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Sun 9 Jan, 2005 11:19 am
Architecture
By 1900 Buenos Aires was one of the twelve world capitals with finest architecture. In terms of growing, Buenos Aires was the third most growing city behind Hamburg and Chicago.
Throughout these years the ever-growing sophisticated architecture aimed to symbolize the country's prestige and greatness. Back then some of the finest particular and public palaces. For instance, the National mail Postal Office building was designed by the same French architect in charge of designing the New York Postal Office.
Architectural experts who have studied Buenos Aires buildings agree to describe the city's architecture not as mere copies of the European designs, but a special and authentic view of world major trends that were brought to the Buenos Aires scene transgressing the Old continent's hard and austere lines. This is a very special and unique feature, for most European architects working in BA projects "felt freer to innovate, adapt, adorn and leave their personal signature".
The American Utopia in terms of architecture arrived to the new continent through two main port-side cities: New York and Buenos Aires.
From 1880 to 1930, the city of Buenos Aires went through a major makeover -unparalleled elsewhere-. The buildings and sculptured monuments, including public interest areas such as parks and avenues, included in the World's patrimony list are over 200.
The main European style prevailing throughout those years was to be complemented during the early 20s with innovative styles such as Art nouveau and Art Deco, as well as an aesthetic highly influenced by the archeological discoveries from way back then: Tutankhamen's tomb discovery and the later discovery of Inca, Mayan and Aztec archeological remains inspired much of the design work. Rectangles and pyramids, double and triple frames and Egyptian and Inca motifs are yet to be found and admired through several barrios that were growing back then, Flores, Caballito and Balvanera. While this cosmopolitan style developed some local architects had also created what they described as "an nationalist architecture" invoking a sort of national style linked to some Spaniard and colonial styles, and the new and modern Buenos Aires neoplaterismo.
The city's functional architecture evolved with it's economy. Early in the 1900, La Boca and Barracas were the city's main working class neighborhoods, filled with joint houses known as conventillos. Very colorful constructions made out of inexpensive materials such as metal, wood. The 1940s and the increase in number of the porteñan working class would bring to the architectonic scene mono-block serialized buildings specially around Saavedra, Chacabuco and Lugano.
The 1960s and 1970s were years of innovation in design and aesthetic linked to nature and prime materials revalued and exposed in all its basic and beautiful features. Organic and functionality is a duel that prevails in the constructions of those days.
From the 80s to our days, the eclectic feel of the city prevails, and ultra modern high buildings are this years main input. The late 90s and the new millenium, following a worldwide trend, express a return to some basic aesthetic, remodeling and recovering high quality constructions from demolition, in vintage modern buildings.
Interesting facts about Buenos Aires architecture: Casa Chorizo and Conventillos.
The Casa chorizo has it's origin in Italy's Roman Empire middle class construction, one story buildings with several inside patios connecting the many rooms. The Argentinean version is not so opulent, it has less rooms and patios, just the main living room, kitchen, bathroom and a couple of bedrooms all face the sole and main patio, that's accessed through a narrow hall connecting it with the street. Further rooms are added when resources are higher than the media.
The Conventillos were the main lodging available to the immense immigrant flow from the early years of the Republic. These are comunitary houses, were a hole family lived in a room, shared a bathroom and a cooking area. Most of these conventillos were abandoned in 1871 because of a yellow fiber epidemic. Later on the buildings were occupied again, in better conditions, but they were still shared houses.
This is interesting. Did you write this, Frassinetti?
Argentina,this is interesting.Did you write this,Frassinetti
I hope you enjoyed reading this article as much as I did writing it, read on my friend....
Art and function: lighthouses that guide us to supreme aesthetics.
Lighthouses, throughout history have always been of great relevance. Its deep purpose, that is to indicate land to those in the sea was very much accomplished always with incredible aesthetic relevance. These incredible constructions have accompanied man though his self-discovery journey; as far in our history as the Egyptian and Greek civilisations had built lighthouses to help those intrepid travellers come home, to our present, in spite of the outstanding technology that has been developed for ocean ships.
The familiarity in their surface, as travellers were approaching homeland, its been told that feels like a mother's hug, transmitting that warmth and safe feeling.
As every other construction, lighthouses express the sense of an era, of the time they were built in. Its lines, curves, they way the light dances in the water showing the shore, can tell us very much of what those times were like. We might as well trace their achitectual background in other contemporary constructions, and often find out the revolutionary of those buildings. Why? Because of their importance to many people's survival, these buildings often show the most outstanding techniques of an era, applied on behalf of that civilisation's wellbeing. As the Egyptian pyramids express the best possible construction for a desert area, the Alexandria Lighthouse or the Rods lighthouse showed the best possible construction for a sea shore area.
Everywhere there's a shore, lighthouses enlight us with their lines, curves and outstanding surface. They blend, as we said before, art and functionality.
In Argentina, there are two outstanding lighthouses -among more than 58 important ones throughout the national territory- that show precisely what we've been saying so far.
Located in the port area of Argentina's capital city Buenos Aires, the Buenos Aires Yacht Club lighthouse was built during the late 20s of the twentieth century. Its aesthetics had been marked by a world-wide architectural trend: Art Decó. One can see in its delicate straight lines how the architects in charge of building this lighthouse blend functionality and art, including many decorative inputs to the basic construction, mixing up different materials to get the most out of each one of them. The BA Yact Club is located in the Puerto Madero area that during the early years of the twentieth century was the city's most important port, today it's busy port days are over, it has become one of BA's most exquisite places. Old port houses have been renewed into gourmet restaurants of outstanding quality, out of the top hotels, a very exclusive residential area, and of course our city's Yacht Club, a majesties gathering point for outdoor activities for all the family.
When visiting the city of tango, all our coast area is a must, for its elegance, high quality eating and relaxing options. This areas' physiognomy very much expresses Buenos Aires history, the evolution of a portside city who has taken advantage of its position and influences to become the cultural, fashion and social Metropolis of Latin America.
Far south from the city of tango, Argentina runs all the way down to the most southern point of the world. The last continental stop before the long journey towards the Antarctic ices is Tierra del Fuego. In 1884, some few years after the southern boarder of Argentina was finally set, a group of magnificent artists built the San Juan del Salvamiento lighthouse in the Isla de los Estados. Imagine the magnitude of this building regarding its surrounding land that Jules Verne was so inspired about it that he wrote on of his most famous novels, The Lighthouse of the End of the World in 1905. Because of its location, the harsh weather and tide conditions this lighthouse was destroyed because of the pass of time and the lack of a strong conservation policy by the Argentinean governments. Its remains were taken to Ushuaia for exhibition a few years ago. In the 1920s in the northern part of the island there were build some other lighthouses that still remain to our days, Año Nuevo in Isla Observatorio, Le Maire, San Gonzalo, San Pío and Les Eclaireurs.
For their historical value as well as for they represent a state of mind, this southern Argentinean cities are highly recommended for those art loving and adventurous travellers who enjoy life's pleasures in all of their variety. Adventure, fun and good living are an expression of life in the end of the world. People from all over the world have chosen this beautiful city as their home, as they pick up local customs they share their own traditions: the result is an awesome combination of cultures and people who work together for a better living.
This worldly recognised city has become a Mecca for those who love great eating, adventure and good living. Spas, gourmet restaurants, high class accommodation and a view not even Michel Angelo would have imagine make of this city one of our favourite places in the world.
Bob Frassinetti.Art dealer & Journalist.
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