Tag: clorindo-testa | ArchDaily

When Art Came First: Spatial Experiments That Shaped Architecture in Latin America

Daniela Andino — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Many of the spatial ideas we now associate with contemporary architecture, collective use, and bodily experience did not originate in buildings alone. In Latin America, these ideas were often explored first through art, at a moment when artists were actively questioning how space could be occupied, shared, and experienced beyond traditional forms.

Clorindo Testa's Artistic and Architectural Experimentation: Colors and Asymmetrical Plays in Spaces of Worship

Agustina Iñiguez — Tue, 12 Aug 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Amid questions, reflections, and debates, the work of Clorindo Testa embodies an innate connection between artistic and architectural experimentation, reflected in many of his built projects, sketches, models, and plans. From the Mariano Moreno National Library to the former Bank of London building in Buenos Aires, his production is of such scope, diversity, and complexity that it constitutes a major source of study, one that also includes unbuilt projects that deserve visibility and recognition on a global scale. In his final years of professional activity, two unbuilt projects of religious architecture highlight Testa’s work not only as an architect but also as a visual artist.

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.

Ítala Fulvia Villa and her Sixth Pantheon: The Story Behind Buenos Aires' Brutalist Necropolis

Agustina Iñiguez — Sat, 13 Jul 2024 07:30:00 +0000

Around 1949, the city of Buenos Aires led the construction of the Sixth Pantheon in the Chacarita neighborhood. Monumental in character and brutalist in style, this underground necropolis turned out to be the first and largest experiment in modern architecture in the funerary field. Designed by Ítala Fulvia Villa, one of the first Argentine women architects and urban planners, and a pioneer of South American modernism, along with her team comprised of Leila Cornell, Raquel S. de Días, Gunter Ernest, Carlos A. Gabutti, Ludovico Koppman, and Clorindo Testa, this work was discovered by Léa Namer, who conducted an in-depth investigation reflecting on the legacy of a modern utopia and a feminist rereading of history.

Architecture Classics: Sixth Pantheon of Chacarita

Léa Namer — Thu, 18 Jan 2024 05:00:00 +0000

Until recently, the Sixth Pantheon of Chacarita was an icon of Argentine modern architecture that went unnoticed. Located in the heart of the city of Buenos Aires, this pantheon represents one of the first and one of the largest experiments in modern funerary architecture of such magnitude in the world.

2023's AD Classics: Year in Review

Nour Fakharany — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 04:00:00 +0000

Architecture Classics showcased on ArchDaily serve as essential archives of architectural marvels, offering a window into the past. These classics showcase our collective design wisdom and innovation globally, enriching our design knowledge. In fact, through the acknowledgment and appreciation of different styles, functions, and narratives embedded within these structures, our view of architecture and its impact worldwide can become more comprehensive.

Architectural Classics: Mariano Moreno National Library / Clorindo Testa + Francisco Bullrich + Alicia Cazzaniga

Fabian Dejtiar — Wed, 09 Nov 2022 05:00:00 +0000

In the central Recoleta neighborhood of Buenos Aires, in a large lot between Austria Street, Agüero Street, and Del Libertador Avenue, stands the current building of the Mariano Moreno National Library, designed by architects Clorindo Testa, Francisco Bullrich, and Alicia Cazzaniga.

Built on the basis of the project that won first prize in a national competition in 1961, and completed in the early 1990s, it has become a landmark of modern Argentine architecture and an example of the variant of 20th century expressionism known as "brutalism".

22 Architecture Classics to Celebrate the Day of the Architect in Argentina

Agustina Iñiguez — Mon, 11 Jul 2022 05:00:00 +0000

Within South America, different dates have been established to pay tribute to and honour the career, life and work of architecture professionals. While in Uruguay it is celebrated every 27th of November in relation to the creation of the first Faculty of Architecture, in Brazil every 15th of December in homage to the birth of Oscar Niemeyer or in Chile every 4th of August for the founding of the College of Architects, the Argentine Federation of Architects' Associations (FADEA) kept the 1st of July to commemorate the Day of the Argentinean Architect, respecting the establishment of the International Day of Architecture, established by the International Union of Architects (UIA) in 1985.

Spotlight: Clorindo Testa

David Douglass-Jaimes — Tue, 10 Dec 2019 05:30:00 +0000

Relatively unknown outside his home country, Clorindo Testa (December 10, 1923 – April 11, 2013) was one of Argentina’s most important 20th-century architects. Consistently defying categorization, Testa had a hand in two of Buenos Aires’ most iconic buildings, the Bank of London and South America, and the National Library, as well as many others throughout his long career. Characteristically enigmatic, Testa would only ever acknowledge Le Corbusier as an influence, saying, “I never paid attention to other architects.” As a former colleague Juan Fontana described, Testa spoke the language of brutalism with an Argentine accent.

AD Classics: Bank of London and South America / Clorindo Testa + SEPRA

David Douglass-Jaimes — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 16:30:00 +0000

This article was originally published on October 19, 2015. To read the stories behind other celebrated architecture projects, visit our AD Classics section.

The Bank of London and South America (Banco de Londres y América del Sud, or BLAS) in Buenos Aires defies convention and categorization, much like the architect primarily credited with its design, Clorindo Testa. A unique client relationship, guided by the bank’s staff architect Gerald Wakeham, and a supportive collaboration with the firm Sánchez Elía, Peralta Ramos and Agostini (SEPRA) resulted in a building that continues to evoke surprise and fascination.

The Importance of the Section in Architectural Representation and Practice

Julia Daudén — Sun, 08 Jul 2018 08:00:00 +0000

Architectural comprehension as a field deals with representation as a synthesis of varied efforts —constructive, compositional, spatial, and technical qualities— which are then articulated in the constructed building. For this purpose, it is essential to think about the graphic representation that presupposes all these efforts, since it is both a procedure and a product of architectural design.

Protection and Preservation Policies are Fundamental for the Rescue of Abandoned Architecture in Argentina

Fabian Dejtiar — Sat, 20 Jan 2018 16:00:00 +0000

It is difficult to forget about the demolition of Clorindo Testa’s Commissariat of Santo Pipó and with it, the demolition of part of the Argentine architecture.

The Guardian's Rowan Moore Names 10 Best Concrete Buildings

Vladimir Gintoff — Thu, 11 Feb 2016 06:00:00 +0000

“Concrete has the ability to be primitive and technological, massive and levitating, to combine the properties of steel with those of mud,” says Rowan Moore in his list of The 10 best concrete buildings created for The Guardian. Through examples spanning three continents, Moore unites old standbys with unexpected wonders, all of which show the varied possibilities inherent in mixing water, aggregate, and cement. In a list that incorporates examples from Classical times to the present, Moore establishes concrete’s unique ability to adapt to different times, styles, applications, and treatments.