Author: Belén Maiztegui | ArchDaily

8 Houses That Defined Modern Architecture in Argentina

Belén Maiztegui — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 05:00:00 +0000

Modernism played an undeniable role in the renewal of architectural ideals, contributing a new attitude toward understanding new ways of living, construction techniques, and aesthetics, marking profound changes in the general perception of the world. In Argentina, while it is complex to define modern architectural production periodically, it is possible to mention some architects who began, starting in the 1920s, to engage with these ideas. The intellectual contributions and architectural creations of Alejandro Virasoro, Alberto Prebisch, Ernesto Vautier, Fermín Beretervide, Wladimiro Acosta, Alejo Martinez, Antonio and Carlos Vilar, Juan Kurchan, Jorge Ferrari Hardoy, Antonio Bonet, Abel López Chas, Eduardo Catalano, Eduardo Sacriste, and Amancio Williams, among others, often included original approaches associated with new modes of thought, manifesting an architecture resulting from the analysis of the local and regional conditions of their cities.

Integrating the Past: Contemporary Projects that Preserve Preexisting Façades

Belén Maiztegui — Wed, 28 Aug 2024 05:00:00 +0000

Operating in urban environments often requires us to make decisions regarding pre-existing structures. The increase in city density has directly impacted the availability of space for developing new and independent constructions, sparking debates about what stance to take toward built heritage that has become obsolete—either due to deterioration or because it no longer meets the functional needs of the contemporary population. In cases where buildings have seriously deteriorated or new projects differ greatly from the spatial possibilities an old building can offer, preserving only the façade—as an exterior envelope, almost like a superficial element—can be seen as a partial solution that allows for the preservation, in part, of the urban character of a structure if it holds some public or cultural value. The controversy arises, certainly, from the lack of relationship or connection between the transformed interior and the preserved exterior.

Cultural Centers, Museums, and Galleries: Ancient Buildings Transformed into Art Spaces in Latin America

Belén Maiztegui — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 05:00:00 +0000

Many buildings often fall into disuse due to our cities' constant economic, social, and technological changes. The programmatic inconsistency of current times demands great versatility and adaptability from our infrastructures, increasingly leading projects to become uninhabited, and left to abandonment and decay.

Public Waterfront Pools: 10 Aquatics Facilities Bordering Rivers and Oceans

Belén Maiztegui — Sun, 16 Jul 2023 07:30:00 +0000

At first glance, building a pool right beside another body of water seems a little redundant. After all, why would someone choose to swim in a pool when they have a river or ocean to enjoy? However, for people with limited mobility and younger more inexperienced swimmers, natural bodies of water can prove both daunting and dangerous. Pools not only provide a controlled, secure space for them to enjoy aquatic activities, they also provide a connection with the surrounding landscape.

Beersheba: Brutalist Architecture in the Middle of the Desert

Belén Maiztegui — Sun, 02 Apr 2023 06:30:00 +0000

Located 108 kilometers to the south of Tel Aviv, Beersheba (Be'er Sheva) is one of Israel's oldest cities. Although in existence since biblical times, military campaigns and occupations have seen it destroyed and rebuilt throughout the centuries, resulting in the juxtaposition of various time periods and cultures that can be seen throughout the city. One of Beersheba's principal transformations happened during the population boom of the 1950s sparked by the formation of the State of Israel in 1948. To keep up with the need for housing, the government rebuilt and expanded the city, which soon transformed from a small military outpost of 4,000 people to a vibrant urban center in the middle of the Negev Desert.

Courtyards in Peruvian Houses: 10 Projects and their Floor Plans

Belén Maiztegui — Wed, 25 Jan 2023 05:30:00 +0000

With the exception of some areas, within the three principal regions of Peru--coastal, mountain, and rainforest--the climate is characterized as tropical or subtropical and the differences in summer and winter temperatures is minimal, rarely reaching beyond 15 °C and 27 °C. This mild climate has thinned the line between exterior and interior spaces, a fact evident in the region's architecture.

Brutalism and Collective Living in Europe, Through the Lense of Stefano Perego

Belén Maiztegui — Sat, 15 Oct 2022 05:30:00 +0000

Although there is much conflict surrounding the term Brutalist, there are certain constants and patterns within the movement that offer a concrete idea of the movement and its place in contemporary architecture.

The buildings that adhere to Brutalism—an off-shoot of the Modern Movement that erupted between 1950 and 1970— stand out in part to their constructional sincerity- that is, keeping no secrets about the materials that went into their creation, their bold geometry, and the asperity of their textures and surfaces. Reinforced concrete is the predominant material in Brutalist works thanks to its prominent and dramatic texture, which is put on full display.

Lo-TEK: Reclaiming Indigenous Techniques to Work with Nature

Belén Maiztegui — Tue, 07 Jun 2022 05:00:00 +0000

"Indigenous technologies are not lost or forgotten, only hidden by the shadow of progress in the most remote places on Earth". In her book Lo-TEK: design by radical indigenism, Julia Watson proposes to revalue the techniques of construction, production, cultivation and extraction carried out by diverse remote populations who, generation after generation, have managed to keep alive ancestral cultural practices integrated with nature, with a low environmental cost and simple execution. While modern societies tried to conquer nature in the name of progress, these indigenous cultures worked in collaboration with nature, understanding ecosystems and species cycles to articulate their architecture into an integrated and symbiotically interconnected whole.

Brick Houses in Argentina: 15 Examples Exploring Pattern and Design

Belén Maiztegui — Tue, 03 May 2022 05:00:00 +0000

Brick has positioned itself as one of the materials that characterise and identify Argentinean and Latin American architectural culture. The diversity and versatility of masonry in our region have given rise to great heterogeneity in its uses and applications: structural walls, partitions, enclosures, screens, envelopes, skins, roofs, vaults, domes and floors allow us to visualise the great adaptability of this material in order to adapt to the particular requirements of each project.

15 Architecture Projects for Life in Space

Belén Maiztegui — Wed, 10 Nov 2021 07:30:00 +0000

The Apollo 11 Mission, departed Earth on July 16, 1969, and touched down on the moon 4 days later. This moment marked a milestone for humanity and, to this day, makes us reflect on how technological progress is bringing us ever closer to life beyond planet Earth.

Leonmarcial's Installation at the Venice Biennale 2021 Celebrates the Dialogue Between Architecture and the Environment

Belén Maiztegui — Tue, 07 Sep 2021 06:30:00 +0000

Peruvian architectural firm leonmarcial arquitectos has been invited to take part of the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale with an installation at the Arsenale as part of the "As New Households” exhibition space. Titled Interwoven, the installation encourages the action of sharing and celebrates the exchange between homes and their environments through architecture.

Digital Woodworking: Creating Structures, Furniture, and Surfaces Using CNC

Belén Maiztegui — Wed, 18 Aug 2021 05:00:00 +0000

The automation of architectural design and rendering has been further accelerated by digital production tools. Tools such as 3D printers, assembly robots, and laser cutters, have all but perfected the design and construction process and have proven essential in optimizing resources, improving precision, and increasing control of the process.

Aerial Photography of Houses in Ecuador: Visualizing a Building From Above

Belén Maiztegui — Mon, 09 Aug 2021 04:00:00 +0000

Capturing aerial photographs allows raising awareness of a project feature usually complex to capture using traditional methods. Based on the technological opportunities offered by small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly called drones, architecture photographers have begun to explore new ways of capturing a project in order to expose design decisions such as implantation, dialogue with the environment, or the relationship with nearby buildings.

Metal Houses in Argentina: 10 Projects with Sheet Metal Exteriors

Belén Maiztegui — Tue, 20 Jul 2021 05:00:00 +0000

Whether applied as cladding to steel or timber frame structures or to structures built by traditional means, sheet metal offers an array of advantages as a building material, thanks to its low cost, ease of maintenance, and versatility.

Architecture of Transitions: BAAG's Installation for the 2021 Venice Biennale

Belén Maiztegui — Fri, 16 Jul 2021 05:00:00 +0000

Can architecture foster better relationships between people, creating an equalized and respectful use of space? Can tools be designed that strengthen the bonds between humans and objects? BAAG (Buenos Aires Arquitectura Grupal) studio explores the architectural elements that mediate between people and objects, the natural and artificial, public and private, individual and collective, and humans and other living things.

Flocking Tejas: BASE Studio's Exhibit for the Venice Biennale 2021

Belén Maiztegui — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 05:00:00 +0000

How does systemic thinking and generative design contribute to new forms of convivence? Can they become tools to connect tradition and identity in a modern way? Can they help to design customizable architectural strategies that offer locally accessible solutions? Can they contribute to the creation of dignified spatial experiences that can be replicated on a mass scale?

The Peruvian Pavilion in the 2021 Venice Biennale Seeks to Transform Fences into Tools for Integration

Belén Maiztegui — Tue, 29 Jun 2021 05:00:00 +0000

“Playground: Artifacts for Interaction”, by curator Felipe Ferrer, aims to transform the fences surrounding Peru's public spaces into tools for social integration. The project proposes removing the gates enclosing public spaces throughout Lima and Peru's other urban centers, inviting residents to freely enter and interact with the spaces. By removing these "security" mechanisms, which really serve as tools of segregation, and installing benches, playgrounds, and soccer fields, the project aims to divert all the energy, time, and resources put into installing fences and channel it into bringing new life to these public spaces.

Argentine Axonometries: 30 Works of Architecture Put Into Perspective

Belén Maiztegui — Wed, 23 Jun 2021 05:00:00 +0000

As Francis D. K. Ching explains in his book Architectural Graphics, unlike the traditional, two-dimensional orthographic drawings used to represent layouts, sections, and floorplans, which only allow a project to be glimpsed through a series of fragmented images, axonometries, or axonometric projections, offer unique, simultaneous three-dimensional views of a project with all the depth and spatiality of tried and true technical illustrations.