LATIN AMERICAN CHARTER OAXACA 2008, ON THE ADDITION OF CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE IN HISTORICAL

DOWNTOWNS NATIONAL CONVENTION OF MEXICAN ARCHITECTURE, OAXACA 2008.

We, Mexican architects and international guests of the XXVI National Convention of Mexican Architecture Oaxaca 2008,
worried by the risk of imminent destruction of numerous building of historical value in Latin America, declare the
following.

- We urge all parties involved in the remodeling of historical downtown areas to strive to save their distinctive features
and social memory as a means to resist the ongoing pressure of globalization, and to do so in an efficient and ethical
manner.

- We invite people to reflect on the social and urban consequences of the short-order effect of new technologies,
especially the ones dealing with communications that entail a new vision of the city.

- We support the professionals involved with each and every building, site, and downtown area projects that will be
carried out with a strong focus on durability, using strategies and techniques that will insure their conservation.

- The quality of life in the city must be improved in accordance to local climate conditions and customs while using new
technologies, so that each construction unit is self sufficient in terms of energy.

- We have to understand that the city is presently the only solution to population growth. However, the city cannot
expand indefinitely because it ages, and many downtown areas are jammed. This is why the only sustainable solution is
recycling, and priorities have to be redefined in accordance to the new needs and daily interactions of city dwellers and
users.

- We demand that all real-estate projects include the costs of their impact on environment.

- New additions and projects must be rational and versatile so that changes of use-which are more and more frequent-
are made easier. This will reduce the number of operations which destroy the harmony of historical city centers.

- In the exceptional event of the impossibility to restore a building located in a historical area, due to its really bad state,
we recommend the creation of a quality project of contemporary design which blends in with its surroundings.

- We support herewith a similar recommendation that was made in the Machu Picchu charter in 1977.

- Whenever possible, buildings with a historical value, and which are used for a different purpose than the one for which
they were originally designed, which is a change that cannot be avoided, should be set off.

- Where historical areas exist, use standard procedures in city projects promoting urban landscape harmony.

- Starting in first year, architecture schools should teach environment analysis and conceptualization as a basis of study.

- We urge more specifically all civil servants involved with the conservation of the heritage and historical memory of our
people to act cautiously, efficiently, ethically, and dutifully, and to use common sense. Decisions that are made too late or
which lack vision are a contributing factor to the destruction of our heritage. History will be our judge.
- We support the positive statements to that effect made in the “International Charter for the Conservation of Cities and
Historical Areas” of the ICOMOS since 1987, and which states that “what are considered protecting measures for
historical cities are the ones that protect, preserve, and restore them as well as the ones that promote a consistent
development scheme in which history blends in well with contemporary life”. In addition the charter stresses that the
measures must be applied with “caution, method, and scrupulousness, while avoiding all bias ».

Signed in Oaxaca de Juárez, Oaxaca on November 27, 2008 in the scope of the XXVI National Convention of Mexican
Architecture Oaxaca 2008