Libertador Building
Libertador Building | |
---|---|
Edificio Libertador (Spanish) | |
General information | |
Architectural style | |
Address | Azopardo 250 |
Town or city | Buenos Aires |
Country | Argentina |
Coordinates | 34°36′35″S 58°22′04″W / 34.609722°S 58.367778°W |
Year(s) built | 1938–1943 |
Client | Argentinian government |
Owner | Ministry of Defense |
Technical details | |
Size | 130 m × 60 m (430 ft × 200 ft) |
Floor count | 18 |
Floor area | 82,625 m2 (889,370 sq ft) |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Carlos Pibernat |
Other information | |
Public transit access | Underground: Plaza de Mayo, Line A |
Website | |
www |
The Libertador Building (Edificio Libertador) is a government building in
Overview
The rapidly growing and modernizing Argentine military of the 1920s, whose budget had risen threefold in the decade, lacked a commensurate headquarters, and had been housed since the late 19th century in a
Pibernat's plans, submitted in 1935, called for twin buildings east and west of the presidential offices at the Casa Rosada.[2] Ultimately, however, these plans were dropped in favor of imposing new headquarters on a 3 ha (8 ac) lot east of the Casa Rosada. Designed by Ministry of Public Works architects Enrique Lopardo, Néstor Pastrana, and Héctor Campini, the twenty-story, 82,625 m2 (889,000 ft²) building would be the largest in Argentina up to that point.[3] The building would thus be divided into three sections: two wings to be anchored by a central section staggered outwards in the 230 m (750 ft) long façade, and distinguishable also by a portico and its four additional floors.[3] Construction on the structure began in 1938.
President
Its importance as the effective nerve center of Argentine government during the subsequent dictatorship was later dramatized by a scene filmed in the building by director Fernando Solanas for his acclaimed 1987 drama, Sur. The Libertador Building was again in the center of military friction in Argentina when, on December 3, 1990, during a state visit by U.S. President George H. W. Bush, far-right Carapintadas faction leader Col. Mohamed Alí Seineldín temporarily seized the headquarters in a failed coup attempt against President Carlos Menem (the revolt was quelled within hours).[5]
Originally occupied only by the Army Headquarters, since the late 80s the building also houses the Ministry of Defense and the General Joint Staff, which had until then been located at a smaller building right across the street.
Defense Minister Nilda Garré ordered the departure of a Technical Cooperation Mission from the United States Armed Forces on April 20, 2009. The bureau, but for a brief interruption in 1973, had occupied offices in the building's 13th story since the 1960s.[6]
Architectural style and construction
The Libertador Building represents the transition between
The building was equipped with Siemens elevators and communications networks, whose installation was overseen by German engineers.[7] Following the installation of security systems, libraries, archives and a tunnel connecting the building to the Casa Rosada, as well as the lengthy and politically sensitive process of assigning wings and pavilions to the myriad Argentine military bureaus, the new War Ministry was inaugurated in April 1943.[1]
References
- ^ a b Potash Robert. The Army & Politics in Argentina. Stanford University Press, 1996.
- ^ a b Liernur, Jorge. Arquitectura en la Argentina del Siglo XX. Fondo Nacional de Las Artes, 2001.
- ^ a b c "Historia del Edificio Libertador". Ministerio de Defensa (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 19 April 2014.
- ^ Page, Joseph. Perón: A Biography. Random House, 1983.
- ^ a b Lewis, Paul. Guerrillas and Generals: the "Dirty War" in Argentina. Greenwood Publishing, 1999.
- ^ Veiras, Nora (20 April 2009). "Inquilinos con plazo fijo para hacer las valijas". Página/12 (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 January 2023.
- ^ Griffin, W.E.B. Secret Honor. Penguin Books, 1999.