Having borrowed the best from Europe, from its ancestry to its grand Italian and French architecture, Buenos Aires owe little in design to their Latin American neighbors. This city has never been shy of making big, structural statements, and boasts its fair share of neo-Classic and Renaissance palaces, wide sweeping avenues, passages, monumental bridges and public sculptures.
By 1900 Buenos Aires was one of the twelve world capitals with finest architecture. In terms of growing, Buenos Aires was the third most growing city behind Hamburg and Chicago.
Throughout these years the ever-growing sophisticated architecture aimed to symbolize the country’s prestige and greatness. Back then some of the finest particular and public palaces. For instance, the National mail Postal Office building was designed by the same French architect in charge of designing the New York Postal Office.
Architectural experts who have studied Buenos Aires buildings agree to describe the city’s architecture not as mere copies of the European designs, but a special and authentic view of world major trends that were brought to the Buenos Aires scene transgressing the Old continent’s hard and austere lines. This is a very special and unique feature, for most European architects working in BA projects “felt freer to innovate, adapt, adorn and leave their personal signature”.
The American Utopia in terms of architecture arrived to the new continent through two main port-side cities: New York and Buenos Aires.
From 1880 to 1930, the city of Buenos Aires went through a major makeover –unparalleled elsewhere-. The buildings and sculptured monuments, including public interest areas such as parks and avenues, included in the World’s patrimony list are over 200.
The main European style prevailing throughout those years was to be complemented during the early 20s with innovative styles such as Art nouveau and Art Deco, as well as an aesthetic highly influenced by the archaeological discoveries from way back then: Tutankhamen’s tomb discovery and the later discovery of Inca, Mayan and Aztec archaeological remains inspired much of the design work. Rectangles and pyramids, double and triple frames and Egyptian and Inca motifs are yet to be found and admired through several barrios that were growing back then, Flores, Caballito and Balvanera.
While this cosmopolitan style developed some local architects had also created what they described as “a nationalist architecture” invoking a sort of national style linked to some Spaniard and colonial styles, and the new and modern Buenos Aires neo-River Plate Architecture.
The city’s functional architecture evolved with its economy. Early in the 1900, La Boca and Barracas were the city’s main working class neighbourhoods, filled with joint houses known as conventillos. Very colourful constructions made out of inexpensive materials such as metal, wood. The 1940s and the increase in number of the porteños (as the Buenos Aires City dwellers are known) working class would bring to the architectonic scene mono-block serialized buildings specially around Saavedra, Chacabuco and Lugano.
The 1960s and 1970s were years of innovation in design and aesthetic linked to nature and prime materials exposed in all its basic and beautiful features. Organic and functionality is a duel that prevails in the constructions of those days.
From the 80s to our days, the eclectic feel of the city prevails, and ultra modern high buildings are this year’s main input. The late 90s and the new millennium, following a worldwide trend, express a return to some basic aesthetic, remodelling and recovering high quality constructions from demolition, in vintage modern buildings.
New construction also exploded, developing modern apartment complexes and skyscrapers with an international flair which attracted renowned architects such as Santiago Calatrava, Norman Foster, César Pelli and Philippe Starck, among others.
When you visit Buenos Aires, we strongly recommend you to explore the urban nature of the city with a local guide, discover the most impressive buildings and capture part of the superb architecture of Buenos Aires.
