By December 1956, Mario Soto and Raúl Rivarola received the first prize to build four schools in the province of Misiones, Argentina. That was followed by the first prize for the construction of six hostels, the commissioning of the project for the Escuela Normal Superior N° 1 in Leandro N. Alem, and the first prize for the construction of the Instituto de Previsión Social y Hotel in the city of Posadas. Their works in Misiones, developed within the framework of the process of provincialization of the national territories that took place between 1951 and 1955, have provided the opportunity to study themes such as the link between the State and architecture, the connection between technique and politics, state architecture and avant-gardes, the dilemma of styles, among many others.
In the national context, Misiones encompassed 80% of international borders, had a high percentage of immigrants, and lacked general infrastructure. This situation highlighted that the renovation of educational facilities aimed to express a desire for sovereignty through a modern vision, affirming a necessary national identity from the early stages of education. Until 1959, a series of national preliminary project competitions were developed in four stages, which began with the Primary Schools of Mario Soto and Raúl Rivarola. These schools marked the initial step in the series of educational architecture projects. They were designed for Eldorado, Campo Grande, Puerto Rico, and Aristóbulo del Valle. Although they were only constructed in the latter two locations, both were eventually demolished.
Being very young, Mario Soto and Raúl Rivarola were both born in 1928 and at the time of the competition, they had recently graduated. Having knowledge of the province of Misiones through indirect sources such as the competition guidelines drafted by José L. Bacigalupo and the theory of sub-tropical architecture, they hinted at their concerns in some of the initial project decisions, including adapting to local conditions using wood as the predominant material, within a framework of promoting its industrialization where practically this resource did not undergo the appropriate industrial process for construction. Interpreting woodwork as a vehicle towards a new formal language, the material addressed different problems, solved technological difficulties of the site, allowed for easy transport, storage, and assembly, and connected with the national scene.
The genesis of the project is recognized in the climate and program, as well as in the land, which did not actually have specific locations but rather were "typical" lots at the time of the competition. Taking into account aspects such as the climate—considering the orientation and path of the sun—as well as protective elements to achieve necessary comfort, this factor was decisive in the scheme used and in some constructive solutions that would later be perfected. Soto and Rivarola considered the transitory nature of the environment where the schools would be implanted, assuming the constant transformation of the urban space. At the same time, they believed it impossible to create a rigid relationship between the building and its "new scenario." The program required six common classrooms, two craft classrooms, an initial level classroom, a semi-covered patio, a kitchen, the caretaker's house, a teachers/administration room, a storage room, and toilets.
Through an open layout of the floor plan, the climatic factor was addressed with a pavilion typology that alternated open, semi-covered, and enclosed spaces. The classroom blocks were articulated with each other through certain characteristics of vernacular domestic architecture recognized by Soto and Rivarola, where two rooms on each side linked by a passing gallery were arranged, allowing for cross ventilation. The spaces could be used as outdoor classrooms, serving as an expansion of the covered classrooms. Horizontal movable sunshades covered these areas, regulating the entry of the sun and serving as places of learning and recreation. It was an architecture of pavilions, scattered volumes, and differentiated functions, linked by corridors and circulations through galleries, organizing the whole and indicating the axes of the "composition".
The wooden structure served as a fundamental organizing element, dividing the entire floor plan into 2-meter squares, visible in the circulations and also determining the structural elements in classrooms and other areas. This established a rigorous typological scheme that could be replicated and flexible enough to adapt to different sites. In fact, the topography in Misiones required different typologies to adapt to specific terrains, which is why one of the conditions of the competition guidelines was to establish a repeatable and adaptable scheme.
The wooden structure of the classrooms dictated the implementation of the fibercement sheet roof, both morphologically and functionally. A broken scissor profile was achieved, incorporating an over-roof or shadow roof, with an upper face composed of two sloping roofs converging towards the center, while the lower face constituted the roof with a gable structure. The broken profile of the roof allowed for zenithal lighting of the classrooms and facilitated proper cross ventilation.
Resources such as the utilization of natural ventilation and lighting, controlled sun exposure, and the pursuit of climatic comfort are present in all the works projected and constructed by Soto and Rivarola in Misiones, understanding them as determining variables in project decisions from their inception. While the architects positioned themselves as interpreters of the needs and demands of the era in built forms, the wooden schools turned out to be nothing more than an initial laboratory of experiences.
Although the buildings did not withstand the test of time due to maintenance factors, it was an experience in public school architecture from which we believe aspects valued earlier can be revisited in the 21st century, aspects that have not been continued by subsequent policies. In times of bioclimatic architecture and sustainability, the path laid out almost 70 years ago by Soto & Rivarola's Primary Schools (and public architecture projects in general) remains surprisingly relevant in terms of design, in a province with a well-established timber industry, just as the designers envisioned at the time. - Mario Daniel Melgarejo in “Arquitectura Moderna en Misiones. Un Plan integral: territorial, urbano y arquitectónico”
Localidades: Aristóbulo del Valle, Puerto Rico, Campo Grande and Eldorado
Architects: Mario Soto and Raúl Rivarola
Calculator: Alfredo Yantorno
Construction company: Ángel Oscar Gámez (Aristóbulo del Valle), Sante Zanivan (Puerto Rico)
Method of award: National Competition of Preliminary Projects. First stage: Schools, Police Stations, and Health Units.
Year of beginning and/or end: 1956 (Competition)
Area: 1.050 m²
Original owner: Province of Misiones
Sources:
- Melgarejo, Mario Daniel (2022). Arquitectura Moderna en Misiones. Un Plan integral: territorial, urbano y arquitectónico [Modern Architecture in Misiones. An integral plan: territorial, urban and architectural]. Editorial UCSF.
- Noetzly, Christian. Arquitecturas cívicas y propuestas urbanas a partir de la provincialización de los territorios nacionales. El caso de Misiones a través de la obra de Mario Soto y Raúl Rivarola [Civic architectures and urban proposals from the provincialization of national territories. The case of Misiones through the work of Mario Soto and Raúl Rivarola]. VII Encounter of teachers and researchers of the history of design, architecture and the city. National University of Rosario.
