ARGENTINA INDEPENDENT STUDY: A RESEARCH-SKETCH COMPARISON OF ADAPTIVE REUSE IN SANTA FE & SALT LAKE ARCH 4955-084 NEIL HOWARD 8/10/12
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Overview - 3 Initial Exploration -
6
Santa Fe Precidents
- Molino Franchino / F谩brica Cultural - 11
- La Redonda - 14
- Estaci贸n Belgrano - 18
Conclusion - 22 Bibliography - 23
OVERVIEW OF PROJECT When I first set out to study abroad, I envisioned studying the historical built environment of Santa Fe Argentina to learn how a 21st century society renues and reuses their earliest city fondations. It was a suprise to realize that not only does most of the original city still exist, but that buildings and infastructure are used in virtually the same manner as they were four hundred years ago, regardless of their current upkeep. It soon became apparent to me that while modernization and state-of-the-art construction are growing practices in the United States, just plain simple “reuse” was prevailing practice in the architectural scene of Santa Fe. However, there was still a parallel to be found between Santa Fe and Salt Lake: adaptive reuse. Although few examples of this exist in either locations, the different context surrounding the projects in Santa Fe provide an optimal stage to compare the views, attitudes, and methods surrounding the field of adaptive reuse in a completely different culture. The approach I took to this project was twofold; first, to explore the city of Santa Fe by foot and bike, sketching and taking note of anything interesting. The goal was to try and discover the inherent historical boundaries of the city prior to an secondary research. Following this initial exploration, the next step was to research the history of Santa Fe and locate specific examples of adaptive reuse. With the help of UNL faculty member Cecillia Parera, I narrowed my research down to three case studies: El Molino Franchino, La Redonda, and Estación Belgrano. Each of these projects were then researched seperately, including site visits, sketching, etc. The goal of this project is not to highlight the differences between North and South American culture, but to instead discover the inherent similarites between the two cultures, with architecture as the medium. Though 6000 miles apart, Santa Fe and Salt Lake are more alike than one would imagine. - Neil Howard
3
HISTORIC OVERVIEW OF SANTA FE: The city of Santa Fe was founded by Juan de Garay on November 15, 1573, on a hill adjacent to the present city of Cayastá. The settlement was part of several expeditions in the Rio de La Plata territory to establish a port town on the Paraná river overseen by the Spanish Crown. The original location of the settlment was unfavorable to the passage of wagons, with cargo envoys often taking divergent routes and crossing many swamps to reach the settlement. In 1651, the town was moved to its current day location between the Setúbal lagoon to the west and the Coronda river to the east. Much of Santa Fe’s growth can be contributed to its stratigec location on the Paraná river, acting as a waypoint to Spanish ships traveling to and from the port of Asuncion, Paraguay. Another key factor in its growth is that Santa Fe was declared “Puerto Accurate” by the Spanish Crown in 1662. This meant that all ships on their way to Paraguay were required to register and make stops in Santa Fe. Until 1780 when Vértiz viceroy withdrew the privilege of “Puerto Accurate,” buisness in Santa Fe steadily grew as a result of its port traffic. Santa Fe became the provincial capital in 1814, when the territory of the province of Santa Fe was separated from the province of Buenos Aires. 39 years later, the Constitution of Argentina was enacted on May 1, 1853 in the Cabildo of Santa Fe. This put an end to civil wars and laid the groundwork for the modern state of Argentina. Santa Fe 1900
City districts
Location of the city relative to the country
Detailed view of the city, 2012
Santa Fe is located roughly six hours north of Buenos Aires and about two hours north of Rosario. The city is surrounded by agricultural lands and extends into the island east of the mainland, as seen in the center map. The city consists of eight districts, with each distric containing multiple smaller neighborhoods.
LOCATION OF SANTA FE
5
I began my study of Santa Fe by spending the first month simply exploring the city, recording anything that would give me insight into the city’s history. Early on in my exploration, I discovered two major boundaries: Boulevard Gálvez and San Martín. The density of historic buildings increases the farther south one travels on San Martín. One exception to this is a seven block stretch between Eva Perón and Juan de Garay, a section of San Martín known as the “Peatonal.” This section is closed to traffic, and is the center of the city’s downtown revitalization. Four blocks south of the Peatonal is Plaza 25 de Mayo, a site containing the oldest colonial buildings in the city. East of San Martín is the infamous harbor. Although no longer used for shipping purposes, the area is undergoing revitalization similar to that of San Martín. West of San Martín is more rundown, with a higher conncentration of low income housing and families. For the one month I explored Santa Fe, it appeared to me that Boulevard Gálvez was the northern historical boarder (see initial concept map of Santa Fe, left) . Few historic buildings existed past this point and most of the northeast corner of the city was devoted to larger properties and houses. Cecillia Parera later informed me that this was indeed correct; the original city was not planned to extend north of Boulevard Gálvez. Proof of this can be seen in the historic map on page 2 (note the breakdown of the grid and the increase of rail lines north of the Boulevard). In light of this, most of my exploration sketches and case studies are confined to the southeast section of the city, as the next page illustrates.
INITIAL EXPLORATION
Key: Case studies Initial sketches
La Redonda Abandoned train station El Molino Franchino Estaci贸n Belgrano Abandoned harbor workshop
View looking north from Laprida street Casa Espa帽a
Casa de Gobierno
LOCATION OF INITIAL SKETCHES AND CASE STUDIES
7
INITIAL SKETCHES
Abandoned harbor workshop
Abandoned train station
INITIAL SKETCHES
Casa de Gobierno
View looking north from Laprida Street
9
INITIAL SKETCHES
Casa Espa単a
Section cut
Original Building
Pre-restoration aerial view
As a result of the important agricultural activity in the region, the “Mill St. Teresa” by Boero, Lupotti, and Franchino SA began in 1893. In 1895 the company moved to Santa Fe on Boulevard Gálvez, next to the Reconquista railroad spur. By this period, Boulevard Gálvez had been shaped and the city had not spread to the north, which was still occupied by large rural parcels from former colonial farms. The location of the mill had a very high strategic value due to its connection with the railroads. In 1903 a rail deviation Floor Plan was added a to facilitate the entry of grain from the north. Shortly after, the inauguration of the overseas port finished connecting the mill with the ferroportuario system, favoring both the reception for grinding grain as well as the transportation of the flour produced. Part of the primordial building was already constructed before the company moved to Santa Fe. It consisted of three main bodies and a cylindrical chimney, all done in brick. This site was devastated by a cyclone in the year 1920. The new construction of the new building, common brick silos, and attached bodies (grain processing plant, administration and packaging), was overseen by architect Peter Adolf, a native of Bavaria. In 1961 a fire forced the restoration and reconstruction of part of the building, with the silos for bagging flour built in 1973. The feed mill and the depot were also added around this time. In 1984 the company name changed one last time to “Mill Franchino S.A.I y C.” Despite the expansion plans, the economic recession and rising cost of credit led to its closure early in the next decade and in 1997, it was awarded to the Bank of Santa Fe in public auction.
PRECEDENT STUDY - EL MOLINO FRANCHINO, FÁBRICA CULTURAL
11
The revitalization was carried out by the Special Projects Unit of the Ministry of Public Works and Housing, under architects Luis Lleonart, Silvana Ouijano Francisco Codina. The conceptual planning of space was made by the team from the Ministry of Innovation and Culture. The space is now dedicated to the development of educational and exhibition activities related to design. It houses a multispace intended for a school of arts and crafts and displays both finished products along with the manufacturing processes and design. Hence the concept of “cultural fabric”. The recovery of the Molino Franchino Fábrica Cultural buildings required an investment of over $ 12 million and was in charge of Provincial Government. The work consisted of adapting the building, building workshops, classrooms and school management. A 25 meter wide street was constructed among the principle facility bodies, which crosses the block in the north-south direction - suitable for the realization of mass activities - that blends with the exterior floors and sidewalks, promoting the continuity of the pedestrian experience in and around the complex. To fill this gap and create a protected environment, the building adapted the “vault shell” developed in the ‘40s by the architect Amancio Williams, placing value on an iconic architectural object that represented one of the highest points of Argentine architectural culture. Thus, the city recovered another building abandoned for years. “the mill has a rich history dating from the late nineteenth century and relates to the work and the production of bread flour, a key element on the tables of the Santa Fe. This building symbolizes this: work wheels that rotate permanently based on the combination of the field with the city, based on the knowledge that the work is the foundation for growth.”
- Santa Fe Governor Hermes Binner
PRECEDENT STUDY - EL MOLINO FRANCHINO, FÁBRICA CULTURAL
El Molino represents one of the finest architectural achievements in the city of Santa Fe. One of the most interesting practices regarding its reuse practice is that it is overseen by the provincial government rather than the city government. For comparison, Salt Lake’s Leonardo is leased by tyhe city, but is largely funded by a non-profit. One criticism of the restoration is that the building is only open to the public on the weekends. True, classes are held for schoolchildren all week, but for a building that seeks to cross the boundaries of learning, design and inequality, it seems odd that anyone past the age of 16 would be denied access five days of the week. The architectural rennovation is superb, with virtually all original buildings either reused or preserved for historical grounding. The preservation of the facades facing Boulevard respect the prevalent colonial style of the historic street, while the vaulted shell courtyard invites people off the street and into the space. The only odd part about this though is that the courtyard lacks a visual axis, abruptly stopping at the next steet back. Also, Though the old rail line is directly west of the site, there appears to be no visible connection between it and the Molino other than their mere adjacency.
PRECEDENT STUDY - EL MOLINO FRANCHINO, FĂ BRICA CULTURAL: ANALYSIS
13
PRECEDENT STUDY - LA REDONDA
Pre-restoration
Section cut
Floor Plan
With the Santa Fe Railways came the implantation of multiple complementary facilities that greatly characterized the railway as a determining element linking towns and cities. A clear example of this can be seen here in “Estación Santa Fe Cambio” (Santa Fe Station Exchange), a location and structure designated for locomotive repair. Construction began early in the 20th century, once the permanent transfer of the provincial railways to the French Railways Company of Santa Fe was completed on April 19, 1900. From here, Cia. French undertook an extensive program of building new works in order to modernize its facilities and improve its services; in 1905 they acquired the necessary 40 hectors of land for the site (Now Parque Federal), 2 km north of the station on the Reconquista line. The most interesting part of the building consists of a chamber whose floor is a 60 meter radius arc, whose center is located at the turntable, the true point of articulation not only functionally but also spatially. From there the locomotives were displaced radially towards any of the 40 hangars that comprise the main body, with the possibility of crossing the same two routes to access the rear body for additional workshops and offices. The building was built with brick masonry walls supporting a gabled iron roof with French roof tiles. The gabled roof contained a clearstory window, allowing for uniform illumination and proper ventilation. The concave front presents a sequence of elementary apertures with semicircular openings, while the convex face results in a succession of windows which generate a rhythm modulated by the curvature of the long wall. In its peak throughout the 1920s - 40s, about 20 trains per day entered and exited the maintenance building via the turnstile. La Redonda was in operation until 1990 when the rail company fell on hard times and abandoned the structure. The entire site sat abandond for nearly 20 years until the city government decided to rennovate it into a communtinty center in the 2000s.
North Elevation
PRECEDENT STUDY - LA REDONDA La Redonda, Arte y Vida Cotidiana (Art and Daily Life) has become a new cultural space in the city of Santa Fe and its enhancement, together with el Parque Federal, was erected as a major commemorative works within the framework of the nation’s Bicentennial celebration . The work was undertaken by the Government of the Province (like El Molino), whose inauguration, finalized in 2010, included the recovery and re-functioning of the former locomotive shop for public use. Specially restored for the showcasing of art exhibitions, the work provided for the functional rehabilitation of La Redonda and its surrounding open spaces, in order to return to the city the symbolic value of the place. The work included the reconstruction of roofs, interior wall repairs, restoration of exterior brick walls, the closing of windows with aluminum and glass openings, installing transparent security, and putting the turntable back into oppertation. The building includes a converted hall of sculptures, a large gallery area for the exhibition of paintings, and a multipurpose room for activities including reading poetry, origami, art, chess, memory games, and dance. Admission is free and open to the public on Saturdays, Sundays, and federal holidays. “Now we have to release the creative force and continue working because Santa Fe is a cultural hub born in El Molino Franchino and is complemented by this new space... La Redonda is diversity and challenge, the coexistence of living together, equal and different. It is the recovery of memory, the rails to grow, locomotive’s power to think and freedom to seize the place.” - Santa Fe Governor Hermes Binner
15
PRECEDENT STUDY - LA REDONDA: ANALYSIS The restorantion of La Redonda is similar in style to that of Trolley Square. Both buildings served as railroad hangers and both were restored with the intent of public use. The beauty of La Redonda though is that it not just a simple restoration project, but acts a medium to bring people together and to help them recognize their heritage through unique and unconventional ways. Just as El Molino sparks new and challanging ways to adress the history and modern day process of design and fabrication, La Redonda allows citizens to rediscover not only their industrial past, but expierence how this past can facilitate new interactions with culture and Art. The success of La Redonda can be attributed to two factors. One, the project avoids the cop-out of “exhibition space” by maintaining a program that facilitates the use of the space on a daily basis. It’s easy to overlook the historic importance of a space like this if one is simply passing through, but by having a full time staff dedicated to ensuring an out-of-the-box cultural experience, the visitor actually engages the space, allowing for a more
profound experience. This is one aspect that Salt Lake’s Trolley Square lacks. Trolley square was one of United State’s earliest adaptive reuse projects, completed in 1972. However, the space was reopened as a shopping district, not a public event / interaction space. The result is that while the space is beautiful and fully historic, it lacks that extra dynamic that allows the user to be truly intune with the uniqueness of the building. When a person goes to Trolley square, the objective is typically shopping and the shopper is usually preoccupied with only that. However when a person goes to La Redonda, the objective is only to experience the place. By not having the context of shopping or any other material need, La Redonda transgresses the distractions of a modern day capitalist society and alowing citizens to escape into a world of play and appreciation. The second factor contributing to La Redonda’s success is that it is another project overseen by the provincial government of Santa Fe. The reason this is so critical is because the provincial government also oversees El Molino, allowing for the easy interaction and integration of the two projects into one larger contextual whole. The beauty is that by linking the two projects, both the government and the building play a more active role in the lives of the citizens, encouraging people to see everything in their city just as interconnected and interrelated. Fantastic as Trolley square may be, it is still an isolated shopping area, whose rather large vacancy suggests that it is simply not enough to restore an old building, you have to integrate it with the surrounding community.
Trolley Square 1910
Trolley Square 2008
17
PRECEDENT STUDY - ESTACIÓN BELGRANO
Floor Plan
Section Cut
The FFCC North Central Argentine Railways came to Santa Fe as an extension of the line that linked San Cristobal with Santiago del Estero and Tucuman. In 1895 this company, initially French capital, was bought by the National Government to form the basis of what later became the State Railways. At the time of its construction, the “breadbasket of the world” strategy influenced the drawing of routes to link the field with the ports. As a result, the train was transformed into a cornerstone of industry and Santa Fe became a lead actor in this strong economic growth. By 1912 actual building had began, completing the east wing in 1928 when it was proposed to transfer the headquarters of the company to this city, which ultimately fell through. The solid structure of the station realized its fate: to be the head of the North Central Argentine Railway. The main building extended into two wings parallel to the tracks so that the plant ultimately took the form of a “U”, the lower levels of these wings being in direct contact with the platforms in order to house local offices related to cargo and passengers. The image was of a sober and balanced architectural deployment without a loss of monumentality; Its location was removed from the building line of Boulevard Gálvez, which allowed for an arrival plaza. This was covered by a canopy through which one could accesses the spacious lobby box office (see photo below). Unfortunately, the privatization process and the consequent deactivation of the railway system in the ‘90s gave rise to the abandonment of this magnificent example of industrail revolution architecture.
Pre-restoration
PRECEDENT STUDY - ESTACIÓN BELGRANO Estación Belgrano was a building in ruins when the city government faced its recovery in 2008. Using the powers granted by Law 2756, Organic of Municipalities and Communes, and since investment projects never materialized, it was decided to terminate the agreement signed in 2006 with the National Asset Management (ONABE), which prevented giving the property a useful fate. The actions told of strong public support, placing a national entity in charge of the building that granted the City Council oversight of the building for 10 years, with the possibility of renewal. With its own resources, the City Government launched the restoration work. Enhancement started with the central hall and ground floor of the historic building, continuing on to the floor and surrounding houses, reserving the east wing for the School of Languages Municipal High School. The Experimental Center of Color and the literary Saer bar meets with units of the Center District, which motivates the daily arrival of citizens, while the tourist epicenter acts as convener for visitors to the city. *Gubbio Awards 2011- In September 2011the Municipality received a special mention by the jury of the Gubbio, recognizing the work done to enhance Estación Belgrano. The award, given since 1995, encouraged actions to protect heritage and revitalization. “I think the recovery of public spaces is important for the city and especially for the Candioti neighborhood; the recovery of the station changed [it’s] life.”
- Soledad Liliana, Santa Fe citizen
19
PRECEDENT STUDY - ESTACIÓN BELGRANO: ANALYSIS Estación Belgrano shares a reuse history similar to that of Salt Lake’s Union Pacific Depot. Just as the station has been converted to a multipurpose space, the Union Pacific Depot now houses Urban Outffiters retail shop in its south wing and The Depot concert hall in its northern wing. Another similarity is that both are city overseen projects. The union Pacific Depot was restored as part of Salt Lake’s Railroad Consolidation plan of 1996, an effort to renew the old train yards in the west end of Salt Lake’s downtown. Estación Belgrano was restored by the city government of Santa Fe at the threat of it being torn down by the Railway Infrastructure Administration (ADIF). Unique to Estación Belgrano is that the building considers and relates back to the public, as do El Molino and La Redonda. More specifically, both floors of the east wing have been rennovated to house the School of Languages Municipal High School. The former train shed in the rear of the buildings also serves as the stage for a weekly market taking
place every Sunday afternoon. This is an aspect missing from the Union Pacific Depot, whose two other tenants are for-profit institutions. As have the previous two examples, Estación Belgrano further demonstrates Santa Fe’s commitment to the community when considering adaptive reuse. The architectural restoration/reuse however are quite similar. In both buildings, the main hall/loby have been restored to their original condition, while the wings on either side have been rennovated to a more modern interior (see photos, page 19). The restoration approach to Estación Belgrano is much more interesting though. While it is common in the United States to wait until restoration is complete, Estación Belgrano is open to the public depite being only about halfway finished. The enire west wing has yet to be restored, along with sections of the upstairs. This adds a unique touch to the building though, for citizens are actually able to expirence the change for themselves; its as though the building breaths and moves right before their eyes. This is an experience that no interactive display can ever replicate and offers a level of intimacy with architecture that is basically unheard of for the general public. Though far from perfect, Estación Belgrano offers people a unique architectural experience that could only be experienced by the construction workers and architects of Salt Lake’s Union Pacific Depot.
Union Pacific Depot 1909
21
From the two full months I spent in Santa Fe, one thing became clear to me time and time again: the importance of community. There were signs of it everywhere I went: people sharing matté in the park and having lunch with their family during the Siesta, weekly asado’s at a friends, etc. This is no less true for the historic architectue that abounds in Santa Fe. All three projects I studied took into consideration the surrounding community and worked to find unique ways not just to retore the building but also to ingage the people of Santa Fe. Whether it be building and painting in El Molino, dancing and playing at La Redonda, or studying and shopping in Estación Belgrano, there was never a lack of activity or people. The end result was an experience much deeper than architecture, it was a glimpse into the fundamentals of Argentine culture. For a country where big box stores and online shopping are few and far between the people instead live in a style similar to America thrirty years ago, having to rely on one’s neighbors and friends for help, navigating the city through personnal knowhow, not GPS. It is these core ideas of community and reliance that I believe are at the center of not just Sant Fe’s adaptive reuse projects, but its architecture in general. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for adaptive reuse in Salt Lake. The Leonardo, Trolley Square, and Union Pacific building are all fine examples of adaptive reuse, but all three work towards generating a profit, giving them a more individualistic and capitalist nature from the very beginning. By lacking this extra initiative to consider the community, each adaptive reuse project in Salt Lake becomes isolated, effecting only its immediate surrounding and easily missed by the unaware citizen in such a spread out city. However, where Salt Lake may lack the touch of community adaptive reuse projects in Santa Fe contain, that is not to say it doesn’t exist. With new projects such as City Creek and the airport Trax line working to make the city more interconnected, it is only a matter of time untill the community involvement in Salt Lake rivals that of Santa Fe. The intent of this report was to highlight similarities and differences between two cities thousands of miles apart. It is my sincere hope that it did just that but also shed light on how a profession that spans the globe can effect lives that span the globe as well. Thank You.
Sunset overlooking Santa Fe
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY Ciudad de Santa Fe. Un Ciudad Para Todos. Santa Fe: Santa Fe, 2011. Print. Gobierno de La Ciudad de Santa Fe. Municipalidad de La Ciudad de Santa Fe de La Vera Cruz, 10 Aug. 2012. Web. 10 Aug. 2012
Gobierno de Santa Fe. El Molino: F谩brica Cultural. Arg: Santa Fe, 2010. Print. ---. La Redonda: Arte y Vida Cotidiana. Arg: Santa Fe, 2010. Print. Huffaker, Kirk. Salt Lake City: Then and Now. San Diego: Thunder Bay Press, 2007. Print. Inventario, 200 Obras del Patrimonio Arquitect贸nico de Santa Fe. Arg: Santa Fe. Print. Utah State Historical Society. Utah Department of Heritage and Arts, 1 Aug. 2012. Web. 9 Aug. 2012.
23