English translation of the Charter of Machu Picchu 40

Accompanied by students from the Faculty of Architecture and Planning of the University of Peru and other witnesses, the participants came to the ancient cultural site of Machu Picchu Mountain to sign the new charter to express their strong belief in the principles of planning and design that they advocate and explore in terms of professional training and practice.

The signatories of the document made it clear that the Machu Picchu Charter should apply to all design professions, but not as a panacea, but only to promote the objectives and functions of the profession for a comprehensive review between professions. The Charter is also intended to promote open debate and to examine the policies and measures that States** can and should adopt to improve the quality of human settlements in the world.

The International Institute of Architects and Construction (UIA) will award the prestigious Joan Chai Zumian Prize to the National University of Lima in recognition of the initiative of the university's internationally renowned designers to draft this charter. The prize was awarded to the delegation of signatories of the Charter at the 13th session of the IABA General Assembly in Mexico City in October 1978.

The Machu Picchu poet, Pablo Neruda, once described the forgotten city as "the most sublime melting pot of human culture, which has long harbored our silence". We, the architects, educators and planners who have come together, have taken on the serious task of breaking through the current silence, and this document is the result of our first collective effort.

It has been almost 45 years since the International Conference on Modern Architecture (CIAM) published a document on the theory and methods of urban planning, and that document is the Athens Charter. A number of new developments have arisen calling for a revision of the Charter, with the participation of intellectuals and professionals, research institutes and universities from all countries.

There have been many efforts in the past to update the Athenian Charter. This document is only the beginning of the work that we have undertaken. The Athens Charter of 1933 remains a fundamental document of the era; It can be improved, but it is not to be abandoned.

Many of the principles set forth in the Charter of Athens are valid today, testifying to the vitality and continuity of the modern movement of architecture and planning.

Athens in 1933 and Machu Picchu in 1977, the location of these two meetings is of great significance. Athens is the cradle of Western European civilization, and Machu Picchu is a symbol of a separate cultural system in another world. Athens represents the rationalism of Aristotle and Plato, while Machu Picchu represents everything that is not included in rationalism and cannot be classified by logic alone.

In 1933, the International Conference on Modern Architecture (CIAM) adopted what became known as the Charter of Athens. Since then, this document has been the guideline for higher architectural education in Europe and the United States for many years. In December 1977, a group of urban planners gathered in Lima to discuss the Athens Charter, which was written in four languages and proposed the Machu Picchu Charter, which contained a number of demands and declarations.