High design:

A city high in the mountains of Bolivia is getting a facelift. El Alto, close to the administrative city of La Paz, is enjoying attention because of the building designs of architect Freddy Mamani. He calls his style New Andean architecture. His modern buildings, called cholets, are usually several stories high with shops at street level, party and gallery space in the next levels, and living space on the top floor. The designs combine vibrant colors and geometric shapes reminiscent of indigenous textile patterns. For Mamani, the architecture of his buildings is a way of promoting his culture’s pre-Columbian roots.