The Latin American and Caribbean heritage room proposal was designed with the purpose of creating a learning environment where visitors and students can appreciate the richness of the pre-Columbian culture before it was destroyed by the conquistador and replaced with European styles. Each country will be represented by elements of the culture that populated the region before the Spanish and Portuguese arrival.

The room’s distinguishing feature is a lower ceiling, a mesh of multicolor knotted cords representing “quipus”, an accounting and communication method by which the Incas sent messages, kept demographic records, recorded their laws and registered events from the past. The mesh will be attached to timber beams and will be removable for maintenance. The system will also serve as a screen for the projector, HVAC system, and light fixtures.

The ceramic and stone floor will reflect the ceiling pattern and will incorporate a mosaic work in the center with a representation of the Aztec calendar. The window’s glasswork will also show elements from the calendar.

The carved stone around the door, window and desk top will represent glyphs from the Mayas writing system. The desk’s legs will be caved stone columns representing deities.

Wood and leather chairs will be incorporated to the design for practical reasons. There will be a motif from tribes of each region at the front back of each chair. The board-cover at the front wall of the room will have an illustration on carved leather illustrating how the natives from southern South-America verbally transmitted their knowledge and myths from generation to generation.

A map locating the region’s most prominent ethnic groups will be illustrated in the back wall and a guard with serpents will be linking the room elements. It was common practice for all Latin American and Caribbean cultures to represent serpents, jaguars and other creatures of the earth with supernatural connotations.

The walls will be painted with colors and illustrations of natural elements to match those found in many ruins throughout the region.

If selected, there will be a proposal of creating a team or accepting
suggestions from students, artisans and experts from countries
represented in the room for the construction phase of the work.