People:
- Jean-Louis Cohen (archive creator)
- Pietro Roveda (architect)
Title:
Ciudad del Sol collection
Form:
archives
Level of archival description:
collection documentaire
Extent and medium:
- 0.58 l.m. of textual records
7 drawings including reprographic copies
2 photographic materials
Scope and content:
This collection largely documents architect Pietro Roveda’s project Ciudad del Sol in Mexico from around 1907 – 1913. The collection records include project planning and presentation materials, reports, newspaper clippings, correspondence, limited drawings, and stationery items.
Apart from the Ciudad del Sol materials, the collection also contains reprographic copies of drawings for Roveda’s work on the 1912 Exposición de arte Sagrado and the Santuario de Maria Auxiliadora in Mexico City, Mexico.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged in two files by size and format.
Biographical notes:
Pietro Roveda (1875 – 1939) was an Italian architect active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is also referred as Pedro, Pierre, and Peter in the records and was potentially also known as Pietro Emilio Roveda Di Magni [1]. Roveda studied in Milan, Italy prior to working in France, Egypt, Türkiye, Argentina, USA, and Mexico. Roveda largely appears to have worked on religious buildings, including facade work for the Santuario Nacional de María Auxiliadora in Mexico City, Mexico in 1912.
From around 1907, Roveda is documented promoting his Ciudad del Sol (also referred to in the records as the City of the Sun) project. Ciudad del Sol was a planned community model that Roveda proposed to build in Mexico, the United States, and England. The model was for a circular community made up of radial lots for houses and gardens with the central plot reserved for community amenities. The houses were to be made of reinforced concrete and to be earthquake- and fire-resistant. In his project proposals, Roveda describes the Ciudad del Sol as a social project intended to improve the living conditions of workers. While not explicitly mentioned within the records, Roveda’s Ciudad del Sol could be seen as part of the garden city movement of the early 20th century.
References:
[1]. This information is from a source that may require further verification/research. Famila de PIETRO EMILIO ROVEDA DI MAGNI en Colombia. (n.d). Genealogios de colombia. Retrieved October 3, 2025 from https://www.genealogiasdecolombia.co/persona/?pietro-emilio-roveda-di-magni-NVOND
Conditions governing access:
- The CCA collection is open to everyone. We only ask that you reach out to us at ref@cca.qc.ca and make an appointment in advance so we have the time to properly prepare your resources.
Conditions governing reproduction:
- For copyright information or permission to reproduce material from the fonds, please contact the CCA (reproductions@cca.qc.ca).
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer:
- Gift of Jean-Louis Cohen on August 7th, 2019.
Custodial history:
- The records that make up this collection came to the CCA through Jean-Louis Cohen (1949 – 2023), a French historian, curator, professor, and architect. Cohen purchased the records with the intention of pursuing research on the Ciudad del Sol project but never did and instead transferred the records to the CCA in 2019 with many of the records in his fonds (see fonds AP210). Cohen’s research largely focused on 20th century architecture and urbanism in Europe and North America, which explains his interest in the Ciudad del Sol project.
Archivist's note:
- This collection was arranged and described by processing archivist Jillian Forsyth (she/her), a white, cis, straight settler, in October 2025. Her work included creating a file-level finding aid and rehousing the collection material. Forsyth reads English and French, so all other languages in this fonds were identified and read using Google translate. This finding aid was edited and approved by CCA Archivist Anna Haywood in November 2025.
Credit line:
When citing the collection as a whole, use the citation: Ciudad del Sol collection, Collection Centre Canadien d’Architecture/Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montréal. When citing specific collection material, please refer to the object’s specific credit line
Language of material:
- Spanish, French, German, English, Italian
Related units of description:
- The records in this collection were originally part of the Jean-Louis Cohen fonds. Please see fonds AP210 in the CCA's collections for more information.
General note:
- This finding aid is intended to evolve as researchers interact with the records in this collection and their descriptions. If you encounter harmful or sensitive records, or have ideas/thoughts about this finding aid that you would like to share, please contact the CCA team (ref@cca.qc.ca). We welcome all feedback and are committed to continually working to improve this finding aid.
