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In a forest park in Mar del Plata, Argentina, architect Amancio Williams designed a residence for his musician father. Straddling the river, Casa sobre el Arroyo (Streamside House) seemed to be rotting in its arboreal surroundings until the Argentinian Ministry of Culture and the Municipality of Mar del Plata stepped in with only one goal: to restore it. Now, after several years of restoration work, the World Monuments Fund (WMF) has named the modernist residence the winner of the 2024 World Monuments Fund/Noel Modernism Prize. It is the first South American modernist project to win the award, which is awarded every two years to recognize innovative solutions proposed by preservationists, designers and architects to protect or restore modern buildings at risk.
The Argentinian Ministry of Culture and the Municipality of Mar del Plata carried out conservation work on the avant-garde landmark of the 1940s, restoring the building after it had experienced a series of problems, including fire damage, natural decay and damage over a period of time. to destruction etc. give up.
Casa sobre el Arroyo was conceived by Argentinian architect Amancio Williams and his wife Delfina Galvez Bunge de Williams. Former home of the architect and composer Alberto Williams (father of the architect). Williams built a house in the park and converted it into a bridge under which the Las Chakras stream flows.
“As Amancio Williams’ iconic first building, la Casa sobre el Arroyo embodies cementing its creator’s reputation as one of the modern movement’s most tirelessly experimental architects.”
Completed in 1948, the house has a plain reinforced concrete exterior. The single storey of the rectangular volume is suspended by arches that lift its fenestrations to the treetops. The interior of the house, furnished by Williams’ wife, includes a large living room, a series of bedrooms and a studio for the architect’s father’s musical compositions.
After the death of Alberto Williams in 1952, Casa sobre el Arroyo became the home of a local radio station. When the broadcast ceased, the house was abandoned and a series of ownership disputes ensued. Years of neglect had severely deteriorated the building. In 2012, the World Monuments Fund called attention to the dire condition of Casa Sobre El Arroyo and placed it on a watch list calling for its restoration. It was not until 2016 that the Argentinian Ministry of Culture, Public Affairs and Mar del Plata Municipality finally took action and officially launched a plan to restore not only Casa sobre el Arroyo, but also its forested landscape.
To restore the legendary home’s original architectural elements, the agency turned to archival sketches. The surrounding green space was designated a historic garden, and the creek that inspired the creative design was replenished after it ceased to flow.
Susan Macdonald, a member of the jury and director of buildings and sites at the Getty Conservation Institute, said in a statement: “This project is a testament to careful conservation based on research, attention to detail and What a dedication to high-quality craftsmanship can do to humanity.” Modern architecture was brought back to life from a precarious state of decay. “
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