Mar del Plata style
Encyclopedia
The Mar del Plata style is a domestic architectural style
very popular during the decades between 1935 and 1950 mainly in the Argentine
resort city of Mar del Plata
, but extended to other coastal towns like Miramar and Necochea.
. The features, however, are closely related to the picturesque
architecture already popular among the upper class people who used to spend summertime in Mar del Plata between 1910 and 1930 and the American craftsman style
. The precursor of the style was the Italian
-born engineer
Alula Baldassarini, who popularized the use of stone on the frontispiece
s in 1925. Some of this early examples were labeled chalet inglés ("English chalet"), a type of house which flourished between 1925 and 1935.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the upward social mobility was quite more dynamic in Mar del Plata than in Buenos Aires
itself, paving the road for a strong middle class, based on tourist services, the building industry and a prosperous commerce. It was during this time that a new urban profile was born in the city, not by a process in which guidelines were designed by technocrats, but by a "democratic" one. This is the environment in which the Mar del Plata style emerged.
The chalet
marplatense became the materialization of the middle-class ideals, and it is at crossroads between the upper-class summer residences and the domestic scale, regarding both its social and architectural syncretism
. The houses also developed among the immigrants a sense of belonging to their new country.
with a great experience in the building of the eclectic
style mansions for summer, but without the skills of a real technician. Nontheless, the first generation of architects from Mar del Plata, led by young professionals like Auro Tiribelli, Alberto Córsico Piccolini, José V. Coll, Gabriel Barroso or Raúl Camusso played a key role in the consolidation of the style. Some sources think of Tiribelli as the creator of this type of house.
The chalet marplatense is the translation of the main characteristics of the eclecticism to the domestic space: quartzite
stoned facade
s, mission or French tiles, gable
roofs, dormers, chimney
s, prominent eaves
and front porch
es.
The quartzite is also known in Argentina as Piedra Mar del Plata (Mar del Plata stone), both because its use on the houses of this style and the abundance of quartzite quarries southwest of the city.
There is the possibility of a subcategorization depending of the main style upon which the chalet is based. In fact, Alberto Córsico Piccolini used to characterize some of his works as normando simplificado ("simplified Norman
") when the basic design of the houses displays some features of the Norman architecture at domestic scale.
The style raised some criticism, mostly because the overlapping of rooms and spaces on a reduced area. This characteristic, however, adds contextual value to the townscape where the chalets are homogeneously grouped, usually semi-detached
.
Architect and researcher Javier Sáez describes this type of house as one of "domestic ostentation" of the "home of your dreams". He goes even further by using the phrase "domestic obscenity". Saéz also notice, rather than a syncretism, a conflict between the bourgeoisie
pretense of the facades and the obvious taylorization of the floor plan
s.
in the summer season. Mass tourism since 1950, however, put at risk the survival of the traditional picturesque architecture in Mar del Plata, including the chalet marplatense, in favour of condominium
s.
There is a municipal agency which provides tax
benefits for the owners to secure the maintenance or restoration of the houses and a handbook
with preservation
guidelines, created by the architect Lorena Marina Sánchez.
Architectural style
Architectural styles classify architecture in terms of the use of form, techniques, materials, time period, region and other stylistic influences. It overlaps with, and emerges from the study of the evolution and history of architecture...
very popular during the decades between 1935 and 1950 mainly in the Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
resort city of Mar del Plata
Mar del Plata
Mar del Plata is an Argentine city located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, south of Buenos Aires. Mar del Plata is the second largest city of Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" had apparently the sense of "sea of the Río de la Plata region" or "adjoining sea to the Río de la Plata"...
, but extended to other coastal towns like Miramar and Necochea.
Origins
The style is also known in Argentina as californiano, for its associations with the ranch-style houseRanch-style house
Ranch-style houses is a domestic architectural style originating in the United States. First built in the 1920s, the ranch style was extremely popular amongst the booming post-war middle class of the 1940s to 1970s...
. The features, however, are closely related to the picturesque
Picturesque
Picturesque is an aesthetic ideal introduced into English cultural debate in 1782 by William Gilpin in Observations on the River Wye, and Several Parts of South Wales, etc. Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty; made in the Summer of the Year 1770, a practical book which instructed England's...
architecture already popular among the upper class people who used to spend summertime in Mar del Plata between 1910 and 1930 and the American craftsman style
American Craftsman
The American Craftsman Style, or the American Arts and Crafts Movement, is an American domestic architectural, interior design, landscape design, applied arts, and decorative arts style and lifestyle philosophy that began in the last years of the 19th century. As a comprehensive design and art...
. The precursor of the style was the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
-born engineer
Architectural engineering
Architectural engineering, also known as building engineering, is the application of engineering principles and technology to building design and construction...
Alula Baldassarini, who popularized the use of stone on the frontispiece
Frontispiece (architecture)
In architecture, a frontispiece is the combination of elements that frame and decorate the main, or front, door to a building. The term is especially used when the main entrance is the chief face of the building rather than being kept behind columns or a portico. Early German churches often...
s in 1925. Some of this early examples were labeled chalet inglés ("English chalet"), a type of house which flourished between 1925 and 1935.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the upward social mobility was quite more dynamic in Mar del Plata than in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
itself, paving the road for a strong middle class, based on tourist services, the building industry and a prosperous commerce. It was during this time that a new urban profile was born in the city, not by a process in which guidelines were designed by technocrats, but by a "democratic" one. This is the environment in which the Mar del Plata style emerged.
The chalet
Chalet
A chalet , also called Swiss chalet, is a type of building or house, native to the Alpine region, made of wood, with a heavy, gently sloping roof with wide, well-supported eaves set at right angles to the front of the house.-Definition and origin:...
marplatense became the materialization of the middle-class ideals, and it is at crossroads between the upper-class summer residences and the domestic scale, regarding both its social and architectural syncretism
Syncretism
Syncretism is the combining of different beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought. The term means "combining", but see below for the origin of the word...
. The houses also developed among the immigrants a sense of belonging to their new country.
Features
The chalets were at first the production of buildersConstruction worker
A construction worker or builder is a professional, tradesman, or labourer who directly participates in the physical construction of infrastructure.-Construction trades:...
with a great experience in the building of the eclectic
Eclecticism
Eclecticism is a conceptual approach that does not hold rigidly to a single paradigm or set of assumptions, but instead draws upon multiple theories, styles, or ideas to gain complementary insights into a subject, or applies different theories in particular cases.It can sometimes seem inelegant or...
style mansions for summer, but without the skills of a real technician. Nontheless, the first generation of architects from Mar del Plata, led by young professionals like Auro Tiribelli, Alberto Córsico Piccolini, José V. Coll, Gabriel Barroso or Raúl Camusso played a key role in the consolidation of the style. Some sources think of Tiribelli as the creator of this type of house.
The chalet marplatense is the translation of the main characteristics of the eclecticism to the domestic space: quartzite
Quartzite
Quartzite is a hard metamorphic rock which was originally sandstone. Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tectonic compression within orogenic belts. Pure quartzite is usually white to gray, though quartzites often occur in various shades of pink...
stoned facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
s, mission or French tiles, gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
roofs, dormers, chimney
Chimney
A chimney is a structure for venting hot flue gases or smoke from a boiler, stove, furnace or fireplace to the outside atmosphere. Chimneys are typically vertical, or as near as possible to vertical, to ensure that the gases flow smoothly, drawing air into the combustion in what is known as the...
s, prominent eaves
Eaves
The eaves of a roof are its lower edges. They usually project beyond the walls of the building to carry rain water away.-Etymology:"Eaves" is derived from Old English and is both the singular and plural form of the word.- Function :...
and front porch
Porch
A porch is external to the walls of the main building proper, but may be enclosed by screen, latticework, broad windows, or other light frame walls extending from the main structure.There are various styles of porches, all of which depend on the architectural tradition of its location...
es.
The quartzite is also known in Argentina as Piedra Mar del Plata (Mar del Plata stone), both because its use on the houses of this style and the abundance of quartzite quarries southwest of the city.
There is the possibility of a subcategorization depending of the main style upon which the chalet is based. In fact, Alberto Córsico Piccolini used to characterize some of his works as normando simplificado ("simplified Norman
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
") when the basic design of the houses displays some features of the Norman architecture at domestic scale.
The style raised some criticism, mostly because the overlapping of rooms and spaces on a reduced area. This characteristic, however, adds contextual value to the townscape where the chalets are homogeneously grouped, usually semi-detached
Semi-detached
Semi-detached housing consists of pairs of houses built side by side as units sharing a party wall and usually in such a way that each house's layout is a mirror image of its twin...
.
Architect and researcher Javier Sáez describes this type of house as one of "domestic ostentation" of the "home of your dreams". He goes even further by using the phrase "domestic obscenity". Saéz also notice, rather than a syncretism, a conflict between the bourgeoisie
Bourgeoisie
In sociology and political science, bourgeoisie describes a range of groups across history. In the Western world, between the late 18th century and the present day, the bourgeoisie is a social class "characterized by their ownership of capital and their related culture." A member of the...
pretense of the facades and the obvious taylorization of the floor plan
Floor plan
In architecture and building engineering, a floor plan, or floorplan, is a diagram, usually to scale, showing a view from above of the relationships between rooms, spaces and other physical features at one level of a structure....
s.
Preservation
The neighbourhoods of La Perla, Stella Maris and Alfar have today the main concentrations of Mar del Plata style houses. These seaside areas attracted many middle-class tourists, particularly La Perla, thus the chalet played the dual role of home in winter and house for rentVacation rental
Vacation rental is the renting out of a furnished apartment or house on a temporary basis to tourists as an alternative to a hotel. The term vacation rental is mainly used in the US. In Europe the term villa rental or villa holiday is preferred for rentals of detached houses in warm climates...
in the summer season. Mass tourism since 1950, however, put at risk the survival of the traditional picturesque architecture in Mar del Plata, including the chalet marplatense, in favour of condominium
Condominium
A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...
s.
There is a municipal agency which provides tax
Tax
To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...
benefits for the owners to secure the maintenance or restoration of the houses and a handbook
Handbook
A handbook is a type of reference work, or other collection of instructions, that is intended to provide ready reference .A handbook is sometimes referred to as a vade mecum or pocket reference that is intended to be carried at all times.Handbooks may deal with any topic, and are generally...
with preservation
Historic preservation
Historic preservation is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance...
guidelines, created by the architect Lorena Marina Sánchez.
See also
- EclecticismEclecticismEclecticism is a conceptual approach that does not hold rigidly to a single paradigm or set of assumptions, but instead draws upon multiple theories, styles, or ideas to gain complementary insights into a subject, or applies different theories in particular cases.It can sometimes seem inelegant or...
- Vernacular architectureVernacular architectureVernacular architecture is a term used to categorize methods of construction which use locally available resources and traditions to address local needs and circumstances. Vernacular architecture tends to evolve over time to reflect the environmental, cultural and historical context in which it...
- American CraftsmanAmerican CraftsmanThe American Craftsman Style, or the American Arts and Crafts Movement, is an American domestic architectural, interior design, landscape design, applied arts, and decorative arts style and lifestyle philosophy that began in the last years of the 19th century. As a comprehensive design and art...
- Ranch-style houseRanch-style houseRanch-style houses is a domestic architectural style originating in the United States. First built in the 1920s, the ranch style was extremely popular amongst the booming post-war middle class of the 1940s to 1970s...
- BungalowBungalowA bungalow is a type of house, with varying meanings across the world. Common features to many of these definitions include being detached, low-rise , and the use of verandahs...
- CottageCottage__toc__In modern usage, a cottage is usually a modest, often cozy dwelling, typically in a rural or semi-rural location. However there are cottage-style dwellings in cities, and in places such as Canada the term exists with no connotations of size at all...
- Vacation rentalVacation rentalVacation rental is the renting out of a furnished apartment or house on a temporary basis to tourists as an alternative to a hotel. The term vacation rental is mainly used in the US. In Europe the term villa rental or villa holiday is preferred for rentals of detached houses in warm climates...
- Historic PreservationHistoric preservationHistoric preservation is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance...