Beatriz
del Cueto
ARCHITECTURE AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE CARIBBEAN

Architecture and Technology in the Caribbean: Antonin Nechodoma & Frank B. Hatch

At the beginning of the 20th century, two specific professionals made significant contributions to the construction industries of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Architect Antonín Nechodoma is well known in both countries for introducing a new type of Architecture in the Caribbean. However, a less known protagonist in this movement was his counterpart, Frank Bond Hatch, a builder who collaborated almost exclusively as the contractor for Arch. Nechodoma’s projects. As a team, they introduced not only new distinctive building types, but the pioneering use and experimentation with new building technologies and materials for the period such as concrete block, reinforced concrete, terra-cotta, elaborate pavements, and unique surface finishes.

Beatriz del Cueto, FAIA, FAAR’12
Founding principal of Pantel, del Cueto & Associates - Historic Preservation Consultants in Puerto Rico, Architect Beatriz del Cueto is recognized within and outside the Island in the Architectural Conservation field. As a distinguished Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, the American Academy in Rome and the James Marston Fitch Foundation, her projects and articles have been awarded and published in prestigious professional journals.

Del Cueto established the first Architectural Conservation Laboratory at the School of Architecture of the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico where she directed it and taught for 17 years. She has studied, in depth, the traditional building materials and techniques in the Hispanic Caribbean, and focused her recent research and publications on Portland cement technologies and materials in the region.