María Ugarte

Dominican Republic's first female architect who redesigned post-dictatorship public spaces for social equity.

María Ugarte (1914–2010), a Spanish-Dominican visionary, transformed urban planning through her ‘architecture of dignity’ after fleeing Franco’s regime in 1939. Her designs redefined public housing in Santo Domingo, prioritizing communal gardens and natural ventilation long before sustainable architecture became mainstream.

Ugarte’s most radical project was the Barrio Luz (1956), a neighborhood replacing Trujillo-era slums with color-coded zones promoting social interaction. She incorporated Taino indigenous motifs into modernist structures, as seen in the controversial Museo del Hombre Dominicano facades. Her insistence on using local materials like caoba wood sparked a revival of Dominican craftsmanship.

Despite being blacklisted during the Balaguer regime (1966–1978) for her socialist leanings, Ugarte secretly designed hurricane-resistant schools in rural areas using folded-plate concrete techniques. The 2003 documentary Building Resistance finally brought her work to international attention, cementing her legacy as Latin America’s unsung Bauhaus disciple.