Architect: Jaime Cumpa López
Collaborators: arch. Tatiana Martynuk
Photography: Gustavo Frittegotto
Constructor: CyE
9 de Julio Building
Structures of houses that were designed in stages and oversized structures are somehow foundations that allows for wide future possibilities, as well as the coexistence of past styles with the contemporary. This was the case for the remodeling and expansion of the 9 de Julio Building, located in the city of Rosario. It is situated just a few meters from the Nicasio Oroño Boulevard, a central avenue that represents one of the oldest and most picturesque streets of the city. The construction work was done in 5,30m x 16,45m plot, which included an existing reinforced concrete structure. All this stands at the particular corner of 9 de Julio and Rosales Passage streets, the latter with stone pavement and dimensions reminiscent of a Spanish town.
It is interesting to propose an architectural object free of decorative projections, to reinforce a clear idea of a new whole, unifying the pre-existing structure (consisting of a ground floor and a first floor) with the new structure that will reach the fourth floor. The building envelope consists of a white projected material of mica stone, applied after removing the previous material and over the new masonry facades. Three balconies, 1,20m width, offer the opportunity to create a special feeling of floating above this narrow street, to catch the unique atmosphere of the Rosales Passage and a glimpse of the Independence Park to the south.
Traces left from the previous construction are just the locations of the windows, now modified, affected by the heterogeneity of the city center, with a particular arrangement, repeated in different sizes with a careful disorder. They look towards the east and south, cutting pieces of sky, trees and neighboring buildings, and resignifying them within the frame of the building.
2nd Prize, FADEA (Argentine Federation of Entities of Architects) / CAPSF (Association of Architects of the Province of Santa Fe) Built Architecture 2015.
Category: Restoration of existing buildings