Mario Roberto Álvarez (November 14, 1913 – November 5, 2011)
was an Argentine architect.

Biography

Early life

Born ''Mario Roberto Álvarez Elissamburu'' in 1913 in the City of

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 ...

, to Juana Elissamburu and Jerónimo Álvarez. He enrolled at the

University of Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires ( es, Universidad de Buenos Aires, UBA) is a public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Established in 1821, it is the premier institution of higher learning in the country and one of the most prestigi ...

School of Architecture in 1932, and graduated in 1936 with Gold Medal of Honours. He married Jorgelina Ortiz de Rozas, and they had two children. His first design was in 1937, a public building for the new Medical Center (Hospital Clinic) of the private San Martín Medical Group (located in Buenos Aires, in the northwestern suburb of San Martín). In 1938, he was awarded the Ader Scholarship by his alma mater's UBA Faculty of Exact Sciences allowing Álvarez to study and work in

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, the

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and the

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, during which time he gained experience collaborating on various

public housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...

and

public hospital A public hospital, or government hospital, is a hospital which is government owned and is fully funded by the government and operates solely off the money that is collected from taxpayers to fund healthcare initiatives. In some countries, this typ ...

projects.

Legacy

Mario Álvarez legacy are his magnificent building designs, his devoted dedication to train his architectural design apprentices, and his support to professional internships in his field in the City of Buenos Aires.

Career

He returned to

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 ...

in 1939 and was named Director of Architecture for the important Buenos Aires suburb of Avellaneda, in 1942. Joining colleagues Leonardo Kopiloff and Eduardo T. Santoro, he established MRA in 1947. The firm's first major contract would be in 1954 with their design for the municipal Teatro General San Martín, the largest center for the stage in Argentina. Its success upon completion in 1960 helped secure MRA the design for the adjoining Centro Cultural General San Martín, built between 1962 and 1970. Other notable projects of Álvarez's in subsequent years included the

Hernandarias Subfluvial Tunnel Hernandarias may refer to: * Hernando Arias de Saavedra, the first South American governor born in the Americas * Hernandarias District Hernandarias is a district and city of the Alto Paraná Department, Paraguay. It was named after Hernando A ...

(completed in 1969), the Colón Opera House's labyrinthine production facilities (1972), the Buenos Aires headquarters for the state steel concern, Somisa (1977), the

Salto Grande Dam The Salto Grande Dam is a large hydroelectric dam on the Uruguay River, located between Concordia, Argentina, and Salto, Uruguay; thus shared between the two countries. The construction of the dam began in 1974 and was completed in 1979. Power ...

(1979) and numerous office buildings, including the

Buenos Aires Stock Exchange The Buenos Aires Stock Exchange (BCBA; es, Bolsa de Comercio de Buenos Aires) is the organization responsible for the operation of Argentina's primary stock exchange located at Buenos Aires CBD. Founded in 1854, it is the successor to the ''Banco ...

annex (1977) and the offices of IBM's Latin American division (1980). He also became a leading designer of residential and hotel properties in

Punta del Este Punta del Este () is a seaside city and peninsula on the Atlantic Coast in the Maldonado Department of southeastern Uruguay. Starting as a small town, Punta del Este later became internationally known as a resort for the Latin and North American j ...

, a

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an seaside city popular among Argentine vacationers. Álvarez was inducted into the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...

as an honorary member in 1976.MRA+A: Estudio
/ref> Though an

economic crisis An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with th ...

during the 1980s resulted in less demand for Álvarez's work, he donated his design for the

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

Leloir Institute The Leloir Institute is a non-profit research center in Buenos Aires specializing in biochemistry, cellular biology, molecular biology, and related activities. Overview The research center was inaugurated in 1947 by way of an initiative of Unive ...

's new facilities (completed in 1983). Some of his best-known designs from this era include the Chacofi building, the Buenos Aires American Express offices (facing San Martín Plaza), and the Costa Galana Hotel ( Mar del Plata). An economic recovery in the early 1990s resulted in a rush of landmark designs for MRA, including the Rosario Stock Exchange's new building, the Le Parc tower (completed in 1996, the tallest in Argentina until 2003), the

Hilton Buenos Aires The Hilton Buenos Aires is a five star hotel in the Argentine capital. The establishment is located in the city's Puerto Madero section. Overview The Hilton Buenos Aires was designed by Mario Roberto Álvarez, constructed by local developer Beni ...

(1999) and

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...

's Latin American headquarters (2000), numerous luxury high-rises in the Recoleta and Palermo sections of Buenos Aires, and others. Turning 90 in 2003, Álvarez's design for the redevelopment of the Northern District of

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

, Japan earned him a First Prize at that year's competition. The Galicia Financial Group's new

financial district A financial district is usually a central area in a city where financial services firms such as banks, insurance companies and other related finance corporations have their head offices. In major cities, financial districts are often home to s ...

headquarters, designed by MRA, attracted controversy, however, when it resulted in the demolition of
historic building
Much as he had done for the new Rosario branch of the Argentine National Bank in 1983, Álvarez struck a compromise by incorporating parts of the beaux-arts façade into the new design. Other notable recent designs include the new Taravella International Airport ( Córdoba) terminal, Torre Aqualina (Rosario), the new Proa Foundation cultural center building and the

Bariloche San Carlos de Bariloche, usually known as Bariloche (), is a city in the province of Río Negro, Argentina, situated in the foothills of the Andes on the southern shores of Nahuel Huapi Lake. It is located within the Nahuel Huapi National Park ...

Hilton, built into the mountain rock. He was named an Illustrious Citizen of Buenos Aires by the City Legislature in 2007. Álvarez won the

Konex Award Konex Foundation Awards, or simply Konex Awards, are cultural awards from the Konex Foundation honouring Argentine cultural personalities. History and purpose Konex Awards are granted by the Konex Foundation, created in 1980 in Argentina. The pur ...

in 1992 and 2012, the latter being posthumous. He died in Buenos Aires in 2011, nine days shy of his 98th birthday. He was interred in the Jardín de Paz Cemetery, in Pilar.

Gallery

File:San Martin Theatre 5010.jpg, San Martín Cultural Center File:Somisa Building.jpg, Somisa headquarters File:Torre IBM Buenos Aires.JPG, IBM Argentina File:Buenos Aires - Retiro - Av. Leandro N. Alem - 200807.jpg, The Álvarez Block,

Leandro Alem Avenue Avenida Leandro N. Alem is one of the principal thoroughfares in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and a commercial nerve center of the city's San Nicolás and Retiro districts. It joins Avenida del Libertador and Avenida Paseo Colón, its northern and ...

File:Torre Le Parc (Palermo).jpg, Le Parc Tower File:Banco de Galicia Buenos Aires.jpg, Banco de Galicia

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez, Mario Roberto Architects from Buenos Aires Modernist architects University of Buenos Aires alumni Fellows of the American Institute of Architects 1913 births 2011 deaths Illustrious Citizens of Buenos Aires