Buenos Aires in 8,66: the regularity of the city as an opportunity to develop replicable prototypes

Abstract

Since its second foundation at the end of the 16th century, the urban fabric of the city of Buenos Aires has been organized as an orthogonal regular grid, struc- tured by 100m x 100m blocks. With the growth of the city in the 20th century, as well as its increasing density, every block in the city was divided into a regular number of plots each 8.66m wide, with a unique lot shape: Narrow and deep. Over time, the city has been molded by its demography and urban regulations. However, in December 2001 the most dramatic and deep-seated crisis in Argen- tina’s history erupted and gave place to what became known as “El Corralito”. This crisis has had a huge impact on the social fabric of the city and has led to a housing deficit that lasts until these days. This thesis develops a strategy that would allow the city to densify and solve its housing crisis. A strategy that proposes to use the fixed width of the plots of Buenos Aires to deploy in its layout an Absolute Architecture. To this end, each of the articles that make up this thesis will delve into the idio- syncrasy, physiognomy, and architecture of Buenos Aires in an attempt to reveal its essence, an essence that will be the material from which to imagine the con- temporary city.