Plaza Houssay

Located in one of the most compact and densely populated central areas of Buenos Aires, with more than 650 inhabitants per hectare, the Plaza "Dr. Bernardo A. Houssay" was created in 1975 on the grounds of the former Buenos Aires Hospital based on a project by a multidisciplinary team that included landscape architects Pradial Gutiérrez, Aldo Mario Liberatori, and Román Wellington Peñalba.
Surrounded by the Faculties of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Dentistry, Social Sciences, Economic Sciences and Medicine of the University of Buenos Aires, which together with the neighbouring José de San Martín Teaching Hospital accommodate approximately 100,000 students, the square was progressively disfigured by partial and uncoordinated actions that fragmented its spatial and environmental condition, making it uncomfortable and dangerous.


Faced with this situation, the Government of the City of Buenos Aires issued a call for tenders in 2017 for the new concession of the square's underground car park, requesting that proposals be accompanied by strategic projects to convert part of the car park into public and cultural services that complement a redesign of the square.

The winning project by RDR architects can be summarised in four main strategies:

1. Green perimeter ring: Grouping and characterising green areas.
Arranged in large green petals without abrupt edges, this ring is presented as a large urban park, with integrated green areas and recreational areas (sports fields, health stations and urban furniture). It also serves as a buffer to create a contained environment in the central area.

2. Safe space: Attract passers-by and illuminate the square.
The new layout of the pedestrian paths, designed based on the access points of the neighbouring faculties, ensures that the diagonal route across the square is as comfortable and direct as possible. This encourages passers-by to use it on their journeys. The new lighting frames these routes and turns the centre and the church into an active and bright place.

3. Dry central area: Revalue the Church of San Lucas and build a new centre.
The proposal incorporates the church into the new 50 x 50 m dry central area. Thanks to the existing tipa and jacaranda trees, this space is an ideal place for various activities in the shade, creating an active and dynamic centre.


4. Cultural and service space: Create a mixed-use area fully integrated into the square.
Proposed as a large plinth for the church, this mixed-use space is located below the dry square facing Avenida Córdoba.
A section slopes slightly towards the centre of the block, creating a natural amphitheatre that guides and connects the perimeter with the new cultural and service uses, along with connections to the underground and the car park. Thanks to its new and different activities, this sector allows the square's hours of use to be extended.

In this way, the project promotes new links between the square, transport and surrounding institutions by reformulating the relationship between the urban surface and the lower levels.

This proposal is part of a study on possible ways of intervening in public space in a sustainable manner, recovering and enhancing the existing landscape while considerably increasing green areas. At the same time, new functions are proposed for this urban green space: the creation of microclimates, the retention of atmospheric pollutants, the preservation of the existing habitat and biodiversity, and the absorption and slowing down of rainwater, which increases the thermal stability of the square.

In terms of landscaping, the project proposes a low to medium maintenance park with vegetation that has proven resistance to urban use and the existing climate. The existing vegetation is maintained and incorporated into the landscaping project, with only the necessary phytosanitary treatment or pruning of the trees. Native or naturalised exotic vegetation (the latter in quantities of less than 10%) with low or medium water requirements is also incorporated. As all the landscaping will be developed on the slabs that house the underground car parks, second or third magnitude trees are proposed, suitable for growing in such conditions, with fast or medium growth, varied foliage and flowering, guaranteeing strong colour contrasts between flower beds throughout the year, favouring the use of large masses of the same species.