Panama' Public Cemeteries, by Andre Larroque
When: Tue, Nov 10 2015 6:00pm
Where: UNM SUB
The 21 Club wishes to thank our speaker, Andre Larroque, AIA,NCARB, CSI, CEFP
Panama' Public Cemeteries: Memory & Messages
Cemeteries reflect the changing history, culture, economic conditions, and social structure of the city. How it accommodates and preserves the final disposition of its inhabitants' remains sends a message about its people. That message can be visualized through individual funereal art or collectively from the state of related infrastructure and services.
This presentation will briefly explore these expressions of memory and message through the experience of a New Mexico architect working under a Fulbright Specialist grant with the city government of Panama City, Panama. The purpose of the grant was to help develop a master plan for preserving and improving the system of public cemeteries owned by the City. Selected photos taken in the field will help illustrate their character and condition while giving insight into the challenges faced by one of the most interesting cities in the Western Hemisphere.
Such a unique project covering the realities of Life and Death so directly is also bound to generate stories and observations couched in the community history and daily life. Some of these project-related stories will be shared during the presentation, including any that were unexpectedly resurrected from the past personal memory of the one who recorded them.
Speaker Biographical Sketch
Andre Larroque, AIA,NCARB, CSI, CEFP
Mr. Larroque is a licensed architect and owner and principal with Facility Insight, LLC, a consulting firm located in Cedar Crest, NM. He is a CSI Certified Construction Specifier (CCS) and Certified Construction Contract Administrator (CCCA) and holds an Advanced Certificate in Educational Facility Planning. As the former Building Standards Coordinator for the New Mexico Public School Facilities Authority (NMPSFA), he developed and maintained facility design standards and guidelines for K-12 public schools. Past experience includes positions as staff architect for both Albuquerque and New Orleans public school districts and with private design firms in the Southwest, Gulf Coast and New England regions. He has presented on design and construction topics at various forums sponsored by education groups and industry organizations. Mr. Larroque is President-Elect of the New Mexico Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and has served as president of the Albuquerque Chapter of the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) and the East Mountain Historical Society. He is currently a roster member of the Fulbright Specialist program in the discipline of Urban Planning and recently returned from Panama where he provided advisory services to the Municipio de Panama as a grantee.
