Ricardo L. Castro, (born 1942) is a Colombian-born, Canadian architectural photographer, critic, and educator. Known for his monographs on architects

Rogelio Salmona Rogelio Salmona (April 28, 1929 – October 3, 2007) was a French Colombian architect. He was noted for his extensive use of red brick in his buildings and for using natural shapes like spirals, radial geometry and curves in his designs. Dur ...

and

Arthur Erickson Arthur Charles Erickson (June 14, 1924 – May 20, 2009) was a Canadian architect and urban planner. He studied Engineering at the University of British Columbia and, in 1950, received his B.Arch. (Honours) from McGill University. He is known ...

, his design philosophy was published in ''Syndetic Modernisms'' (2014). Castro was elected Fellow of the

Royal Architectural Institute of Canada The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) is a not-for-profit, national organization that has represented architects and architecture for over 100 years, in existence since 1907. The RAIC is the leading voice for excellence in the built ...

(FRAIC) in 2010,"Fellowship in the RAIC: Ricardo L. Castro." ''McGill News,'' 6 Mar 2015
Web.
/ref> and to the

Royal Canadian Academy of Arts The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880. History 1880 to 1890 The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Queen Victoria on 16 July 1880. The Governor General ...

in 2015."Ricardo L. Castro honoured by the Royal Academy of Arts." ''September 2015 Bulletin, Royal Architectural Institute of Canada''
Web.
/ref> He was awarded the 1990 Prix Paul-Henri Lapointe for architectural journalism by the Ordre des Architectes du Québec.Afana, Jamil. "Analyzing Ricardo L. Castro, FRAIC, 'Biographical Note'." ''Cultureplex, Western U.'
Web.
/ref> A frequent contributor to ''Canadian Architect Magazine'' and ''ARQ Architecture Québec'', photographic expositions of his work were also held in public institutions in Bogotá, Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City.

Education and career

Ricardo León Castro was born in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

, on April 2, 1942. As a youth he lived in Madrid, Spain, and, at age 14, began to photograph his surroundings.Castro Ricardo L. ''Rogelio Salmona: A Tribute''. Bogotá: Villegas Editores, 2008. 12-13. Print. Inspired by his uncle, architect Dicken Castro,Castro Ricardo L.''Syndetic Modernisms''. 30-33 he enrolled in architecture at the Universidad de Los Andes where he was taught by

. At this time he also photographed the colonial Colombian city of

Villa de Leyva Villa de Leyva, also called Villa de Leiva, is a touristic colonial town and municipality, in the Ricaurte Province, part of the Boyacá Department of Colombia. The town is a Colombian National Heritage Town and is on the tentative list for UNES ...

and was mentored by Germán Téllez at the Universidad de Los Andes and William Zapata at the Colombo American Center. In 1972 Castro graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture from Universidad de Los Andes and moved to Eugene, Oregon to attend the School of Architecture and Allied Arts at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

. There he was taught by Robert S. Harris, a proponent of

participatory design Participatory design (originally co-operative design, now often co-design) is an approach to design attempting to actively involve all stakeholders (e.g. employees, partners, customers, citizens, end users) in the design process to help ensure t ...

, and worked during the summers of 1973-75 in the Campus Planning Office where

Christopher Alexander Christopher Wolfgang John Alexander (4 October 1936 – 17 March 2022) was an Austrian-born British-American architect and design theorist. He was an emeritus professor at the University of California, Berkeley. His theories about the nature o ...

Pattern Language A pattern language is an organized and coherent set of ''patterns'', each of which describes a problem and the core of a solution that can be used in many ways within a specific field of expertise. The term was coined by architect Christopher Alexa ...

was implemented as ''

The Oregon Experiment ''The Oregon Experiment'' is a 1975 book by Christopher Alexander and collaborators Murray Silverstein, Shlomo Angel, Sara Ishikawa, and Denny Abrams. It describes an experimental approach to campus community planning at the University of Orego ...

''. Castro graduated with a Master of Architecture in 1974, but continued to study Architectural History and attend seminars given by photographers Bernard Freemesser and

Brett Weston Theodore Brett Weston (December 16, 1911 – January 22, 1993) was an American photographer. Life and work Weston was the second of the four sons of photographer Edward Weston and Flora Chandler. He began taking photographs in 1925, while living ...

. In 1976 he graduated from the University of Oregon with a Master of Arts in Art History and moved to Quebec City. Castro taught from 1977 to 1982 at the

Université Laval Université Laval is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university was founded by royal charter issued by Queen Victoria in 1852, with roots in the founding of the Séminaire de Québec in 1663 by François de Montmo ...

which awarded him a doctoral equivalency in 1978. He continued to photograph architecture and an exhibition of his work "The Facades of Quebec: CloseUps", sponsored by the

McCord Museum The McCord Stewart Museum (french: Musée McCord Stewart) is a public research and teaching museum dedicated to the preservation, study, diffusion, and appreciation of Canadian history. The museum, whose full name is McCord Museum of Canadian His ...

, was held in Montreal and at the Université Laval in 1980,

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning World ...

in 1981, and the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

in 1982. That year Castro moved to Montreal to teach at the

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

School of Architecture and, in 1983, he was appointed Associate Professor of Architecture. During the 1980s Castro's reviews and essays were published in ''Canadian Architect'', ''ARQ Architecture Québec'' and, after 1985, in the ''

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

''. In 1998 his research on architect

was published in both Spanish and English, and he exhibited photographs of Salmona's work at Galeria Mundo (Bogotá) in 2001. During the early 2000s, Castro was also Director of Research at the Institut de recherché en histoire de l’architecture (IRHA) in Montreal.Castro, Ricardo L. ''Rogelio Salmona: A Tribute''. Bogotá: Villegas Editores, 2008. Book jacket. Print. At that time he partnered with Nicholas Olsberg of the

Canadian Centre for Architecture The Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA; french: Centre Canadien d'Architecture) is a Architecture museum, museum of architecture and research centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located at 1920, rue Baile (1920, Baile Street), between r ...

to research the work of Canadian architect

. Following the publication of ''Arthur Erickson: Critical Works'', Castro curated the accompanying exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery, held from June to September 2006. That year he also lectured on "Architecture and Photography" at the

Tate Liverpool Tate Liverpool is an art gallery and museum in Liverpool, Merseyside, England, and part of Tate, along with Tate St Ives, Cornwall, Tate Britain, London, and Tate Modern, London. The museum was an initiative of the Merseyside Development Corpo ...

. In 2007 Castro was also appointed Associate Director of the Masters of Architecture (M. Arch) Professional Program at McGill University, a position he held until 2011. He also joined the editorial board of ''deArq'', the architectural journal of the Universidad de los Andes and his book on Salmona's later work, ''Rogelio Salmona: Tributo'' was published in Bogotá. In 2008 the English edition ''Rogelio Salmona: A Tribute'' was published, and Castro lectured on Salmona at Centro Cultural Gabriel Garcia Marquez in Bogotá. From 2008-14, he collaborated with Juan Suarez of the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...

on Spanish Baroque Fortifications in the Caribbean. In 2013 Castro's photographs were exhibited as "Paseo de ronda: Chemin de ronde / Wall-walk" and those of Punta Pite, Chile, were published in 2014 in ''Syndetic Modernisms''. Castro continued to teach at

McGill School of Architecture The McGill School of Architecture (officially the Peter Guo-hua Fu School of Architecture since 2017) is one of eight academic units constituting the Faculty of Engineering at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1896 by S ...

and, in 2015, he was Resident Fellow of the McGill Institute for Public Arts and Ideas (IPLAI) as well as a member of the editorial board for the architectural journal ''deArq''. At that time he was also recognized for photographic excellence by the

and inducted as a member in May 2016.

Design philosophy and analysis

An architectural historian and design instructor, Castro wrote that his goal was to convey "both the theoretical and pragmatic aspects in a holistic way". Influenced by the work of architects

Juhani Pallasmaa Juhani Uolevi Pallasmaa (born 14 September 1936 in Hämeenlinna, Finland) is a Finnish architect and former professor of architecture and dean at the Helsinki University of Technology. Among the many academic and civic positions he has held are ...

and

Peter Zumthor Peter Zumthor (; born 26 April 1943) is a Swiss architect whose work is frequently described as uncompromising and minimalist. Though managing a relatively small firm, he is the winner of the 2009 Pritzker Prize and 2013 RIBA Royal Gold Medal. E ...

and colleagues

Alberto Perez-Gomez Alberto is the Romance version of the Latinized form (''Albertus'') of Germanic ''Albert''. It is used in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. The diminutive forms are ''Albertito'' in Spain or ''Albertico'' in some parts of Latin America, Albertin ...

and Robert Mellin,Castro Ricardo L. ''Syndetic Modernisms''. 25-29. Castro used the Greek term ''sýndesis'' to convey both the "tangible and conceptual" in monographs on Canadian architect Arthur Erickson and Colombian architect Rogelio Salmona. A concern with "urban topography", or architecture within its environment, is central to his analysis of the Hispanic Baroque. Castro interests also include the 17th- and 18th-century European notion of limits as well as systemic thinking and mnemonics within design. Interested in literature and philosophy, Castro's analysis of architecture or art also incorporated literary concepts. Introduced to the writings of

Alejo Carpentier Alejo Carpentier y Valmont (, ; December 26, 1904 – April 24, 1980) was a Cuban novelist, essayist, and musicologist who greatly influenced Latin American literature during its famous "boom" period. Born in Lausanne, Switzerland, of French an ...

by his uncle Dicken Castro, he elaborated on the idea of ''lo real maravilloso'' (the real-marvelous) in the 1992 essay "Thoughts at the Edge of Architecture: Solitude and the Marvelous-Real" in ''ARQ Architecture Québec''.Castro Ricardo L. ''Syndetic Modernisms''. 29. & 79. More recently Castro included W. G. Sebald's "concept of the extraordinary" in ''A Taxonomy of Collecting'', an analysis of collages by John A. Schweitzer exhibited at the University of Western Ontario in 2014. In ''Syndetic Modernisms'', Carlos Rueda Plata wrote that both "''syndesis'' and thaumaturgy (the marvelous)" informed Castro's analysis of the ceremonial path of Punta Pite, Chile.Rueda Plata, Carlos. ''Syndetic Modernisms''. 21.

Recognition

Castro is recognized as a photographer as well as an architectural critic and historian. He was elected to the

in 2015, and to the College of Fellows of the

(FRAIC) in 2010. In 2002 he was Moderator in the “Design/Intervention/Montreal” at the Professional Practice Conference of the American Institute of Architects. In March 2005 he was Chair of Open Sessions at the annual conference of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture in Chicago. Recognized for excellence in architectural journalism, he was awarded the 1990 Prix Paul-Henri Lapointe in the category "History, Criticism and Theory" by the Ordre des architectes du Québec. Castro was awarded grants by the Canada Council and the

Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts The Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts is a 501(c)3 non-profit that “fosters the development and exchange of diverse and challenging ideas about architecture and its role in the arts, culture, and society. The Graham realize ...

to research

. He was also awarded grants from the Graham Foundation and the Institut de recherche en histoire de l’architectura (IRHA) for his collaborative research on

. Published as ''Arthur Erickson: Critical Works'' in 2006, the book was described in the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...

's publication ''Choice'' as: "diverse but engaging essays, excellent layout, and superb photography reflect the extraordinary synthesis of building traditions, symbolic and structural, in Erickson's work. The book was also awarded the 2007

Alcuin Society A voluntary association established in 1965 by Geoff Spencer, the Alcuin Society is a non-profit organisation founded for the book arts. It is located in Canada. It should not be confused with the Alcuin Club, an Anglican publishing society. Among ...

Award for Excellence in Book Design Castro's research on Baroque Fortifications in the Caribbean in association with the

was funded through the Major Collaborative Research Initiatives (2008-2014) of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Throughout his career, Castro taught at the Universidad de Los Andes (Bogota),

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

, and

,"Ricardo L. Castro." ''Douglas & Mcintyre.'
Web.
/ref> and was recognized, as an educator, with the 2005 Ida & Samuel Fromson Award for Outstanding Teaching by the

McGill University Faculty of Engineering The Faculty of Engineering is one of the constituent faculties of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, offering undergraduate and graduate degrees in chemical, civil, computer, electrical, mechanical, bio-engineering, materials and minin ...

(School of Architecture).

Books

* ''Syndesis II'' co-authored with Robert Mellin and Carlos Rueda Plata. (Bogota: Universidad Piloto de Colombia, 2016) Bilingual English/Spanish edition. * ''Syndetic Modernisms'' co-authored with Robert Mellin and Carlos Rueda Plata. (Bogota: Universidad Piloto de Colombia, 2014) Bilingual English/Spanish edition. * ''Rogelio Salmona: A Tribute'' (Bogota: Villegas Editores, 2008
English edition.
. First published as ''Rogelio Salmona: Tributo'' (Bogotá: Villegas Editores, 2008). Spanish edition. *''Arthur Erickson: Critical Works'' co-authored with Nicholas Olsberg. (Vancouver, BC: Douglas & McIntyre
2006 Canadian edition
and (Seattle, WA:

University of Washington Press The University of Washington Press is an American academic publishing house. The organization is a division of the University of Washington, based in Seattle. Although the division functions autonomously, they have worked to assist the universit ...

, 2007
American edition
. *''The Shapes of Time: John Schweitzer'' (Montreal: Westmount Visual Art Centre, 2001) Bilingual English/French edition. *''Rogelio Salmona'' (Bogota: Villegas Editores, 1998) English edition and Spanish edition.

References

External links

* Afana, Jamil. "Analyzing Ricardo L. Castro, FRAIC, 'Biographical Note'." ''Cultureplex, Western U.'
Web.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castro, Ricardo L. Canadian photographers Canadian people of Colombian descent Living people 1942 births Academic staff of McGill University Academic staff of Université Laval Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts