White Elephant New Headquarters of the Human Development and Habitat Ministry / Dirección General de Arquitectura + MDUyT + GCBA

Curated by Clara Ott

Architects: Dirección General de Arquitectura, GCBA, MDUyT
Area: 21069 m²
Year: 2019
Photographs:Javier Agustín Rojas, Archivo General de la Nación
Contractor / Builders: Niro Construcciones S.A.

Text description provided by the architects. The White Elephant (Elefante Blanco in Spanish) was an abandoned building, originally intended in 1923 to be the biggest hospital in Latin America. The structure, unfinished since the cease of works in 1955 and in ruins without the possibility of recovery and functionalization, was located in the Commune 8 inside Ciudad Oculta in Villa Lugano, Buenos Aires, near the intersection of Avenues Eva Perón and Piedra Buena. After several studies, it was established to demolish the existing structure and to develop a project for the New Headquarters of the Ministry of Human Development and Habitat alongside new recreational public spaces.