Buenos Aires Judicial Complex
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Unlike the United States, Argentina’s capital city does not have a centrally located judicial complex. Wanting to rectify this, the national government proposed siting the new complex on an unfinished section of Diagonal Sur, one of the radial boulevards from La Casa Rosada. This in turn would act as a governmental node, connecting La Casa Rosada and the Capital building.
Initially when approaching this project, a lot of research was put into understanding Argentina’s government, culture, geography, and judicial system. Since Argentina utilizes Civil Law as their judicial system, we needed to become intensely familiar with how this differed from Common Law, practiced in the United States.
The site is located at the last two block of Diagonal Sur before it meets Avenida 9 de Julio. This is done to mirror Diagonal Norte, which has an enormous monument at its intersection. The importance of this cannot be overstated, Avenida 9 de Julio is one of the largest boulevards in the world being over 100 meters across.
The judicial complex was split between the two blocks, both being approximately 10,000m², and focused primarily on the southern most block. This block focuses on the commercial courts and their support infrastructure. Focus in given to how people would congregate and move throughout the space.
Continuing Diagonal Sur
Understanding how the proposed space is to be used, Diagonal Sur is widened in a way that allows it to bleed into the existing architecture along the diagonal. This adds a level of porosity to the flow of the street that allows large numbers of people to arrive, congregate, and exit the space quickly and efficiently.
Dissemination of the Public
By utilizing institutional public transportation already in existence and fully integrating into that system, dissemination of people becomes highly efficient. People are naturally drawn to the diagonal because of its social and political connotations. Portraying a density that radiates from the street itself, it is easily understood how people will flow to and from the boulevard, and adjustments in the urban landscape can be made accordingly.
Urban Integration
In preserving both the flow and characteristics of Diagonal Sur, the boulevard is extended fully to join with Av. 9 de Julio. The overall architectural design, layout and structural elements are left out at this point providing the ability to focus solely on the urban scale of the project. By utilizing a figure ground with elemental layers atop the one can gain an understanding of how the area functions and flows.
Generating Form & Typology
To allow for the free movement of people to and from the space in this urban context, the entire boulevard of Diagonal Sur is redeveloped, with a focus on porosity. People are able to move uninhibited through the façades of the structures allowing them to quickly flow into and out of the space.
As it currently sits, Diagonal Sur is constructed like a steep, high wall canyon. This does not invite people to congregate and makes the boulevard feel claustrophobic and like a trap. With the opening up of the surface levels of the structures along Diagonal Sur this uneasy feeling is alleviated.