This lecture explores the intersections between modernist architecture, political power, and the tropical condition of the Caribbean in the twentieth century. Moving across the Antilles, it traces how a distinctive form of Caribbean modernism emerged at the crossroads of nationhood, climate adaptation, and the cultural imaginaries that shaped architectural expression.

Through selected case studies, the talk reveals how architecture operated simultaneously as symbol and instrument—projecting visions of progress, mediating the tropical condition, and shaping spaces of social encounter and exclusion.

Framing Caribbean Modernism as a critical arena, this lecture calls for renewed efforts of documentation, preservation, and reinterpretation. Drawing on Professor Martínez-Suárez’s ongoing work—including exhibitions, publications, and academic collaborations—it situates this architectural legacy within broader global conversations on modernism and its futures.

Hosted by DOCOMOMO International and co-organized by the Embassy of the Dominican Republic to the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Centro León
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Alex Martínez-Suárez is a Dominican architect, researcher, and curator. He is the director of Archipiélago, a multidisciplinary platform dedicated to architecture, academic research, and cultural production. Alex has taught at Harvard University (USA) and the Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey (Mexico), and currently serves as a professor at Universidad Iberoamericana (UNIBE) in the Dominican Republic. He is an active member of Docomomo Dominican Republic and a member of the editorial board of Arquitexto, a Santo Domingo–based architecture magazine. He was recently honoured with two awards at the XII Dominican Republic Architecture and Urbanism Biennale.