Since the mid-2000s, Freddy Mamani has gained status as a prophetic figure in the urban development of El Alto, Bolivia’s second largest city. Amid an expanse of bare-faced brick buildings, the architect’s colorful cholets—a combination of the words chalet and cholo—have become representative of a new, futuristic vernacular, rooted in the Indigenous culture of the Andes. Patterned with geometric motifs drawn from those found at the nearby ancient city of Tiwanaku, and lavished with a color palette drawn from Indigenous Aymara traditional dress, Mamani’s mini-mansions-cum-party halls are resplendent with iconography. Over the past decade, the buildings have attained a symbolism of their own: images of a rising Aymara bourgeoisie whose prosperity has grown with the city, inspiring numerous, sometimes eccentric, imitations.

With his New Andean style, Mamani has defined a local architecture of modernity in El Alto, one that reflects how the region’s identity has evolved through history. For the third installment of our On Site series, The World Around sets out to understand what lessons other architects can learn from Mamani’s distinctive vision—and why a return to local culture is so crucial at a time when the world’s cities are tending to the same aesthetic.

The World Around’s critically acclaimed public programs convene speakers from around the world to map the changing landscape of contemporary architecture and design. With our new On Site series, The World Around travels to meet the change where it’s happening, offering unique insights from its most influential motivators through our eyes on the ground.