ARCH_500-600 Comprehensive Options Studio: ‘Buenos Aires: Links’

Architectural projects are made through the interpretation of site and program. The process and the outcome depend on how that interpretative work is done. The program—the real one—is not a list of bureaucratic requirements, and the site is not merely a portion of land with specific dimensions. Architects do not simply place a building that meets the criteria of a specific program onto a piece of land. They read the existing conditions of the site and derive an atmosphere and spatial quality from the program brief: the project emerges from their interpretative work.

 

About the Site

 

The site for this studio is located in Buenos Aires. Sometimes called the Paris of South America, is a city full of contradictions and contrasting conditions undergoing its own dynamic of transformation. The context is social, cultural, technological, and climatic. At the edge of a well-known and studied shantytown known as Barrio 31, and in proximity to the business district of a large metropolis, the site could not more explicitly comprise the conditions of a developing nation or a more intense urban experience. 

 

This area is in constant flux. Recent architectural developments have reconfigured the area without regard to the unique dynamics of this urban space, and continued construction is expected. Student projects aimed to address both the programmatic requirements of a building while being respectful of development in this urban context.

 

Considering the Atmosphere

 

Students were charged with designing a complex of pools to, in addition to their specific use, serve as a community center and link the different urban fabrics at the edge of an informal settlement. 

 

In preparation, students considered and presented examples of the kinds of places that first came to their minds when they received the studio statement and requirements: Were they traditional or contemporary buildings and sites? Were their immediate reactions toward the existing architecture and sites aggressive or more respectful of former precedents? Did they perceive them as invisible or outspoken, or more radical (as in the result of a bold invention) or more conservative (as in derived from a long-standing tradition)?

 

The choice of a technical, constructive approach to building and material repertoire were promoted as conscious design decisions emphasized both in the early stages of the project and further developed in the second half of the semester in coordination with the Building Systems class.

 

 

 

Established in 2001, Buenos Aires studio engages with the city’s complexity and rich cultural, social, and artistic life. The studio focuses on projects about the city, with an emphasis on in-fill buildings. This is a comprehensive options studio that integrates the Building Systems course into its design. The curriculum is complemented by history courses focusing on Latin America and Argentina in particular. Field trips around Buenos Aires, as well as to Uruguay and Brazil, give students the opportunity to study firsthand some of the most important architectural works that have shaped the identity of architecture in Latin America.