CLASE N°14.VIVIENDA LIBERAL

I am the architect Karina Ramos, assistant teacher of the Cátedra de Historia de la Arquitectura I and in the following video we are going to see the topic of housing at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, corresponding to Unit 4 of the Program of Matter, developing the following points.

Modifications in housing as an expression of changes in uses and customs derived from Europeanization, individualism, the concept of status in liberal society, being and looking, new family models, the transitional and traditional family, urban residences, the Grand Hotel and Petit Hotel, suburban residences and pintoresque architecture.

It is worth clarifying that this is a brief introductory class to the subject of housing and that it must be completed and deepen its study with the bibliography suggested by the Cátedra. The views were set in Europe, that is why it is called the European model. Argentine oligarchy copied the architecture of the French and imitated the cultural and economic aspects of the English. This has to do with the vision of the time that was universalist.

So, cultural models are universally valid. That is, copying a country or another in certain aspects was absolutely valid. At that time, the most developed city in Europe, the one that was going to have the most impact in the world, was the city of Paris. A city transformed and modernized by Baron de Haussmann. Thus, Paris became the great model to follow of that Europeanized Argentina.

In many cases, it is assumed that all these new ideas were transmitted to us from the old world through immigration. However, this was true in a very relative way, since the immigrants who arrived to our lands were not groups that had access to the high levels of society.

It is so that the new ideas and customs, that bourgeois model of family, was imported from Europe by the ruling class of our country. That upper class that in their successive trips to Europe were learning the customs in the old world. That imported model corresponded to the sectors of the bourgeois leadership. There was a need to change the ideology with which our social media was managed.

Thus, high society assumed a new social role, to represent the world and fundamentally the country itself, what was understood as the "cult of Argentina", proposing the dichotomy between civilization and barbarism. They proposed a model of bright and intense life, which, just in the course of the second generation of the national organization, the forms of bourgeois life began to be established.

The European spirit became evident in all aspects of our culture. On the one hand, the continuous arrival of European books that brought trade, on the other hand, the number of foreigners, among other minor circumstances, contributed to making imitation easier and continuous.

The common ideal that this society had was to show an image that would leave us sitting until the point when good and new habits were managed. In addition, there was a great need to show the change and to mask the reality in which we lived. In this way, new behavior guidelines were adopted.

On the other hand, English or French words were used with great emphasis in pronunciation, since what was sought was to accredit the good cradle. Thus, the middle and lower classes were learning the bourgeois model that the upper class exhibited. The most prosperous members of the middle class were those who could access the dream trip to Europe, imitating in this the most competent sectors.

That trip was simultaneously a prize for perseverance or economic success and at the same time it was an exam that put to the test the behavior of those who performed it, since they had to achieve a faithful imitation of the people of good. There was also a greater materialism. In this period, material objects were assumed as a symbol of status. Even the dignity of a person was based on the wealth that this person possessed.

in addition to allowing them access to the select environments of the upper classes. In this way, well-being and economic security were extremely important to survive in this capitalist and liberal society. The evolution of the family was slow and the emergence of the bourgeois mentality was one of the most important engines for the beginning of that family evolution.

thus giving rise to the transitional family and the traditional family. Thus, the European family model was imitated by the wealthy sectors of the country. As I said before, the evolution of the family will be slow. Within this process, the patriarchal family and the nuclear family will be at the end of the evolution of the family group, as shown in the slide.

Thus, the transition from one family to another took place in a fairly long period of time and involved a series of advances and setbacks, which will be played out by two groups. One of them is the traditional family, which was characterized by rejecting changes and tried to maintain a type of family that tended to disappear. And the other group, which is the transitional family, which tried to capture the conjugal modality.

Another particularity is that partial role changes will occur within the family. However, this did not imply changes in the family structure, since the bourgeois family did not deny the existence of a hierarchy, but nevertheless proposed it on the basis of a growing relationship between its members. That is, this family continued to nucleate around the figure of the father,

However, the treatment between parents and children at this time tended to be much closer than in other times. The adoption of a new mentality by society will not imply the immediate abandonment of all customs. When Argentina in the late 19th century assumes the liberal bourgeois mentality, it will not leave all the customs and modalities of the family of Spanish origin aside.

They will begin to develop customs and roles that are consistent with their new way of thinking. Regarding the father, the head of the family, clearly of undisputed permanence, enjoyed personal independence and among the primary responsibilities that fit him, one of them was the economic maintenance of the home, that is, he lives and works for the maintenance of the family.

This one spent little time at home, therefore, he did not have a very defined role in the life of the children. In relation to his wife, the man as a husband was usually older than her. He could even double her age. This one was in charge of starting her life, that is, within her responsibilities was to train her or end her training. In the case of the mother,

The husband of this woman, who is quite older, will be responsible for ending the education of this woman, giving her the life guidelines that her father had not given her. That is to say that marriage was basically a change of dependence. Once this woman had adopted the way of life that her husband imposed on her, she was in a position to assume her responsibilities as a wife and as a mother.

the care of the good name of the home, a good education for the children, the conduct and in many cases the execution of the housework. This woman had a greater and more intense communication with the children. However, this did not mean that the father lost hierarchy. The wife had clearly less authority than the father, but her role was gaining greater significance in the life of the home.

The image of a wife and mother of a bourgeois family supposed that this woman should be a cult and snob. Regarding the children, they live and educate themselves in the house. Education, that is, teaching, will be in charge of nannies or institutrices or parents.

In this period there was a separation between the world of children and adults, since it was considered that this separation was functional to achieve a better and faster education. In teaching pedagogical methods were used, which were characterized by the indiscriminate use of hierarchy, compulsion, and even fear.

The goal was to educate children in a way that would allow them to have a proper performance in society. Thus, everyday lessons, even children's games, tended to make children leave aside a more childish attitude to mimic adult behavior. Regarding the service staff, it should be clarified

that this group within a high-class house was numerous. That is, the comfort benefited this small group, which was the family, through the work of this broad dependent sector. It is important to clarify that the servant was moving away from the image of a slave.

That is, it is no longer owned by the family because now there was a relationship between them that was based on a contractual criterion. One of the most evident changes that occur in traditional families with respect to their patriarchal antecedents is the decrease in their members from the emigration of those linked to the head of the family by collateral relatives.

That is, the family will be reduced to parents and their single children. The private hotel is the European bourgeois housing, inherited from palaces of the 17th and 18th centuries. A reduction in the scale of the housing will be produced, which will characterize the evolution from the palace to the hotel, resulting in two scales.

On one side we have the Gran Hotel, which is a large-scale residence, and on the other side the Petit Hotel, which is a smaller version that adapts to a more restricted terrain or narrow lot, thus presenting a compact composition. This type of housing is the model imported by the wealthy bourgeoisie that sought to resemble or imitate the European bourgeoisie. This house will be the reflection of a new lifestyle.

Thus, the most observed, copied and desired architecture was the French one, more precisely the one belonging to the time of the Bourbon reign. The designs of French architects attracted the high-ranking class of the Porte, which in their trips to Paris, transcultured them in our environment. They bought projects and brought them to the country so that they were executed by local professionals.

Thus, the Argentine model of bourgeois housing was made in the shadow of the French model. Now, what are the characteristics of this type of housing? One of them has to do with the fact that it is a complex housing. And why complex? This is related to the fact that, in addition to having the premises that are intended for the basic functions of housing, eating and sleeping,

will incorporate premises that will be intended for other unusual functions such as game rooms, gymnasium, a movie theater or for example in the case of the Palace of Peace of Buenos Aires that housed the offices of the newspaper La Prensa. Within that complexity, it could also be treated of two houses in one.

because sometimes more than one family lived, that is, the owner of the house could live with the family of some of the children, which will be reflected in the repetition of premises. In the plant we can find two dining rooms, for example, two reception rooms or two desks. Thus, the areas reserved for each family had total independence between them.

and at the same time were complete in themselves to respond to the needs of each group. However, some sectors within the housing were designed to meet the needs of the whole set, such as large reception areas, carriages, or service areas that were common.

It was common since the 18th century that the great palaces include more than one house or that they constitute multifamily houses. Now, how is that complexity resolved in urban residences? Basically, it will be resolved through design strategies and one of them is what is called functional stratification, which consists of organizing the house at levels.

That is, what was done was a superposition of areas. In the part of the subsoil will be located part of the services. In the next level, which corresponds to the noble floor, it will be intended to the social or family reception area. In the first floor is located the private floor, corresponding to the places intended for family rest. And finally, on the second floor or at the level of the wardrobes, the other part of the services is available.

Another design strategy that will allow us to solve the complexity of this house is known as spatial sequences. It is defined as a spatial sequence of spaces linked together by common functions. That is, they are groups of interconnected locations that constitute a unit within themselves. Within a house, we can find a spatial sequence

for the arrival environments, which, as the case may be, may be made up of the entrance of vehicles, the door, the vestibule and the main staircase that led to the noble floor. On the other hand, a spatial sequence of the reception area appears, which was made up, on the one hand, of the party halls and the connections that could be the vestibule, the ante-sala and the room itself.

Other sequences of spaces within the reception area were made up of the dining room and the connections. The spatial sequence of the dining room was extended in two spaces or rooms that allowed the table top to be extended. These were the fumoir and the winter garden. In this slide we can observe the spatial sequence of the arrival environments of the Palace of Peace in Buenos Aires.

The first space corresponds to the hall, followed by the vestibule, the gallery of honor and the Grand Hall of Honor. In this image we can observe the spatial sequence of the arrival environments, which corresponds to the Nugués house, which is an example of Petit Hotel. This sequence will be made up of what would be the space where the entrance is in connection with the staircase,

and continues in the space that is intended for the hall or vestibule in Plantanoble. Here we can see the spatial sequence of the reception area that corresponds to the Palacio Paz de Buenos Aires, which will be made up of the vestibule, the antechamber and the dance hall.

In the case of the cloud house, we can observe that the spatial sequence of the reception area will be made up of the hall or vestibule, continues with the antechamber and the room itself. Within the spatial sequence of the reception area, we have the one that is made up of the dining room and the connected premises.

In this case, which is the Palace of Peace, we can see that this sequence will be made up of the office, the main dining room and the fumoir. In the case of the Casanugues, this sequence will be made up of the antecometer and the dining room. It is defined as a walk to the circulation or social walk, which will be conceived as part of the receptions, since it will allow the social parade, the famous see and be seen.

Keep in mind that the intense social life of the bourgeoisie consisted of a permanent "see and be seen". On the other hand, it is important not to confuse "promenade" with "space sequence", since they are two completely different concepts. In this image, which corresponds to the noble plant of the Palace of Peace in Buenos Aires, I marked the promenade or social walk with points lines.

superimposed on the three spatial sequences that I explained previously. In this case, we can clearly observe that the walk or social walk does not coincide with one of the spatial sequences. It is the spatial sequence of the dining room in which the social walk occurs in the spaces that are intended for the main dining room and the fumoir.

not in the space defined as office, which was intended for the re-touching of the dishes, in charge of the service personnel. On the other hand, the distinguished places where you have to go and be seen, were opportunities for the different members of the exclusive class to get to know each other. For all this, the social walk will develop both in the home and in the urban area.

Examples of this were the walks on the Florida street or the famous Palermo Corso or the gala ball in the Colón Theater. The housing in this period will transcend the concept of albergue and will become an opportunity to put into play the economic, cultural and social position of the family or the owner.

That is, the house constituted a highly representative symbol of what the family was, that is, of its social significance as a group. It is for this reason that there was a great concern about the image that the family could provide to the observer about its occupants, since this would define whether they belonged to civilization or barbarity.

It was even very important that the architects who designed it had an academic background, since only the architecture designed, directed and built by men and European materials was considered as the architecture of civilization. As it descended on the social scale, the external treatment of the house was more important than the interior of it.

since appearance was a fundamental value. There was a great need and a great urgency to eropeize the environment in which one lived in order not to belong to barbarity. Even the location of the house in the urban context is of great importance, thus determining the status of its owners.

Not only did the appearance of the house matter, but also the street or the manzana where it was going to be located. Some of the large mansions built in Buenos Aires at the beginning of the 20th century stood in front of squares or parks, since it was considered the best framework to enhance the perspective and hierarchy of these new buildings.

The bourgeoisie with strong purchasing power had an intense social life. For this reason, it needed new scenarios where to develop its life in society. And one of them, in this case, was housing. So, the bourgeois housing was considered as a set of small scenographies that allowed its residents to perform or play the different roles that forced social life.

Each person had to play a different role, depending on the circumstances and in front of whom they were. For example, the role of prosperous sovereign, good father or head of family, good friend or husband, were the different images or roles that a man had to play.

Thus, the house offered different environments, diverse in their characteristics. That is, it could have a different scenery that allowed them to show those different behaviors. Thus, each place or space will have a shape and a decoration that will differentiate it from the rest. Each place will be governed by design criteria, which will arise from the etiquette guidelines.

Apart from the primary function of the house, which is to provide accommodation for the family, the building itself and its interiors constituted a good opportunity to treasure cultural assets. Through the tenancy of artistic collections, the strong sense of ownership and security that prompted the economic and social ideology of the time was channeled.

Thus, the idea of the "housing-treasure" was made, in which both the choice of materials, as well as the definition of decorative styles, as well as the furnishing of each environment, became an opportunity to put into play the good taste of the owner and the architect, by enriching the house and increasing the enjoyment that it could provide. The marbles competed with the carved wood, this with the lacquered and gold,

sculptures and large vases with paintings, even tapestries with huge spiders. All this set of material goods made manifest the good taste, the general culture of the house owner. The new uses and customs derived from Europeanization will clearly influence the conception of the house, giving rise to the simultaneous deployment of two types of habitats of different branches.

On one side is the French model of hotel, predominantly urban, which was developed previously. And on the other side is the "casa de campo" , which is associated with the rooms and the holiday sites. In both cases, they are expressions that will be appropriated by the high and medium-sized bourgeoisie of our country. The suburban residences will recreate the "casa de campo".

an isolated house surrounded by greenery, which corresponded to a more informal way of life, since the intention was to evade the urban routine or to detach from the system of customs and norms typical of the city. Thus, the academies propose this type of architecture for rural or suburban areas, in parallel with the academic architecture intended for urban areas.

The house in this case will become a place of greater intimacy and comfort for the family, which was mainly intended for rest and sparing. The images in the slide correspond to the planimetry of Villa Victorio Campo. In these we can observe that the spaces that are intended for rest cover a larger surface in the plant than those that are intended for social.

This arrangement is a clear reflection that family life is now the axis of this home. This architecture, which is defined as "pintoresquista", was characterized by a domestic eclecticism, also called "pintoresco" or "vernaculista". The term emerged in the mid-18th century in English gardening.

It developed in Europe between 1750 and 1850, but it spread later in our country. It also involved new aesthetic principles that related to the values ​​of painting, architecture and landscape. Its main source of inspiration was the medieval period.

Thus, the painting-esquist architecture was characterized by being fundamentally asymmetric, in comparison with the academic eclecticism intended for urban areas, which tended to be symmetrical, with balance prevailing in its composition. As sources of inspiration, it is worth mentioning the domestic resurgences, functional or utilitarian traditions, and medieval historicism.

The importance of painterlyism is given by the contribution of teaching to look at buildings and their placements as sequences of perspectives, thus encouraging a new and romantic visual sensitivity. That is why an architectural work is considered as beautiful if it was worthy of being painted. On the other hand, this made it possible for a greater freedom in the choice of placement of the house.

that is, it allowed to locate it according to the visuals or taking advantage of the privileged locations, almost always in the corners. It also allowed to take advantage of the topographic particularities and the landscape, for example, the placement of chalet on natural ravines, sometimes forming or taking advantage of the unevenness of the terrain to locate there, for example, a semi-sink garage covered by gardens.

The spatial compositional mechanism used by the painter schism is known as the "design or projection in unsewn". In this way, the project was developed from the outside inwards. That is, the project decisions affected the exterior and the interior first. This resulted in a centrifugal volumetry, where the dimensions are going to adjust to the needs.

So the house will have asymmetrical facades. As for the compositional characteristics, we have forced symmetry, additive composition, complex volumetry, changes in the compositional axes, cylindrical or octagonal plant locations that articulate and give continuity to the facade.

En cuanto a los recursos formales, están los balcones volados de madera, galerías salientes, un amplio repertorio de aberturas, miradores curvos, techos de múltiples pendientes y quiebres, recursos de cromatismo y texturas, pan de bois aparentes.

During the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the country received millions of foreigners as a result of the immigration policies imposed by the government. In 1876, the Immigration and Colonization Law was sanctioned. The initiative of this law was given to the then President of the Nation, Dr. Nicolás Avellaneda.

whose objective was to populate and take advantage of the large land extensions that our country possessed. From the government, the financing of the passage, food supply, and transit accommodation of immigrants was regulated once they arrived at the port. For this purpose, the well-known immigrant hotels were built. The transfer to the definitive residence was also included.

In this way, our country began to attract foreign population, but without guaranteeing them the possession of land. The magnitude of the immigration phenomenon had great influence on the population growth of our country. This growth between 1869 and 1914 caused a great housing deficit.

At that time, the country did not have enough skilled labor, nor adequate technology, nor even the technical means to obtain the necessary materials to meet the great demand for housing. Thus, most of the immigrants ended up in the convent. The reality that the immigrants lived once they arrived in the country

were very different from the promises they were made to them before leaving their countries of origin. The conventillos were houses of one or two floors with rooms that surrounded a central patio, which at the time had been at the top of social appreciation in the Vireinal period. They were located in the most important residential area of that time, which was the southern area of the city of Buenos Aires.

These houses were abandoned by their owners, either by the modification of traditional customs by other more liberal ones, which caused a strong preference for the bourgeois mansions, or another reason for abandonment had to do with fleeing to the northern zone of the yellow fever epidemic that occurred around 1871.

So they began to populate neighborhoods such as Recoleta or areas that were not yet urbanized, such as Palermo or Belgrano. Those houses, which became conventillos, were usually managed by officials. Faced with the high cost of rent, in the country immigrants had to live in these housing houses.

in which the unit that was rented was a family room, which had the right to use the common toilets that were located in the background of the land. These rooms were short of light and ventilation and housed between 6 to 10 people.

Thus, those primitive conventillos of the lagoon were successful enough to encourage the owners of urban lands to build new conventillos. According to the arrangement of the rooms on the ground, there were three types. On the one hand, there is the scheme in which the pieces are arranged, that is, one behind the other on a medianera.

The other solution consisted of having the pieces aligned on the two middles, leaving the patio in the central part, or having two rows of pieces parallel on a common middle.

As a consequence of the poor living conditions in the conventillos, added to the high rents in relation to the newspapers at that time, the conventillos strike took place in 1907. However, the authorities, even recognizing the problem, did not give concrete solutions. The claims of the tenants were quite simple. One was the reduction of 30% of the tenants.

Another was improvements in buildings, guarantees against evictions. Some owners, before this revolt, resorted to the police force and very few decided to offer improvements and greater comfort to their tenants, which caused a series of small changes in these albergues.

It is thus that the convent begins a slow mutation that will transform it into a future neighborhood house, which will develop in Unit 5 of the material.