Mar del Plata is an obligatory reference to the Modern Movement in Argentina. Not only for being the scene of some architectural classics such as the House on the River, the Parador Ariston, or the Terrace Palace but also for the Cementerio Parque designed by Horacio Bucho Baliero and Carmen Córdova in the 1960s.
Located in a particular natural terrain in the southwest of the city, the project is the result of a competition organized by the city hall in 1961. Based on the plans drawn up, construction began two years later with the collaboration of architects Ernesto Katzenstein and Juan Manuel Borthagaray.
Although the project had been approved by the socialist focus on public works investment in the city, its construction was interrupted in 1967, after the arrival to power of General Juan C. Onganía. In 1968, the Cementerio Parque was finally inaugurated, including the Municipal Pantheon, the Flower Sales Post, the Crematorium, the Chapel, and the Playón de Ceremonias. A few meters away, there is also the well-known curved structure of the Israelite Cemetery.
The architects explained their idea in the book Baliero, published by FADU UBA:
A purely landscaped approach was sought, taking advantage of the topography of the terrain and a gradual transition between the route along the long straight line of Talcahuano Street and the center of radiation of public activities within the cemetery.
Currently some sectors of the cemetery are in a state of abandonment, a situation that has been repeatedly denounced by the neighbors, although the vast majority of the structures maintain their integrity and the spirits for their complete restoration are higher than ever.
References
- Baliero, H. (2006). Baliero. Buenos Aires: FADU.
- Córdoba, C. y Baliero, H. Cementerio en Mar del Plata. Summa 2 (octubre 1963): 63-68.
- Baliero, H. (1993). Arquitectura: la mirada desde el margen. Buenos Aires: FADU.
- Arquitectura Moderna 360. Carmen Córdova. Obra Cementerio Parque.
