think there are many parallels with today. Seemingly practical and harmless gadgets, applications and other matters appear to be a blessing to us now, but may cause greater harm and trouble in the future.

Whereas the story in the poem left only "an abandoned house", an emptiness, today's society is still able to choose between different paths.

Should difficult trees be cut down? Or is trimming enough? If they are to be cut down, which ones and how?

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The text from Amereida evokes a really poetic reflection on discovery, not as a triumphant act but as an experience marked by uncertainty, error, and transformation. It questions the traditional narratives of exploration, shifting the focus from conquest to the relationships between people, nature, and time. The image of winds, rivers, and "naked people among their gods" suggests that true discovery does not lie in possession but in an openness to the unknown.

This makes me wonder: How can we rethink urban spaces as places of ongoing discovery rather than rigid structures of control? If cities are constantly shifting, what does it mean to truly "arrive" in a space?

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Rather than treating land as something to be mapped and divided, Amereida presents it as something to be experienced—an unfolding narrative of encounters and possibilities. The text suggests that space is not static but shaped by movement, perception, and even misinterpretation. This reminds me of urban design, where the lived experience of a place often differs from how it was planned.

If cities are landscapes of movement and interaction, should urban planning embrace more fluid, adaptable approaches?

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What does it mean to discover something? The poem makes it clear that it’s also about how something is seen, do the explorers see what was in front of them or what they wanted to see? The poem talks about that the colonizer’s vision was strongly influenced by their greed and therefore making them blind to what was there.

It made me think about how this idea exists in cities today. Places labeled as “undeveloped” or “neglected” aren’t empty but full of life and history. Planners often see these places as blank spaces, open to be transformed with their own ideas and ideals forgetting things as inherent qualities and uniqueness. They are in a sense blind to these things.

The poem plays with time, suggesting history isn’t something in the past, but something that repeats itself. It’s a critic that suggests that we aren’t always moving forward but might be repeating old mistakes.

How can we avoid this cycle in urban planning? How do we design without imposing our own vision and erasing what already exists?

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The poem’s language contributes to a decolonial and existential understanding of land. Just as the map only suggests an outline of what we instantly recognize as South America, the poem similarly suggests that land is not defined by mapping or claiming territory but by a landscape that is inherently part of existence. It challenges the strangeness of the european discovery narrative by highlighting the bluntness of the idea that land and identity could be imposed rather than formed through existential experience. The poem resists binaries like civilization versus wilderness, rhetorically evoking the strangeness of a "European gaze," as seen in phrases like "your wild birds." It also introduces a concept of time that breaks the binary of past and future. By suggesting the possibility of "beginning another past," it gestures toward reclaiming an alternative historical narrative, one that redefines history and identity beyond colonial frameworks. The ability of poetic language to shape a different understanding of time and territory demonstrates the profound impact of language productively.

My question is how writing can be established and fostered as a collective process.

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There is a kind of ambiguity about this poem. The images described are as if enveloped by a haze, by something mysterious. This enveloping mist makes some elements ambivalent and mutable, and makes you wonder about their value. Words such as gift and night appear several times in the poem, but they have different meanings.

This mystery can be compared to the ignorance of the colonisers, who interpreted indigenous architecture as inferior because they never really tried to understand what it was all about.

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It seems as if a moment of completion has been reached, but not as a definitive ending—rather, as a gentle transition into a new past, a past that must first be created by beginning something new.

"Where with grace to begin another past!"—The idea that a past can be begun is fascinating. Normally, we think of the past as something fixed, unchangeable. Yet this line suggests that the past is not simply given but shaped by our actions. Perhaps it means that every new deed, every new journey, or every new thought will, in hindsight, become the past—and it is up to us whether this past will be marked by grace.

It could also be a poetic way of saying: Let us step into something new with dignity and beauty, knowing that it will later remain as history. It is a reminder of the transience of everything, but also of the opportunity to consciously shape what will one day be a memory.

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"Did the path not seek its opening"

this evokes the notion of destiny and inevitability often used to justify conquest. The "path" seeking its opening could symbolize the European ideology of "manifest destiny" or the divine mandate to explore and "civilize" new lands. The passive phrasing suggests that the explorers saw themselves as instruments of a larger, almost cosmic purpose. However, this framing erases the agency of the land and its original inhabitants, recasting acts of invasion as the land "inviting" occupation.

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The poem uses an unconventional structure that neither rhymes nor follows a clear syntax, creating the atmosphere of a spontaneous flow of thought that creates fragmented yet poetic images in the mind. Two groups collide - 'them' and 'us', initially separated by the rough sea. Descriptions of violent natural metaphors foreshadow a terrible fate about to be fulfilled. The "us" is aware of this and addresses their still unsuspecting ancestors in the poem, warning and looking ahead to a cruel future, the departure into a new, past time. It becomes clear that the poem is referring to the colonization of South America, creating an emotional shift in perspective from the Western historical narrative, suggesting the effects of colonization even generations later. How and to what extent are the effects of colonialism felt and perceived in the life and the built environment today?

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The poem highlights the complex emotions tied to discovering new lands and peoples, evoking a sense of natural purity. It portrays the pursuit of gold as blinding and destructive, contrasting with the evening light's clear yet transient beauty. Through this contrast, the poem reflects on human existence and destiny intertwined with errors and misunderstandings, contemplating the passage of time and the fleeting nature of life.

This poem raises critical urban issues, such as the impact of material pursuit on the environment and societies, the balance between urban development and preserving natural landscapes, and the role of exploration and discovery in shaping urban spaces.

How can contemporary urban design reconcile the pursuit of material progress with the need to preserve the purity and innocence of natural environments?

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Discovery in this poem is not a moment of clarity but an act of distortion. The explorer, blinded by gold, sees only what he desires, not what is truly there. The sea carries him forward, but is it chance, fate, or simply the weight of human ambition? The poem suggests that discovery is never neutral—it is always shaped by expectation, by the hunger to claim, to name, to possess.

But what lingers are the consequences. The “cruel rivers” and “abandoned houses” speak of what was left behind—signs of displacement, not progress. Exploration is framed not as an expansion of knowledge, but as an act of erasure. The rhythm of the poem, shifting between past and future, mirrors history’s repetition: one civilization stepping onto the shores of another, one story replacing another, until the past becomes something unrecognizable.

This makes me think about the way we build and shape the world today. Do we create with the same blindness, forcing our visions onto spaces without seeing what was already there? The poem questions whether discovery is ever truly about understanding or if it is simply a reshaping of reality to fit what we expect to find. Can we ever explore without leaving something—or someone—forgotten?

When I find a foreign landscape beautiful or romantic, is it because I subconsciously project my own cultural ideals and biases onto it, or does it stir something deeper—an existential, universal human response?

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After reading the poem, the word “truth” has been lingering in my mind, is what we see is the real truth? Putting us in the position of sailors, is this exploration of new lands and culture a surprise gift, or just a fantasy or “misleading hope”?

In terms of purpose, the discovery might be more in the pursuit of money. On the other hand, people’s perception may not even touch the essence underneath the phenomenon. Like the anthropomorphic description of nature in the poem, we touch them but never seem to feel their emotions. Day and night are mentioned several times in the poem, perhaps it refers to the obvious truths(day) and those undiscovered hidden ones in the night, or that nothing is completely black or white.

Thinking about it as an architect after that, every project in a new place seems to be an exploration. Are all those site studies, community connections, and other trials we make to understand the site a true reality, and what should we do to deepen or confirm it?

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For me, the poem speaks on the one hand about the relationship between the sailors/explorers and the tribes of America, but also about the relationship between man and nature. The sailors see the land as a desirable object, they long for land in order to explore the coast there: "...probing on the coast, like in the night the eye its adventure" The map of South America at the end fits in with this, where the waters have already been explored in more detail, but the land mass is still empty and is to be discovered.

The tribes are described as follows: "ancient nocturnal peoples, to whom danger opens its offerings". It seems as if danger is waiting for the people with open arms. This would indeed fit in with the history of colonization, where the explorers brought new goods but also new diseases and thus posed a great danger to the population.

These considerations make me wonder: How did the colonization of America change the native population's relationship with nature?

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The poem challenges the myths of discovery, questioning whether explorers ever truly saw the lands they arrived at or merely projected their own desires onto them. In their eyes, the world was a blank canvas, open for conquest—yet in reality, it was already inhabited and shaped by other cultures. What they saw as a "new beginning" was, for others, the end of an established order.

The poem critiques colonial interventions, highlighting the deception of discovery. The so-called navigators arrived with predetermined expectations, driven by greed rather than curiosity. Their perception was shaped by illusion—did they find something new, or only what they wished to see? The line “the empty light that still calls us” suggests an ongoing temptation to explore, claim, and dominate, reinforcing the cyclical nature of colonization.

This pattern persists today. Just as past explorers declared lands "empty," modern societies label spaces degraded or underutilized to justify gentrification. Who decides whether a place is abandoned or full? The poem exposes how language shapes reality—declaring a place void is the first step toward seizing it.

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The poem Amereida challenges the idea of architecture as a purely technical discipline and instead frames it as a poetic act of discovery. If explorers once shaped the world by naming places, do architects do the same by defining spaces through language? The concept of the "gift" suggests that architecture should emerge from the place rather than be imposed upon it. But can design truly be open-ended, or is there always an underlying structure guiding it? If meaning comes from poetic imagination rather than fixed plans, does this make architecture more about process than outcome?

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Colectivo Amereida explores the identity of America, its origins and its discovery. It reflects on the encounter between the Old and New Worlds and questions the meaning of conquest, gift and destiny.

Interesting is the way the text plays with language, full of metaphors and thought-provoking questions. The idea that America was not only discovered but also 'invented' opens up a fascinating perspective. It seems as if the text wants to look at history in a new way: America not just as an object of colonial influence, but as a space in which new ideas, identities and meanings could unfold.

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The shift in focus from action to the poetic word at the School of Valparaíso alters the way architects and designers approach their work by prioritizing creative exploration and non- predefined methodology over pre-established goals or functional requirements. This approach influences both the design process and the final built environment by focusing more on the already existing and drawing. I feel like such practice could be potentially quite useful in academia where students often assume rather then observe and learn by the environment outside the student context.

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"The text speaks of the 'generosity of error' and suggests that 'the true signal lies and deceives,' implying that mistakes or misinterpretations can be productive. However, in urban design, errors can also lead to displacement, environmental harm, or failed infrastructure. To what extent can misinterpretation be seen as a creative force rather than a destructive one?

Are there cases where so-called 'mistakes' in urban planning have been reframed as successes, and who gets to decide?

How does this tension between error, innovation, and unintended consequences shape the way we think about cities?"

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Throughout the poem, the notion of illusions is omnipresent. Words such as “uncertain,” “misleading,” “blind,” “destroy appearance,” and “deceits” continually reinforce this theme, emphasizing the fragility of perception. The act of writing the poem itself deepens the distortion, as the poetic form romanticizes the sentences, softening their impact and making it more difficult for the reader to be alarmed by the content. This stylistic choice mirrors the romanticized “adventure” described in the poem. However, I am wondering, if poetry is a medium that is accessible enough? If architecture is meant to speak to everyone, is it appropriate to have poetry as its starting point?

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Reading Amereida, I was struck by its fluidity between poetry and spatial thinking. The text does not describe landscapes as mere physical entities but as living narratives shaped by movement, perception, and time. It questions how we "see" and how discovery is often entangled with projection rather than true understanding. The map, with its emphasis on the sea rather than the land, reinforces this idea, perhaps real journeys are not about arrival but about transformation.

If architecture is also a form of navigation, how can we design spaces that embrace openness and uncertainty rather than imposing fixed meanings?

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The poem questions the nature of discovery. Was it truly a moment of revelation or was it a distortion of reality shaped by desire? The sailors, driven by ambition and greed, do not see the world as it is but rather as they wish it to be. Their discovery is not neutral or pure; it is shaped by expectation, ownership, and the impulse to claim. The imagery of ships, gold, and landfall connects to colonial history, particularly the European exploration of the Americas.

So at what point can someone truly understand a place, a region, a landscape?

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The poem uses a certain fluidity between its unusual structure and revealing the tension of discovery and founding. It discusses the arrival of Europeans and their false clarity, symbolised by the "passion of gold. " This false clarity reflects the deceptive nature of colonial discovery, where the pursuit of wealth and dominion was justified as enlightenment but instead led to destruction and loss.

Through its refusal of linearity and its interrogation of colonial myths, the poem challenges the dominant narratives of discovery and foundation. Instead of accepting the European vision of clarity, it exposes its fragility, showing how it collapses into blindness, deception, and ruin.

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This extract manages to bring quite primordial elements into touching images. The use of the sea, the moon and the sun as omnipresent elements that dictate the actions of the poem and give them their rhythm.

Surprisingly, the content of this poem is still quite graphical and words are still deeply attached to their meaning and connotations. After reading the School of Valparaíso’s manifesto, I personally expected a poem that would proved to have a much more experimental style.

Overall, although I still have some reserves about the actual practice of the school’s theoretical approach, I personally find their method immensely interesting and relevant from an artistic point of view. So maybe the question should be, is an architect more of an artist, a scientist or a specialist ?

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Reading the poem amereida the topic of negation stood out to me. In the part "Did the first passion of gold in this way not leave the navigator blind?" it questions the true intentions of the sailors. The sailors arrived to the land which was no theirs and profited from it. They see the gold embedded in the land which would bring them a fortune. Neglacting the existing of the indigenous people who have been living on the lands for cenutries. So this means that the explorers perception was rather shaped by their expectation than their true perception.

This also reflects on the idea of a certain blindess regarding a topic.

So how of today has this mindset shaped the people? How is their perception of their own land and the people living on it?

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In Amereida, the unknown is not empty; it resists, even as it seems to offer itself" (Lukas Felleisen). How does the tension between resistance and offering shape the narrator's perception of the landscape? Do you think this duality reflect a broader ideological perspective on exploration and conquest? And what about the historical perspective?

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Amereida challenges the idea of "discovery" as an act of revelation, exposing it instead as an imposition of desire on the unknown. The land has never been empty, but it has been treated as such - its histories, cultures and ways of being rejected in favor of conquest. The traveler, blinded by expectation, does not see but projects, shaping reality to suit his ambition. Time itself is not neutral; it is measured, controlled and rewritten by those in power. The poem asks whether knowledge and exploration bring clarity or merely distort it.

The fragility of perception is reflected in words such as "uncertain" and "blind » which reinforces the illusion.

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The poem is accessible and brings to mind the era of Columbus, as it begins with themes of discovery and the unknown. I was particularly struck by the lines:

“since to be shown the gift - is the misleading hope?”

These words suggest that what appears to be a gift or opportunity may, in fact, be nothing more than an illusion. This notion prompts reflection on the seductive appeal and potential hazards of new discoveries and cultural encounters.

This leads to several questions:

• Is Western aid to the Global South truly a gift, or is it simply our projection of an illusion of help?

• Could a poetic approach to architecture help solve urban issues in informal settlements?

• How does the romanticized idea of discovery and a fresh start shape our current perspectives on urban development?

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This poem lets me question the very notion of “discovering” new lands, as taught in traditional historical narratives.

The territories reached by European sailors were never empty; they were home to thriving indigenous cultures, rich in traditions and knowledge that differed from those of the conquerors. Yet, blinded by their relentless pursuit of material wealth—evoked in the line “did the first passion of gold”—these explorers saw only an expanse of unclaimed land, ready for exploitation.

The accompanying map of South America, devoid of any detail or acknowledgment of its peoples, mirrors this colonial mindset—a perspective that reduced entire civilizations to absence, erasing their existence from the European imagination. For Western historiography, these so-called “discoveries” marked an era of expansion and superiority, but for the indigenous inhabitants, they signified the onset of catastrophe—a rupture, a profound caesura in their history.

“Where with grace, to begin another past!”

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The poem feels like it's all about how exploring something can mess with how we see things. The line "because of that clarity without name / with which the evening awards and destroys appearance?" really stands out — like sometimes when things seem super clear, they actually become harder to grasp. It’s like the more we try to understand, the more everything shifts. The whole journey feels open, letting mistakes and unexpected moments be part of the process. There’s something freeing about that, like not knowing exactly where you're going might lead to something even better. It makes me think if design could work the same way — leaving space for uncertainty instead of always trying to control the outcome.

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While reading the poem, the theme of being misled and blindness stood out to me. It represents how white settlers reacted upon discovering America—bringing their own methods of cultivation, appropriation, and exploitation of nature and its resources while neglecting native practices.

How can we prevent ourselves from being blinded when designing? The poetic form allows for interpretation and feels accessible from multiple entry points. How could this translate into a design method?