ACAECE Shopping Center and Public Plaza / BLT Arquitectos

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Text description provided by the architects. This small shopping center is located in the middle of a suburban area of the city of Córdoba. Córdoba, like most Argentine cities, is currently undergoing a process of sprawl and growth in the form of low-density suburbs—imported urban models lacking identity or urban quality. In this discontinuous and anonymous urban environment, shaped by endless single-family homes and isolated buildings, we felt it was necessary to build not only a place to satisfy the area's shopping needs but also a meaningful meeting place that would become a landmark for the sector, providing it with the urbanity and qualities typical of the traditional city. In the traditional city, this space is the main square—a civic and commercial meeting place, and a point of reference for the entire city. Suburbs lack these qualities, which is why we proposed that this new shopping center also function as a public plaza, introducing some of the qualities of the traditional city into the suburban environment.