From Tafí del Valle to San Carlos de Bariloche, the implementation of natural stone in contemporary Argentine architecture reveals the decisions of architects seeking to maintain a dialogue with their surrounding environment and highlight the purity of materials. While stone is one of the oldest building materials, enduring throughout history, its application in homes in Uruguay, Brazil, and Mexico highlights different characteristics in terms of textures, shapes, shades, and patterns.
Intervening in various topographies, certain architectural practices in Argentina choose to enhance and revalue the traditional construction processes, techniques, and materials inherent to each site, often referencing features such as stone retaining walls. As defined by the Royal Spanish Academy stone retaining walls denote walls constructed using dry stone techniques. Employed by pre-Incan cultures like the Amaichas, Tombones, Quilmes, etc., these walls consist of stones of varying sizes and shapes that interlock without mortar. Whether serving as containment or dividing structures, they establish limits and boundaries and delineate areas. Occasionally, stone retaining walls can be found along mountain trails, serving as shelters built by the original inhabitants.
