Edificio Comega, a Gateway to Modernity
Edificio COMEGA
Enrique Douillet, Alfredo Joselevich, Alberto Stein
Buenos Aires, Argentina
34°36’11.278”S 58°22’13.975”W
1933
At the beginning of the 20th century, the city of Buenos Aires underwent a paradigm shift and embarked on major urban changes. The Comega Building inaugurated this new era of modernity.
Modernisation and Rationalist style
The Comega Building project came about during a period of rapid modernisation in the city of Buenos Aires. Following a massive increase in population between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the city was faced with a critical density problem. In 1925, the Buenos Aires City Council launched a plan to reform and regulate the city. This mainly affected the central districts, which were the main areas of activity and transit. The aim was to decongest the city by taking advantage of its historical layout, its urban grid. The major transformations affected the avenues; Avenida 9 de Julio was extended and crowned in 1937 by the Obelisco, while other main thoroughfares such as Avenida Santa Fe, Avenida Córdoba and Avenida Corrientes were also widened, destroying many buildings in the process.
This era of modernisation coincided with the importation of the rationalist style to Buenos Aires. This new face of modernity is particularly evident on Avenida Corrientes, with several buildings emblematic of the style. Examples include the Teatro Gran Rex (1937) and the SAFICO (1934), but it was the Edificio COMEGA that was the first to inaugurate this architectural revolution in 1933.
The construction of a new modern emblem
The Compañía Mercantil y Ganadera S.A. decided to construct a prestigious office building for rent in a strategic location covering approximately 700 m²: the corner of Leandro Alem Avenue and Corrientes, the link between the city centre and the port. The building was designed by architects Enrique Douillet and Alfredo Joselevich (who later built the Torre Dorrego) and engineer Alberto Stein. Heavily influenced by the architectural magazines of the time, which were full of New York skyscrapers, the designers created a 21-storey building 88 metres high, making use of the subtleties of urban planning regulations. In particular, they took advantage of a new decree allowing the height of a façade aligned with the avenue to be increased from 32 to 60 metres.
The building consists of two side volumes and a central tower set back from the avenue, which reaches the highest point. Its distinctive volume is the result of spatial optimisation that respects the alignment and height of the façades on the avenues. Aesthetic considerations are thus relegated to the background, giving priority to functionalism. This architectural language is reflected in the building’s plans. It is one of the city’s first reinforced concrete skyscrapers, allowing for open floor plans without structures, enabling ventilation, illumination and maximisation of work surfaces. The choice of materials is emblematic of a desire to modernise the architecture of the time. The regular, static façades, which reinforce the building’s identity, are covered in travertine, while lots of the interiors parts, such as the elevators and the lobby use stainless steel.
The scale of the Edificio COMEGA is difficult to compare with the other buildings surrounding it at the time of its construction. It is taller, larger and, above all, of unprecedented construction quality, creating a contrast that is accentuated by its location. It is as much a spatial as a stylistic focal point for the city.
Although the city already had its first academic-style skyscrapers, such as the Galería Güemes (1915), the Palacio Barolo (1922) and the Edificio Mihanovich (1928). The Comega building, on the corner of Corrientes Avenue, ushered in a new era of modern buildings that would change the face of the city. Later surpassed by iconic buildings such as the Kavanagh building (1936), the Comega building remains the pioneer of this era.
