As part of the heritage preservation program of the municipality of Rosario, the provincial authorities of Santa Fe held the national preliminary design competition for the new building of the Provincial School of Visual Arts No. 3031 "General Manuel Belgrano". The selected plot contained the former railway workshops of the Central Argentino line, where contestants had to adapt the structures to the needs of the school and the community while preserving their historical value. Discover the winning project below.
The preliminary design was developed by the firm Bares-Bares-Bares-Schnack, led by architects Enrique Bares, Federico Bares, Nicolás Bares, and Florencia Schnack, with technical advice from engineers Fernando Saludas and Julio Blasco Diez, and architect Alejandro Blasco. The team also included collaborators Nicolás Mattarolo, Francisco Mazzochi, Nicolás Bonavera, Nicolás Quevedo, Nicolás Iglesias, Lucas Maitini, Martín Sanchez Crocci, César Famín, Tomás Bugner, and Bruno Cantarelli.
Located between Junín, Canning, and Echeverría streets, the building is accessed through a semi-covered entrance that leads into a double-height hall.
The program is divided into three distinct sections. One contains the auditorium, which has a capacity of up to 1,000 spectators, the multipurpose room (SUM), and the cafeteria. Another houses the school, and the final sector is dedicated to open and semi-open spaces.
In the central workshop, a covered courtyard acts as a pivot, articulating the different functions while doubling as an exhibition or event space when needed. This space is enhanced by a large staircase that stitches the different levels together and also functions as tiered seating or an amphitheater. This creates a flexible and dynamic meeting space.
The structure features steel columns and concrete slabs, while the interior partitions are made of gypsum board on a metal framing system.
Both the choice of materials and the relationship between the different functions—along with the dynamic covered courtyard—were among the design aspects most highly valued by the jury.
This article was written by Mariana Etulain. The translation is powered by AI.
