josep ferrando unveils new building for torcuato di tella university in buenos aires

josep ferrando architecture unveils the new torcuato di tella university building in buenos aires, argentina. presented as a rigorously open organization of particular rhythms and sequences, the project integrates the diversity of the campus into a single spatial and structural system.

all images by federico cairoli

the campus design by josep ferrando architecture showcases a variety of specific rhythms and sequences. on the one hand, the large volume on avenida figueroa alcorta with its grid of imposing columns and capitals; on the other, the sheds with their series of frames and cantilevers. the proposal combines both orders, proposing integrated modularity in the cloister of its location.

tectonics becomes the base matrix for the austere but multifaceted expressiveness of the building. in an ascending sense, it presents a tripartite organization, in which each part adds one floor to the previous one, while the number of structural supports triples and doubles, successively, in response to the spatial needs required at each level. the building becomes lighter as it approaches the ground, enhancing transparency in the transverse direction between the courtyard and the street.

in favor of a dual purpose of specificity and spatial versatility, the structure accompanies the trends of the program without becoming rescriptively functionalist. along with the facilities, it occupies the perimeter of the building, freeing the floor plan, but modulating it and influencing its scale of repetition.

the project establishes a complementary relationship where, as the structure loses dimension due to the reduction of loads supported when ascending, the facilities lose dimension due to the reduction of their ducts as they descend. the envelope thus presents a thickness that gives both general rationality and openness over time. the tense organizational serenity that results from embedding and matching dissimilar rhythms, gives character to the newly designed unit, while allowing it to integrate harmoniously within the campus. 

project info: 

name: universidad torcuato di tella sáenz valiente building
architecture office: josep ferrando architecture
principal architect: josep ferrando
associate architect: david recio
collaborator architect: juan marcos feijoó
team: pep batlle, ilaria caprioli, joan casas, judit coma, bia coimbra, victoria della chiesa, roger escorihuela, lucía iglesias, stefan kasmanhuber, taegweon kim, malina lambrache, victoria nicolich, macarena parnakian, goun park, daniele russo, máximo sánchez, arnau sumalla, adina verenciuc, melanie welzel, federico de zatarain
porject consultors: miquel rodríguez XMADE (building envelope), roberto alfie (structures), nicole michel estudio GF SA (sustainability), andrés rodríguez (thermomechanical), edgardo sequeyra (electricity), ramon subirà (ladscape), delia dubra (lighting), martín felgueras (fires), jorge labonia (water supply installations and gas), wsdg (acoustics), claudio sesín (regulations), hernán langé (wire-line), hernán tucci DAKNO (facade)
location: buenos aires, argentina
area: 15.000 m2

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edited by: myrto katsikopoulou | designboom