New Spanish investment in Buenos Aires: reopens the former Sofitel hotel on Arroyo street, Retiro, with new owners and a different brand
After being closed for five years, the former Sofitel hotel on Arroyo Street will reopen with new owners. The Spanish chain Único Hotels reached an agreement with the Bencich family to lease the historic Retiro building for the next 20 years and to reopen the five-star hotel at the end of the year or at the beginning of 2024. “Everything is signed and now it remains to move forward with the remodelling of the facilities and define the brand with which we are going to operate in Buenos Aires,” Pau…
The Estancia System: a Distinctive Feature of Southern Patagonia
Estancia System On the pampa (steppe lands) of Southern Patagonia, the individual unit of livestock production is the estancia (ranch) (this system is also used in areas where rainfall is higher). To be cost-effective, given the generally low fertility levels, each estancia covers a large area. Nowadays, three thousand hectares (about 10 square miles) barely provide subsistence for one family. Historically, company-owned estancias were organized on an industrial model and were many times larger (as much as…
Estrugamou family and their various residences in Argentina
The city of Buenos Aires has many emblematic buildings of a classic cut, and among them is one located in Juncal 783 called the Estrugamou Palace, of the style Beaux-Arts. Its classic lines are maintained in the era and excite all architecture lovers who walk by them in the Retiro neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. A few steps further on another nearby street, we find another beautiful building called Mansion Estrougamou, redeveloped in 2015 for the Casa Foa. This is found on Basavilbaso 1233. For a time,…
One of the most fascinating Palaces in Buenos Aires was designed to store drinking water
An impressive building inside and out, with French ceilings and English (Royal Doulton) and Belgian ceramics on the outside. Shields and crests adorn it everywhere, “Cuadritos” with flowers. Marble everywhere inside, huge iron beams and massive water tanks for more than 72 million litres of drinking water. Everything has been done in a very grand way. One wonders why would a small city spend all this money on water tanks. Well, the location, needed to feed the cities water supply by gravity and…
A Chilean Patagonia Pioneer Farmers Story
In 1903 there was an interest on the part of the Chilean government to facilitate the colonisation of isolated areas of Chile. Efforts had already been made, among others, with German colonisation in the southern area, today called the area of the lakes districts. These early settlers had already formed their capitals with agriculture and local commerce. Mr Hube and Mr Achelis stand out in our story as prosperous merchants who began to move between the area of Puerto Montt in Chile and Bariloche…
The Estrugamou in Buenos Aires – The Pinnacle of French Classical Architecture
On the corner of Juncal and Esmeralda streets, in the Retiro neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, sits a stately and imposing relic of an era of French architecture in Buenos Aires, a city often dubbed the “Paris of South America.” The residential Estrugamou Building, or Edificio Estrugamou, resembles an aristocratic French mansion with its chimneys, mansard roof, cornices, and three-story classical columns. The first wave of French architects came to Argentina in the 1820s, shortly after independence from Spain…
Classical French Architecture in Buenos Aires
From 1880, admirers of France as a model republic for cultural and aesthetic tastes, known as the ‘Generation of ‘80’, began to expand globally. The classical French style began to heavily influence even Non-French European Architects. At the beginning of the 19th century, after the wars of independence, European tendencies and influences penetrated into Argentina. As the new republic set about constructing a nation, the Argentine government aimed to move away from its colonial roots. At the time Argentina…
Welsh settlers in Patagonia: a legacy that moves the emotions
The arrival of 153 settlers who arrived on the Atlantic coast of Chubut in 1865 meant the starting point of a cultural encounter whose legacy is incalculable and ranges from architectural forms to recipes and culinary ceremonies. This July 28 marked the 155th anniversary of the arrival to the Atlantic Coast of Chubut of the sailboat “Mimosa” in which, after two months of the voyage, the first Welsh contingent would arrive to settle in Patagonia. From the Atlantic to the Cordillera, gastronomy, words…
The Basilica in the Retiro of Buenos Aires and the myths that surrounded it
It was eight years of specialised construction, taking care of every detail to the extreme. Travelling to France to buy the best materials and even purchasing the largest organ in Argentina. Luxury, good taste and its Gothic-Romanesque construction with its exterior had a status of “forbidden love” amongst the Buenos Aires aristocracy. This was the birthplace of the Basilica of the Blessed Sacrament in the Retiro neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. “If I live in a palace, then my God also deserves…
The facade of the De Ridder mansion on Alvear Avenue in Buenos Aires during its expansion, around 1927
In Buenos Aires’ golden age, Alvear Avenue was Frenchified, an idea based on the aesthetics of large residences preserved along with its short six blocks that, with few exceptions, recreated in the Beaux-Arts style of the Ancien Régime. The culmination of its axis is the great dome of the old residence Ortiz Basualdo, the current French Embassy, to which the Plaza Carlos Pellegrini with its monument by Jules-Félix Coutan serves as a setting, that can be considered as the apotheosis of a paradigm that…
Why is Argentina considered the Polo Capital of the world?
There are over 3,000 registered polo players in Argentina, more than ten times more than US and UK for a start. There are many thousands of grooms who specifically care for horses. Polo, or “The Sport of Kings,” as it is often referred to, is frequently thought of as something that extremely wealthy people do for fun. And it is. However, Argentina is more affordable than most countries, and it is played at a higher standard than anywhere else. Argentina has the world’s best polo team and has not…
La Candelaria Castle in Lobos, Buenos Aires
In 1840 Don Orestes Piñeiro (pharmacist) bought his first farms in Lobos, around 100km from Buenos Aires city. The castle itself was designed by the French architect Alberto Favre hired by Manuel Fraga, who was impressed by a similar one he saw in France on the banks of the Loire river. He hired the best workman, bringing all the necessary materials from Europe. Construction started in 1894 (it took approximately 5 years) and has a size of 1200 m2. The family then had it landscaped by Charles Thays, a French…
The most beautiful and exclusive street in Buenos Aires is called Arroyo but is also affected by the current downturn: how much is the value per square meter now?
It is one of the most emblematic and coveted arteries of the Federal Capital, with historical values among the most expensive in the market, but opportunities do appear The physiognomy of the City of Buenos Aires has neighbourhoods with completely different characteristics from each other. Whether due to urban and architectural issues, the presence of premises with brands valued in the market, or the lower price per square meter. Each neighbourhood has its most coveted corners, where property values change…
The Palacio Estrugamou apartments are a reflection of Argentina’s Golden Age
“The classic and refined is sometimes associated with formality and excess. To me, it’s the opposite. In this case, the challenge was to transform that formality into something cheerful and luminous.” Said Maria Silvia Loitegui, decorator in charge of giving new life to this wonderful apartment located in a building full of splendour: the Estrugamou Palace. The gates and their ample corridors simulate the carriages ‘ entrances to the French palaces In 1924, when the construction was…
The experience of living in a historic building in Buenos Aires
Kavanagh Building The emblematic Kavanagh building, located in Florida 1065 is a symbol of the architecture of Buenos Aires and a reference to the Art Deco movement. The construction was inaugurated in January 1936, at the initiative of Corina Kavanagh and was constructed in a record time of 14 months. At the time, with a height of 120 meters, the project was the highest concrete tower in Latin America. The 105 apartments are distributed over 31 floors and are all different. In addition, the tower has five…
