In 1949, at a time when Argentina was one of the most powerful countries in the world, the city of Buenos Aires launched the construction of the Sexto Panteón, an underground necropolis containing 150,000 burial plots. This monumental Brutalist-style cemetery is the first and largest experimentation of modern architecture applied to the funerary field, and yet remains unknown.
Ítala Fulvia Villa (1913-1991), the project’s forgotten architect, was one of Argentina’s first female architects and urban planners. As a pioneer of South American modernism, she contributed to Le Corbusier’s master plan for Buenos Aires.
Sixty years later, the French architect Léa Namer discovers the Sexto Panteón and resurrects the name of its creator, carrying out an in-depth investigation of this unique modern cemetery. This book is a thoughtful and engaging reflection on the legacy of a modern utopia, as well as a feminist re-reading of history.
Letter to Itala
Modernism in three acts
The invention of the modern necropolis
Cuidadores, modern Charons
ISBN
9782492680199Title
Chacarita Moderna, The Brutalist Necropolis of Buenos AiresAuthor
Léa NamerPublisher
Building BooksPublication year
2024Binding
SoftcoverLanguage
French & ENglish
