Spanning a 12-hectare site, the Innovation Park (Parque de la Innovación) located in the Núñez neighborhood of Buenos Aires recently inaugurated its public areas, opening free access to a project that integrates businesses, universities, scientific institutions, housing, service areas, and gathering spaces. Aiming to develop an innovation ecosystem, the development is expected to house around 6,000 residents and accommodate approximately 18,000 students.
The design of the Innovation Park is based on the Master Plan by Alberto Varas, which won the “National Competition of Urban Ideas for the Innovation Park,” organized by the School of Architecture, Design, and Urbanism of the University of Buenos Aires (FADU-UBA) alongside the Government of the City of Buenos Aires (GCBA) in September 2016.
Proposing a shift in how we think, create, and produce, the project features a new platform designed to boost the activities of entrepreneurs, students, and researchers. It aims to foster collaboration and generate synergies with both national and international public and private institutions, focusing on education, healthcare, and technology.
“The project responds to the new productive profile increasingly integrated into the city: knowledge and innovation. This is not an expansion that can follow conventional urban models of subdivision and regulation. Instead, it must be based on offering an inviting urban space for interaction, with plots governed by flexible regulations and an ability to adapt to the architectural formats and varied uses that accompany the inherent uncertainty of research, knowledge, and spatial management.
The public space structuring this new piece must foster exchange and the interaction of urban life generated in this environment by reducing automobile pressure, creating gathering spaces, establishing contact with urban greenery, and ensuring the accessibility required to contribute to the quality of the new landscape and urban environment to be created.” – Excerpt from the project description of the Master Plan by Alberto Varas for the National Competition of Urban Ideas for the Innovation Park
This “new porteño neighborhood,” as local authorities call it, covers a total of 16 hectares subdivided into: Lot A, on Del Libertador Avenue, designated for private developments; Lot B, belonging to the Tiro Federal Argentino building, which is landmarked as a historic heritage site and will be remodeled rather than demolished; and finally, Lot C, which houses the Innovation Park itself, with plots ranging from 4,000 to 14,000 square meters.
Bounded by Lugones Avenue, Udaondo Avenue, and Bavio and Campos Salles streets, 65% of the park's area consists of open-air spaces, integrating six squares and a central green corridor. As Luis Bullrich explained to Infobae, the master plan includes 360,000 square meters of buildable area, sanctioned by a 2016 law, prioritizing education, healthcare, and new technologies. Within the park, internal circulation will rely on emission-free transit as part of a push for sustainable mobility. Cars will be banned inside, with access restricted to bicycles and electric scooters. Two avenues with highway connections will flank the development, which will also feature pedestrian paths and bike lanes running through the site.
Additionally, 55% of the plots will be allocated for housing, including student housing for the expected 18,000 students and family apartments. The building volumes are designed to reach a maximum height of 36 meters, featuring double-height glazed ground floors for commercial use. In terms of infrastructure, Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) have been implemented to capture and drain rainwater, delaying its runoff into the White Stream. Furthermore, the project will feature a model health center aiming to implement new care methodologies for neurological treatment.
To date, 29 of the 32 auctioned plots have been acquired, with buyers including institutions such as the UBA, ITBA (Buenos Aires Institute of Technology), ENERI, Torcuato Di Tella University, UTN (National Technological University), and MIR Cowork.
In addition to connecting with Ciudad Universitaria, the Innovation Park is part of the International Association of Science Parks and Areas of Innovation (IASP) and Argentina's Network of Technology Parks and Hubs, aiming to forge partnerships with scientific institutions, research centers, international organizations, incubators, and accelerators worldwide.
This article was written by Agustina Iñiguez. The translation is powered by AI.
