The Limapolis 2026 International Workshop: Living in the Center brought together students, architects, and educators from Peru and abroad to address the country’s significant housing deficit, according to a March 19 announcement. The event focused on developing contemporary collective housing projects specifically for Lima’s Historic Center.
The issue is important as Peru faces a shortage of approximately 1.8 million adequate homes, which has prompted academic and professional collaboration to seek innovative solutions. The workshop aimed to bridge academic research with real-world urban challenges.
From March 9 to 13, the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP) hosted eight working groups led by architects from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Spain, the United States, and Switzerland. More than twenty faculty members guided around 330 architecture students and recent graduates from PUCP and other universities across Peru. The initiative was supported by the Master in Collective Housing (MCH) at Madrid’s Technical School of Architecture (Etsam), the Federal Institute of Technology Zürich (ETH), and Lima’s Municipal Program for the Recovery of the Historic Center (ProLima).
“In Limapolis 2026, we emphasized that students face real architectural and urban problems to offer proposals from academia to society,” said Andrés Solano, PUCP architecture professor and curator of this edition alongside Fredy Quispe and Camilo Meneses. After a week of intensive work sessions exploring complex design methodologies, participants presented innovative solutions aimed at improving living conditions in central Lima.
Fieldwork played a key role as each group visited intervention sites such as Avenida Abancay, Quinta Heeren’s surroundings, the Rímac river area, and Avenida La Colmena. For example, Group 1 proposed building public spaces and housing units on an underused plot along La Colmena. “Participating in Limapolis allowed me to experience novel proposals and work as if I were in an architecture studio,” said Joaquín Linares, a PUCP student involved in the project.
Other groups focused on sustainable living concepts using natural materials or flexible designs tailored for diverse residents. Maria Giramé of Barcelona-based Bajet Giramé studio said: “The students managed to organize themselves with a particular methodology… They have been very motivated and worked hard during these intense days. Without a doubt it has been a great experience for everyone.” The results are now displayed at Casa Vilela until March 29.
At the exhibition opening on March 14, PUCP rector Dr. Julio del Valle highlighted how closely linked the university is with downtown Lima: “Limapolis is a laboratory of ideas for the city… I highlight the effort made to think about recovering and finding better spaces for our beloved yet challenging Lima.” Faculty dean Dr. Paulo Dam added: “The municipality is doing archaeology on how the city was built; it is interesting that these proposals can dialogue with that work.” Juan Manuel Parra from ProLima concluded that both academia and public administration must continue collaborating for positive change.
