Diagnosis of pathologies on balconies
Introduction
The Palacio Ortiz Basualdo, at Cerrito 1390 corner Arroyo, Buenos Aires, Argentina**,** is an exponent of Beaux Arts architecture, which was designed in 1912 for the marriage of Daniel Ortiz Basualdo and Mercedes Zapiola.
It has been the headquarters of the French Embassy since 1939.
History
It was designed in 1912 by the French architect Paul Pater (who also designed the Tigre Club building, today the Tigre Art Museum) for the couple Daniel Ortiz Basualdo and Mercedes Zapiola. Because he had to return to France in 1914 to fight in the First World War, the work concluded 6 years later under the direction of his partner, Eugenio Gant Ner.
The mansion was the scene of an active social life. In 1925, during the presidency of Marcelo T. de Alvear, when both the neighborhood and the country were at their peak, it served as the official residence of the Prince of Wales.
In 1939, after the death of Daniel Ortiz Basualdo, his wife sold the residence to the French government, who would take definitive possession of the palace by transforming it into the headquarters of its embassy in Argentina.
In 1970, due to the project to widen Avenida 9 de Julio, the building ran the risk of being demolished next to the Alzaga Unzué palace, the current Four Seasons hotel. Demolition was finally avoided.
Architecture
Contenido
La notable y difundida influencia francesa en la arquitectura Argentina tiene un excepcional ejemplo en el Palacio Ortiz Basualdo. Gran exponente de la arquitectura Beaux Arts "Beaux Arts (arquitectura)"), en diferente escala, esta obra es, como la Opera de París de Charles Garnier, una lección de inserción en el tejido urbano, y de correspondencia entre masas exteriores y espacios interiores, y una original recreación de elementos arquitectónicos de la tradición francesa.
El edificio, ubicado en Cerrito 1390 esquina Arroyo, se establece como un excelente remate de la Avenida Alvear, y opera como un cierre hacia el este del otrora armónico conjunto edilicio que rodeaba a la plaza Carlos Pellegrini.
La idea del arquitecto Pater fue adaptar la tipología del castillo campestre francés a las limitaciones del terreno de 1600 m². El planteo general del edificio es una sagaz reelaboración del tradicional hôtel particulier francés de cuatro niveles: basamento, planta noble, planta de habitaciones particulares y mansarda. Prototipo en vigencia desde el siglo , las versiones más grandiosas emulan las magníficas composiciones de famosos castillos del Grand Siècle, y en este caso resuenan ecos de ejemplos como Vaux-Le-Vicomte o Maisons-Laffitte.