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Skidmore, Owings & Merrill has released renderings for a new office complex on the Buenos Aires waterfront, designed to anchor expansion in the Catalinas Norte business district. Joined by a series of suspended bridges, volumes of 29 and 22 storeys in height will create a unique silhouette on the Argentina capital's skyline.
"The city's financial district is undergoing a period of unprecedented expansion," said Eduardo F. Costantini, President of Consultatio Real Estate. "The new plots acquired by Consultatio bring about new ways of coexistence and urban connection. Thus, Catalinas Rio was born as a strategic project, a crucial point of contact and passage through areas destined for commercial activities, combined with green spaces and cultural, tourist, governmental, and historical sites. It's a new icon that will change Buenos Aires’ skyline view from the river."
The trapezoidal towers, collectively dubbed Catalinas Rio, are being developed by Miami-based company Consultatio Real Estate. Renderings show the signature skybridges surmounted by green terraces, which SOM says is one of the project's key wellness features. Forming an "urban window," these landscaped decks are accompanied by recessed balconies in the tower floors that enable sweeping views of the Buenos Aires waterfront and cityscape. The configuration of the terraces, which provide 10,000 square metres of permeable outdoor space, ensures year-round usage through all weather conditions.
The building envelope features a number of embellishments, including vertical fins, horizontal shades and light shelves, that work to reduce heat gain.
Catalinas Rio will occupy a large section of the city's new Catalinas Norte II master plan, which aims to revitalize former railyard lands along the Rio de la Plata to enlarge the business district. The developer will build on the plan's largest site, taking over three of the seven lots allocated for redevelopment.
Project proponents are hoping to complete Catalinas Rio in 2022.
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