Buenos Aires tower offers multiple ways of living

Edificio Bonpland 2169 is a mixed-use tower designed by Adamo Faiden, an architectural office based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Completed in September 2018, the project is a reflection on hybridity in a relatively small-scale building.

Edificio Bonpland 2169 is an eight-storey tower where five of its floors have a standard floor plan, crowned by a duplex with a roof terrace.

The structure divides each floor into five bays, where the central part of the plan contains services such as kitchens and bathrooms, along with the vertical circulation. This core represents an infrastructure that organises the building, enabling the open spaces towards the window to be appropriated by the inhabitants, and their needs, that sometimes go beyond the previsions and the discretion of the architect.

In the work of Adamo Faiden, the transformation of the domestic space is tackled within the context of the South-American metropolis in a globalised condition: “being local and universal at the same time is a big battle for our culture. Here you always have the necessity to build your own identity, we are all very young countries, which are all integrated by foreigners, mainly from Europe: our culture is an experiment,” says architect Sebastián Adamo. 

The materiality of Edificio Bonpland is determined by the very pragmatic approach that characterises the work of Adamo Faiden: concrete, white plaster and metal mesh. 

Sebastián Adamo describes the interaction of materials as “a Socratic dialogue where the in-situ concrete becomes something else as it is painted white, as it is estranged from its nature.” Indeed, in Edificio Bonpland, concrete is not treated as in the buildings of Clorindo Testa or Besonías Almeida, it is white but shows all the signs of the casting. The composition together with the chosen materials, result in a building that is both abstract and pragmatic.

Rather than looking for flexibility, that generate generic spaces, Adamo Faiden seek for opportunities of use: “We are very interested in the transformations made with very low energy; we try to make very precise spatial decisions that enable inhabitants to easily adapt their dwellings, say, in one weekend, and maybe by just adding a wall. Our target is to provide the space with a 4-5 of possible modifications, that could generate 8-9 situations,” adds Adamo.  

The deep terraces of Edificio Bonpland 2169 also follow this approach: the landscape of the building is not defined a priori  by the architects. Instead, the facades are and will be composed by the residents through time, changing as often as their desires do. For example, these decks can host gardens, small playgrounds, or can be used as laundry areas. As a result, the tower is a collection of dwelling opportunities expressed by its facades, a social and political statement becoming an architectural language.