Since its inauguration in 1936, the Kavanagh Building (or Edifício Kavanagh) is considered an icon of modernity in Buenos Aires, a landmark of the cosmopolitan Argentinean architecture. Its story is a bit unusual and there are many details in its construction and architecture that make this building unique. However, if a person does not know these details, this building will be only one among many that exist in Buenos Aires. Stylish, but only another one.
Its story begins with the world economic crisis of 1929. Some of the wealthy owners of the Argentinean agricultural sector decided to invest large sums of money in real state, which would allow them to generate a long term income and help during the lean season. The legend tells that Mrs. Corina Kavanagh, of Irish origin, belonged to a rich but not so prominent family in the Argentinean society. She built the building as a vendetta to the non-approved romance of one of her daughters and a young man of the Anchorena family, one of the most notorius families in Argentina. I will explain:
Mrs. Kavanagh was able to buy a plot of 2,400 m² with a triangular shape, irregular and outstanding, at the corner of San Martin and Florida Streets. This land was just in front of the Basilica del Santísimo Sacramento (Basilica of the Sacred Sacrament), which was built in 1920 by Anchorena to be used as a family tomb, and it could be seen from their residence, the Palacio Anchorena (also known as San Martín Palace). After the fight between the families, the crisis and the new class of investments, Mrs. Kavanagh asked the architects Gregorio Sánchez, Ernesto Lagos and Luis De la Torre for the tallest building in Latin America. In turn they were sent to New York to observe some of the famous skyscrapers as the Empire State, Chrysler and Rockefeller Center complex. When finished, the building completely hid the facade of the church, which can only be seen from the Corina Kavanagh Street, which also belongs to the building.
No one can tell if this story is true or not, but Mrs. Kavanagh was able to fund a construction with over 650 workers simultaneously and with an enormous amount of material never used in Argentina before. The construction took 14 months to complete, a record for its time. For years it was the tallest building in Latin America, with 120m of height distributed in 33 floors and a total area of 25.800m². Its 105 apartments are unique and have a high standard of comfort, the smallest of them has 140m² and the larger is distributed over the entire 14th floor and has 700m². This large apartment was inhabited by Corina Kavanagh herself, and it has a 360° view of the city of Buenos Aires.
The architecture of the Kavanagh Building blends Rationalist and Art Deco styles. Typical of the 30’s, it is a synthesis of tradition and modernity, of universalism and particularity, characterized by pure geometric lines, lack of external ornaments, large prismatic volumes and successive scaling. In the Kavanagh building, the mix of different heights and setbacks in the facade create acute edges that face the wind coming from the La Plata River to the east. The total volume is in balance thanks to its array of triangular plans, which uses the plot shape to the maximum, and the edges that end in a summit, creating a movement that dynamically rises toward the clouds.
The Kavanagh Building won several prizes and distinctions over its history: In 1936 won the “Premio Municipal de Casa Colectiva y de Fachada.” In 1939 it shared a Honorary Mention with the Eiffel Tower, the Aswan Dam and the Panama Canal, given by the American Institute of Architects. In 1994 it was declared a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the Association of Civil Engineering of the United States. In 1999 it was declared National Historic Monument by the president at the time, Carlos Menem.
More information at this link (in Spanish).
Where?
Calle Florida 1065/95, Calle San Martín 1094 | Tel: +54 (11) 5032-8600
sepphora | August 11, 2009 | 3:44 pm | National Historic Monument, Retiro
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