Defending the City’s Architectural Heritage

Appalled at the demolition of beautiful old buildings in their neighbourhood of Recoleta, several local residents came together to form ‘Basta de Demoler’ (Stop the Demolition). The group has taken on the government in a heroic David and Goliath struggle to protect the buildings valued by the community which are not protected by law, and are being pulled down in the name of progress.

Many historical buildings in Buenos Aires are not ‘catalogued’ by the Ministry of Culture, which, until last month, was the only way to protect them against demolition. Developers have been buying small properties, pulling them down and erecting taller buildings which they sell off at a huge profit.

Earlier this month, neighbours, friends and artists who make up Basta de Demoler were celebrating their recent success; a new law has been approved, thanks in part to the hard work of the group, called the Law of Heritage Protection which it is hoped will go some way towards preserving the architectural heritage of the city. Finally architecture is on the political agenda of the city.

It all began with a letter to local newspaper, ‘El Fantasma’, in Recoleta. Expressing his rage at the demolition of historic buildings in the area, author of the letter, Santiago Pusso, invited like-minded readers to express their support by sending him an email. The response was such that a group was formed with a mission to fight for the conservation of the architectural heritage of Buenos Aires – something which the group believes is in danger of extinction. Pusso, a quietly spoken man who never raises his voice – an unlikely crusader – described what triggered him to take this first step: “At the beginning it was a feeling of powerlessness and indignation, and a need to do something urgently about these incessant demolitions.”

The reason for the demolition is of course money. Developers are buying charming, magnificently designed old petit hotels – bourgeois urban houses from 18th and 19th centuries – tearing them down, and often replacing them with, what Basta de Demoler believes to be, eye-sore monstrosities of glass which they will sell as apartment blocks or offices. Petit hotels are an easy target – usually there is only one owner to buy out, then the plot is yours to do as you wish, so long as the government planning doesn’t object, something which is a rare occurrence. Journalist and group member Sergio Kiernan describes the root of the problem being ‘the placid indifference of the government and an industry that doesn’t know how to make money without destroying and replacing with something bigger but worse’.

There have been cases in the past where a building has successfully resisted the bulldozers. Designed in 1912 by French architect Paul Pater, El Palacio Oritz Basulado (the French Embassy) is an exceptional example of the Beaux Arts style which influenced so many buildings of the late 19^th and early 20^th century in Buenos Aires. Towards the end of the 1970s this building was on the verge of being destroyed to make way for the Avenida 9 de Julio. However, refusal by the French government to submit the building for demolition, and protests by local preservationists, saved this architectural masterpiece from the fate which met many other buildings which stood in the way. The widest road in the world was forced to detour around the mansion.

Unfortunately most buildings do not have the power of a foreign government to protect them, but luckily groups such as Basta de Demoler have sprung up across the city and have begun a campaign for buildings of patrimonial value to be protected by a robust law.

Over the past year the group has made its presence felt both physically and visually across the city. Keep a look out as you wander the streets of Recoleta, and you will see how the group has made its mark; graffiti on boarded up buildings condemned to demolition spell out the group’s name and mission.

After half a year of campaigning hard, Basta de Demoler found sympathetic ears in the city government and had made contact with other groups fighting for similar causes around the city. Some members of Basta de Demoler believed in the cause, but were pessimistic that anything good would come out of it. Battles were being fought and lost, however everything would change with the campaign to save Montevideo 1250.

After a long struggle, the group finally triumphed with the successful court appeal against the demolition of the Bemberg palacio at Montevideo 1250, to make room for the construction of a tower of glass. The original building was designed by architectural studio Acevedo, Becú y Moreno, and home to the Becú family. These architects were also responsible for many remarkable buildings throughout the city, such as the San Isidro racecourse and the Saudi Arabian Embassy.

The property is a wonderful example of transitional architecture – the different floors of the residency were used for different purposes but were all interconnected. One floor was usually to entertain guests, another for the sole use of the family, and a third floor for the servants.

The case sent a shockwave through the local government and the consequence has been the establishment of a landmark law of heritage protection which was passed on 18th November. The law states that:

·      for one year no demolition will be permitted of buildings that have either been awarded the municipal architectural prize, or that are listed as ‘edificios representativos’ – buildings which will go before a body which judges whether they are to be ‘catalogued’ and thereby protected by law from demolition.

·      all properties built before 31st December 1941 will be protected from demolition within a wide area of the city called the polígano, stretching from La Boca northwards to Núñez.

·      for the first time residents are being given the opportunity to nominate buildings in this area to be classified as ‘edificios representativos’.

However developers will be given the opportunity to make a special appeal to demolish an edificio representativo to the Advisor on Heritage Matters (CAAP). They will decide the fate of that building within 30 days based on it is ‘patrimonial’ value.

Nevertheless the group are pleased with the outcome, and group co-founder, Laura Navarro, said, “this law, driven by Basta de Demoler, is a step in the right direction towards the protection of architecture, but it is not the solution. But it is important – before nobody even spoke about this subject. We need a more far-reaching way to protect the city from the indiscriminate demolitions.”

Although it is not clear what will happen after this one year, the issue has finally created a political climate which takes heritage protection seriously, and welcomes the views of its citizens. And with the national press coverage of this issue, the pressure is on the government to take affirmative action. As one of the group members commented: “Buenos Aires used to be known as the Paris of the South. In 15 years it will be the Las Vegas of the south.”