The majority of Costa Ricans – called Ticos – lives in the Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM), a spatially fragmented and socially segregated rurban hybrid. The modernist separation of functions has led to a seemingly random collage of scattered life-worlds, with high levels of enviromental pollution and an almost absurd perception of insecurity.
The image of Costa Rica as a nature – an peace – loving country is contradicted and caricatured in its cities. In this context, the Pavilion looks at the role of historic urban centres, their past, present, and possible future within the GAM.
