Leonard J. Currie Slide Collection

Costa Rica

Typical street scene, San José, Costa Rica. June 1951

Currie’s engagement with housing in Latin America began with a housing study in Costa Rica for a U.S. foreign aid agency－the Technical Cooperation Administration (TCA)－and the Costa Rica Government.

Mixing clay for making tiles – under open shed, Liberia, Guanacaste. August 31, 1951
Making a brick kiln for the public works department, Liberia, Guanacaste. August 31, 1951
Slum Shacks, Bank of Rio Torres, San José. June 1951
Ideal type of old farmhouse, Meseta Central. August 1951
New shack built by squatter against wall of reformatory, near San José. July 1951

The farmhouse and urban shacks were built by their owners. United States aid agencies and partner governments adopted the custom of self-construction for their housing programs in developing countries.

The pages on this site about Latin America mainly show low technology and self-help features of the countries, which were the focus of Currie’s work. Currie also photographed modern architecture in Latin America, which is included in the JSTOR collection of slides from his entire career.