Designed by Carlos Raúl Villanueva, completed 1977 Caracas, Venezuela The Ciudad Universitaria of Caracas (City University of Caracas, also known as the Universidad Central de Venezuela [UCV] or Central University of Venezuela), designed by the Venezuelan architect Carlos Raúl Villanueva, is regarded as the country’s most important example of modernist architecture. Derived from Le Corbusier’s works, the campus plan’s Venezuelaninflected organicism set a new standard for Venezuelan architects. The “synthesis of the arts” it proposed has never been surpassed. Despite the dilemma its association with the military government of General Marcos Pérez Jiménez (1948–58) presented for artists working on the project, its success with both Venezuelan elites and the international architectural community significantly influenced the course of Venezuelan architecture. Villanueva’s initial conception of the campus plan as well as early building designs make use of monumental axes and symmetrical dis...