The Cuban National Schools of Art emerged at a pivotal moment in the nation’s history. Commissioned in 1961, just after the Revolution, the schools were conceived under the direct encouragement of Fidel Castro and Che Guevara as a cultural institution to symbolize a new socialist society. Within this ambitious initiative, Ricardo Porro was appointed as the lead architect and designed two of the schools: the School of Plastic Arts and the School of Modern Dance.
The School of Plastic Arts Technical Information
- Architects1-6: Ricardo Porro
- Location: Cubanacán, Havana, Cuba
- Gross Area: Approx. 12,000 m² | 129,000 Sq. Ft.
- Project Years: 1961-1965
- Photographs: © Trevor Patt
I wanted to create in that school the expression of revolution. What I felt at that moment was an emotional explosion.
– Ricardo Porro
The School of Plastic Arts Photographs
Spatial and Formal Strategies
Porro’s vision for the School of Plastic Arts diverged radically from the functionalist and rationalist paradigms that dominated mid-20th-century architecture. In contrast to the International Style’s universalist language, his design was a deliberate act of cultural self-definition. Porro sought to embed Cuban history, identity, and memory into architecture, proposing a built environment that embodied sensuality, creativity, and myth rather than abstract neutrality.
In doing so, the School of Plastic Arts became not only a space for education but also a cultural manifesto. It presented architecture as an instrument of national imagination, capable of articulating both political and spiritual aspirations in the early years of revolutionary Cuba.
The spatial organization of the School of Plastic Arts rejects rigid geometrical planning in favor of an organic and labyrinthine composition. Meandering pathways connect plazas, studios, and courtyards, producing a sequence of spaces that emphasize discovery and intimacy over efficiency. This wandering quality creates a rhythm of compression and expansion, guiding users through moments of collective gathering and individual retreat.
At the heart of the design lies Porro’s use of symbolism. The school’s forms are loaded with references to Afro-Cuban culture, fertility, and the human body. Domes and vaults swell like shells or wombs, enclosing spaces with a sense of protection and vitality. Courtyards punctuate the plan, not only as climatic devices but also as symbolic voids around which life and activity are organized.
These forms transform architecture into an expressive medium, challenging the notion of schools as purely functional infrastructures. Porro’s work embodies architecture as a narrative space, one where memory, identity, and myth are inseparably woven into the design intent.
Materiality and Construction
Materiality plays a central role in the School of Plastic Arts, with brick serving as both a structural element and a symbol. Porro employed the traditional Catalan vaulting technique (bóveda catalana), a labor-intensive method that allowed for lightweight yet expressive vaults using thin layers of locally produced brick. This decision was practical in terms of material availability, but it also underscored the importance of craft and continuity with regional building traditions.
The use of brick imparted a tactile richness to the project. Its texture and warmth contrasted sharply with the polished surfaces of the International Style, rooting the building in a Cuban sensibility of touch, climate, and craft. Vaults and domes became sculptural gestures, simultaneously structural and expressive.
However, this reliance on artisanal methods revealed the fragility of the approach. While the brick vaults symbolized a poetic resistance to industrial standardization, they also demanded high levels of craftsmanship and were vulnerable to political shifts that prioritized efficiency and prefabrication. In this sense, Porro’s architecture embodied the tension between experimentation and pragmatism, between utopia and the reality of construction.
Critical Legacy and Contemporary Relevance
The story of the School of Plastic Arts is marked by interruption. By the mid-1960s, changing political priorities and increasing Soviet influence in Cuba curtailed the experimental spirit that had enabled the schools. Construction slowed, and some elements remained unfinished. Porro, once celebrated, fell out of favor and later went into exile, while the buildings themselves entered decades of neglect.
Yet, far from disappearing, the School of Plastic Arts has endured as a cultural and architectural reference. Rediscovered and reevaluated by scholars in the late 20th century, it is now seen as a critical experiment in organic modernism and a unique synthesis of local tradition and avant-garde exploration. The project demonstrates how architecture can convey national identity without resorting to clichés, utilizing space and material as a language of memory and belonging.
For contemporary architects, the School of Plastic Arts resonates with renewed urgency. It demonstrates the possibilities of reinterpreting local traditions in a modern context, of prioritizing craft and symbolism in a world increasingly dominated by efficiency and standardization. At the same time, its unfinished condition reminds us of the vulnerability of architecture to political and economic forces that can derail even the most visionary projects.
Ultimately, Ricardo Porro’s School of Plastic Arts stands as both a utopian gesture and a cautionary tale. This architectural work remains as provocative and thought-provoking today as it was when it was first conceived. Its spaces continue to challenge us to rethink the relationship between architecture, culture, and politics, offering lessons on how the built environment can articulate identity while navigating the contradictions of modernity.
The School of Plastic Arts Plans
The School of Plastic Arts Image Gallery
About Ricardo Porro
Ricardo Porro (1925–2014) was a Cuban architect renowned for his deeply expressive and symbolic approach to design, which fused modernist experimentation with Afro-Cuban cultural references and sensual forms. Best recognized for his role in designing the Schools of Plastic Arts and Modern Dance within the Cuban National Schools of Art in Havana, Porro’s work stands out for its organic geometries, symbolic vaults, and use of traditional brick techniques. His architecture sought to embody memory, identity, and revolution, making him a pivotal figure in both Cuban modernism and the global discourse on architecture as cultural expression.
Credits and Additional Notes
- Client: Cuban Government
- Design Team: Ricardo Porro (overall design for Plastic Arts and Modern Dance Schools), Vittorio Garatti, and Roberto Gottardi (collaborators on other schools in the complex)
- Area: Approx. 12,000 m² (entire National Schools of Art complex covered ~51 hectares, individual school areas are not precisely documented, but Plastic Arts is one of the major components)
- Engineers: No formally documented engineering consultants; the structural system relied on master builders experienced in Catalan vaulting (bóveda catalana), executed by Cuban masons.
- Key Materials: Brick, terracotta tiles, mortar; traditional Catalan vaulting techniques
