Over the last century, the city and rural surroundings in the canton Cuenca in Ecuador have been physically constructed in a social setting where an elite group of architects, policymakers, and wealthy citizens have made decisions on architecture, urban design, and land use. They introduced international avant-garde influences in urban residential architecture and considered vernacular architecture appropriate in the countryside. However, massive transnational migration of lower-class and middle-class residents and subsequent architectural opulence have transformed both the city and rural villages in the canton, and have affected the elite's monopoly over the production of the built environment. Many established architects criticize the new ostentatious architecture from a professional and ethical point of view, but on the other hand younger architects see new professional opportunities. Whereas the professional debate focuses on opulent architecture in rural areas and on the preservation of the historical inner city, there is no public debate on the changing cityscape, because it is regarded as an issue too sensitive to discuss openly. In this paper I analyze the professional debate and describe how new sociocultural differentiations in Cuenca change the professional stance as well as the social status of architects.
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