Colour and Chaos

Chaotic, old, dirty, colourful, vibrant... the city of Buenos Aires always has something to you show.

The Architecture of Montevideo (again!)

 

A recent trip to Uruguay has reignited my love of the architecture in the Ciudad Vieja of Montevideo. Such a unique experience to walk around the gothic, run-down streets on a Saturday when it is completely void of life. It's like a trip back in time.

Pasaje General Paz

Walking along the street Ciudad de la Paz today to get to my doctors appointment, this building blew me away. Imagine living here and walking through this amazing arch every day!

I found a couple of photos that show it off a little better, from a blog in Spanish called Palo Architecture. There are some great photos from the suburb of Colegiales, so take a look!

Above photos from http://paloarq.com.ar

Casa Vieja

This old house in Palermo Hollywood caught my eye the other day, it has some great details if you look closely.

Virginio Colombo Part #2

The amazing Venetian-style building by architect Virginio Colombo across the street from his more well-known building the Casa Calise in the suburb of Balvanera in Buenos Aires.

Casa Calise, Virginio Colombo

 

Virginio Colombo is another of Buenos Aires' Art Nouveau architects. Born in Milan in 1885, he came to Argentina when he was 21 and produced almost 50 buildings before his death in 1927 at the age of just 42. Two of his most iconic buildings are located in the neighborhood of Balvanera: The Casa de los Pavos Reales at Rivadavia 3216 and the Casa Calise at Hipolito Yrigoyen 2562, the latter depicted in these photos.

The Casa Calise is hidden in the backstreets, away from the tourist circuit. The facade features many decorative features such as cherubs, sculptures, lion heads, the use of different textures and ironwork, and has become one of the iconic examples of the Art Nouveau movement in Buenos Aires.

In order to build this new style of building that broke away from traditional architecture, Colombo purchased the land facing the Casa Calise so that nobody could object to his style. The building that now stands across the street was also built by Colombo and is quite different but incredibly beautiful. Such amazing history in the same narrow street!

 It is extremely difficult to photograph this building as the street is so narrow and there are trees that block the lower half!

Bookstore, Avenida de Mayo

A couple of weeks ago on an excursion with my architecture class, we stumbled upon this bookstore located inside one of the Art Nouveau buildings we were all admiring. The owner invited us inside to look at the building and her shop, which turned out to be quite amazing for two reasons: the collection of vintage books and Argentine memorabilia and the building itself with an amazing ceiling and other architectural details.

The bookshop is called La Calesita and I am definitely planning a return visit in the near future.

More Art Nouveau

Some more Art Nouveau buildings by Julian Garcia Nuñez. Perhaps his most well-known building the Hospital Español (above) on Avenida Belgrano and La Rioja (only half of it remains today), and below, an office building at Chacabuco 78 in the heart of the city.

Art Nouveau in Buenos Aires

One of the most important Art Nouveau architects in Buenos Aires at the turn of the 20th Century was Julian Garcia Nuñez. His distintive architecture broke away from the traditional academic style and favored the use of different textures and colors, iron work, geometric forms, patterns and lines that reflect flowers and nature.

He built most of his work between 1906 and 1920 and while some of his buildings no longer stand, many can still be found around the place. Because Art Nouveau was a radical new style of architecture it was not adopted by the government, and the buildings were not constructed in the very centre of the city. As the city of Buenos Aires expanded and now approx. 100 years on, many Art Nouveau buildings are hidden in the back streets of different neighbourhoods.

This first building I have included was completed in 1913 by Garcia Nuñez as a Casa de Rentas or apartment building and stands in a back street at Sáenz Peña 274 near the Plaza de Congreso.

 This last photo shows the architect's signature "J Garcia Arq. 1913" which he used to mark all of his buildings in the early part of his career.

Casa in Palermo

Some super cute street art to make this otherwise slightly scary-looking building a bit sweeter...

Teatro Regio

 

I pass this theatre every morning on the bus heading to work, in the barrio of Colegiales. It looks like such a lovely old theatre, I would love to see inside. It was built by a wealthy businessman who lived in the neighbourhood and wanted to bring more culture to the area. Inaugurated in 1929, it was inspired by Spanish Baroque architecture. 

Grand Old Caballito

There are some amazing old houses in certain parts of Caballito, a suburb right in the middle of Buenos Aires. Two thirds of the suburb is full of tall apartment buildings built from about the 1960s/70s onwards, but a couple of areas remain with these old beauties. These are just a couple examples of the grand old architecture that I love.

 

This amazing old house below is unoccupied ; the windows are cemented over to avoid squatters living there. On closer inspection the house is about four stories tall with a roof-top terrace as well. It must be so old and incredible inside, I wonder if it is full of old furniture, and who owns it. Such a shame that it is just sitting there with no one to bring it back to life. My dream Buenos Aires house!