This week we sat down to talk with the architect Hjalmar Decena Orozco, about his vision of the city, society and future of Latin America.
By MiamiDiario Newsroom
the designer Hjalmar Decena Orozco head the Firm Hjaldo Studio in the Dominican Republic, which has designed more than 60 Residential and Commercial Towers that today are part of skyline of the Santo Domingo Metropolis.
Hjaldo Studio executes projects in a creative way, applying innovative concepts and correctly developing human talent, through training and contributing to the improvement of their quality of life. is seen as one of the most important architectural project design and execution companies in the Dominican Republic.
Hjalmar Decena Orozco assures us that, despite the vehicular chaos, some limitations in basic services and the lack of up-to-date regulations, the Dominican Capital, like few Latin cities, She's in her best moment, as a destination and option for development and investment.
The also urban planner graduated from the Pedro Henríquez Ureña University and also with Master of Project Management tells us that the vision of the city that he possesses is not his alone, but that of a group of generational colleagues, who understand that Santo Domingo must continue to be supplied with technological options that make it a "Smart City”, by 2030.
"The central polygon, as the epicenter of the Dominican Metropolis or any other nation in Latin America, should soon correct your mobility and service conflicts, so that it serves as the ideal urban concept that we Dominicans want,” he tells us.
The architect also assures us that not every vertical offer is correct for a city in a state of development.
"Although it affects me, sometimes you have to say no to what seems to be a good project or building," he adds. The influential designer ends the idea by adding that, “the city functions as a complex, not as unitary elements within it. That is why all infrastructure that is developed in our Santo Domingo must take into account its environment, its interconnectivity and its efficiency. Technology is fundamental in the future of our cities”.
We direct the conversation towards that attractive aspect with which you define your city. Decena expresses herself openly about a concept that we sometimes avoid. “The New World started from our land. However, sometimes we limit ourselves to being the vehicle or link with external offers, without any justification”.
Likewise, it motivates us to believe in the possibility that Santo Domingo, First City of America, be the Mecca of Architecture for Central America and the Caribbean. He believes that with the growth and positioning, "we have to be willing to promote our cities, as collaboration spaces with important architects and renowned international developers, to make it the cosmopolitan space What can be".
He says emphatically, “if the Cybernetic City of Santo Domingo, the Duty Free and Industrial Zones, the Call Centers, Tourism and the Film Industry that we are developing taught us anything, it is that, we do not live with our backs to nothing”. It is not surprising that international firms or brands will soon be seen in our cities, with their own projects.
“We are at the center of every major industry in the world. As well as Porsche decided to do a building concept in Miami, I see other brands consider SD for theirs”, he shares with us.
Currently, after proposing dignified and spacious housing designs for the working class, his interest has been inclined towards respond to the housing deficit that exists in the country.
It tells us that "almost 8 out of 10 of us live in urban areas and the nation as such has nearly a million families living outside of a decent state. The public sector must be open to other approaches, methods and technology. That is an alarming figure, which increases every day.
To answer this, he says he is in talks to represent proprietary technologies, that allows you to present affordable housing proposals, that impact that social debt. He is concerned that we are still looking to solve a 21st century problem with First Century tools, materials and technologies.
He assures us that, “it is time that the private sector is allowed to submit construction bids that require less time and investment. Architecture and urban planning must be instruments of social equity”.
Despite the fact that his projects can be seen on every block in the capital, the humble designer tells us that, "just as a small project begins with a stroke, a great work begins in the same way."
Architect Hjalmar Decena Orozco attributes his success to him, having started small and with perseverance. He says that he has also been nourished by the novelty that he still finds in the architecture workshops of the Schools of the country, of those relationships that he forged in each process in which he has participated and above all to his 'young' team, who have been able to follow their guidelines and sacrifice when the project has demanded it. “I can only grow, if they grow”. Referring to the professional members of his office and his clients.
After a decade and a half of professional function, he assures that he always wanted to meet the expectations of the company and the client. His participation in Thematic Courses, Seminars, Symposiums and Events inside and outside the country, have allowed him to complement that original academic preparation.