Antigua Walls
Photographer Kip Harris captures the vibrant interplay of architecture and colour in Antigua, Guatemala—a city shaped by its colonial heritage and strict preservation rules. These rules mandate a specific palette for building exteriors, ensuring harmony with the city's historic character. Through this lens, Harris explores how these limitations influence both the carefully composed elegance of upscale structures and the creative, ad hoc expressions often found in poorer neighbourhoods.
Photography Kip Harris
Architecture is basically about two things: the space which is created by the construction of a structure: walls, floors, windows, ceilings and the intersection of two or more materials. These two elements are influenced by culture, style, wealth, climate, topography, and availability of building materials.
Before you could apply to architectural graduate school at the University of Utah, you had to pass a course called “Basic Design” which was modelled after a similar course at the Bauhaus. This course was also the way the 300 or so potential applicants were reduced down to a class of 20. One of the focuses of the course was on Josef Albers’ colour studies, particularly his “Homage to the Square,” where colours were examined by how differently they are perceived depending upon the colours to which they are adjacent. I was fascinated by this and spent hours doing colour combinations with Color Aid swatches. This interest has continued throughout my architectural and photographic careers.
Antigua, Guatemala is a World Heritage Site, defined as “sites judged to contain cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity.“ The city has been destroyed a number of times due to fire, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes. It was the capital of Guatemala during the colonial era from 1543 to 1773. When the city was destroyed in 1773 by an earthquake, the capital was moved to Guatemala City. Antigua’s cobblestone streets and Spanish colonial buildings plus its “forever spring” climate make it a tourist attraction.
“The approved colour palette for the city is found on posters at paint and hardware stores so there is no confusion over what should be applied.”
Restrictions imposed by World Heritage Site designations include maintaining structures as close as possible to their original character. In Antigua, this control limits the colours which may be used on the public sides of buildings. The approved colour palette for the city is found on posters at paint and hardware stores so there is no confusion over what should be applied.
Buildings in Antigua were traditionally built with adobe bricks which were then covered with smooth stucco. Now the exterior stucco is typically applied over cinder blocks (CMU = cement masonry units). Architectural features such as windows, doors, roof / wall intersections are often highlighted with contrasting colours.
The upscale buildings are carefully composed often with paired architectural elements. The buildings in poorer neighbourhoods have a more ad hoc character and a less conservative use of colour.
About Kip
Harris grew up in a small farming community in Idaho. He holds degrees in English literature from Dartmouth College, in humanities from the University of Chicago, and architecture from the University of Utah. He was a principal of FFKR Architects in Salt Lake City for nearly 30 years.
A serious photographer since the late 80s, Harris has exhibited in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe. He has been published in Shots Magazine, The Photo Review, Art Reveal, Smithsonian.com, Street Photography Magazine, Barren Magazine, Tagree, Square, Black and White (cover) and a number of online photographic sites. He has been a resident at the Rural Residence in Contemporary Art in the Val Camonica Valley of Italy and Gracia in Antigua, Guatemala.
To see more of his work, make sure to check out his website or follow him on Instagram
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