The Curutchet House, La Plata,

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, is a building by Le Corbusier. It was commissioned by Dr. Pedro Domingo Curutchet, a surgeon, in 1948 and included a small medical office on the ground floor. The house consists of four main levels with a courtyard between the house and the clinic. The building faces the Paseo del Bosque park. The main facade incorporates a brise soleil.

History

Construction began in 1949 under the supervision of Amancio Williams and was completed in 1953.

Design and construction

The house exemplifies Le Corbusier's five points of architecture and incorporates a

ramp An inclined plane, also known as a ramp, is a flat supporting surface tilted at an angle from the vertical direction, with one end higher than the other, used as an aid for raising or lowering a load. The inclined plane is one of the six clas ...

and a

spiral staircase Stairs are a structure designed to bridge a large vertical distance between lower and higher levels by dividing it into smaller vertical distances. This is achieved as a diagonal series of horizontal platforms called steps which enable passage ...

. The house represents a landmark in Corbusier own trajectory because it exemplifies how cultural and historical characteristics of architecture (the elements of the traditional Argentine courtyard house) can be rewritten using Corbusier's five points of modern architecture. Dr. Curutchet's house is also one of the very few buildings that Corbusier built attached to pre-existing buildings and perfectly responding to a historical context. With this house Corbusier proved, more than with any of his other projects, that modern architecture could in fact be in a harmonious dialogue with traditional architecture. Inside the house, the marvellous architecture can be seen. There is a tree inside the house i.e. the care was taken while designing that the tree will retain and still not disturb the beauty of the house. The terrace, folding wooden curtains, inclinated stair design, wardrobes, kitchen are designed during 1949-1953 and are the same, which are used in present era as modern designs.

Restoration

The house was restored from 1986 to 1988 during the centennial of Le Corbusier's birth and declared a national landmark by Argentina's Commission on National Landmarks. It currently houses the

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

professional association of architects, the ''Colegio de Arquitectos'', and is open to the public for tours. In July 2016, the house and sixteen other works by Le Corbusier were inscribed as

UNESCO World Heritage Sites A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

In popular media

- The 2009 film ''

El hombre de al lado EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American ...

'' was shot in the house.
- The 2018 film '' La Obra Secreta'' describes the story of an architect (the Curutchet House museum guide) and his relationship with Le Corbusier legacy, intertwined with Le Corbusier works and thoughts. It was fully filmed in the house and contains detailed views of the interiors and surrounding environment.

References

*Merro Johnston, Daniel ''El autor y el intérprete. Le Corbusier y Amancio Williams en la casa Curutchet'' Ediciones 1:100, Buenos Aires, 2011. *Lapunzina, Alejandro. ''Le Corbusier's Maison Curutchet''. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1997. . *Liernur, Jorge Francisco. "La casa del Dr. Curutchet", ''La Red Austral: obras y proyectos de Le Corbusier y sus discípulos en la Argentina (1924-1965)''. Buenos Aires, Editorial de la Universidad Nacional de Quilmes, 2008. * Carbonari Fabiana, Chiavoni Emanuela, Cigola Michela. "Comparative Lexicology of a Built Cultural Heritage. The Curutchet House in La Plata Designed by Le Corbusier", 'Digital Modernism Heritage Lexicon' (pp. 755-781). Springer, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-76239-1_32

External links