Jacinto Chiclana Building / Estudio CaMet

Curated by ArchDaily

Architects: Ça Arquitectura

Text description provided by the architects. The building Jacinto Chiclana offers collective housing on a northwest corner property in Moreno, suburb of Buenos Aires. The building’s namesake, a character from the Borges-Piazzola tango, and the tango itself are lionized throughout the building and reflected in its design and construction. The L shape of the building creates a central patio, with expansive, semi-enclosed central patio. The building is enveloped by a second concrete skin that is both structural and definitive of the buildings loggia. This creates intermediate spaces around the lateral facades and this fifth facade that incorporate the exterior in the interior space and the interior in the exterior. From an environmental perspective, this intermediate space serves as an initial barrier that reduces heat loss during the winter and heat gain during the summer.

JCH consists in 38 small housing units, each with optimized sunlight conditions and cross ventilation. The ample common spaces seek to complete the reduced personal space; providing a large kitchen and dining area on the terrace and a brick grill, fire pit and pool off the central patio, both accompanied by public bathrooms. The common spaces are easily accessible from every unit, connected by elevator from basement to terrace, promoting the appropriation of these spaces by the residents. JCH consists in 38 small housing units, each with optimized sunlight conditions and cross ventilation. The ample common spaces seek to complete the reduced personal space; providing a large kitchen and dining area on the terrace and a brick grill, fire pit and pool off the central patio, both accompanied by public bathrooms. The common spaces are easily accessible from every unit, connected by elevator from basement to terrace, promoting the appropriation of these spaces by the residents. The areas of transit were reinterpreted in the interest of quality, creating open spaces, with sunlight and a view that facilitate life and encounters between neighbors, rather than optimizing circulation.

The structure of the building is made of reinforced concrete and the internal walls with traditional masonry. The concrete slabs were constructed using the prenova system, which reduced concrete requirements by 30 %. Because this concrete is not the primary interior material, it can be left unpolished without compromising thermal conditions Both laminate and wood shutters were used in the concrete formwork. The eastern facade was etched by a local artist in commemoration of the works of Borges, matching the seemingly handwritten text of the iron gate and fence.

In the interior, the concrete is graffitied with a series of portraits that allude to the Borges’ mythological city outskirts in a contemporary language. Behind the glass posterior wall of the elevator, the permanent artistic installation by Pedro Menard, a local artist, can be viewed in its entirety by traveling from the basement to the terrace.

The ceilings of the ground floor are overlaid with wood panels carved by a CNC router. Guardrails on the balconies and terraces are made of safety glass with stainless steel handrails. Concrete and water meet in the heated pool, which crosses internal and external space at a variety of depths and offers spaces appropriate for swimming, wading, and using the jacuzzi.