Parque Urbano "Jardín de la República"
Project idea
Our thesis aims to address two core issues affecting the Metropolitan Area of Tucumán (AMET), Argentina: mobility and environmental degradation. These challenges are recurrent across Latin American cities, where the fragmentation of the urban fabric—driven by the proliferation of gated communities—, a deficient and outdated transportation system, the lack of green spaces due to real estate market pressure, and the resulting environmental decline, are common features.
In response, our Master Plan is structured around two key strategies: intermodality and reforestation. The project takes its name, Jardín de la República (Garden of the Republic), from the historic nickname of our province, which has lost meaning due to uncontrolled urban expansion.
The proposed transformation follows a real estate-driven logic, ensuring that no rentable surface area (for commercial or office use) is sacrificed for the incorporation of green space. At the same time, the redesigned transportation network acts as a catalyst for development, generating new zones of economic activity while diversifying and integrating the existing urban fabric.
This approach seeks to create new urban centralities, overcome current physical and social barriers, and enhance the overall connectivity of the metropolitan system.
Project description
The Master Plan proposes the subdivision of the metropolitan area into zones connected through internal transport systems, and their articulation via a ring system, structured around new centralities or nodes.
These nodes will function not only as transport hubs but also as centers of commerce, urban facilities, and community infrastructure, with the objective of becoming catalysts for the development of each area.
For our architectural interventions, we focused on two nodes along the railway axis of San Miguel de Tucumán: Central Córdoba Station and Mitre Station—both historically and patrimonially significant landmarks for the province, currently in a state of deterioration but with substantial potential for recovery.
Along this axis, we propose a network of green spaces and urban facilities, collectively named the “Jardín de la República Urban Park”, aiming to recover 14,000 m² of fully equipped green public space for the city.
The Central Córdoba Complex involves the revitalization of existing public squares, the creation of a “Memory Walk” to honor the victims of the 1976 coup d’état, and the redevelopment of the Avellaneda Sports Complex, which is currently operational but requires enhancements in both functionality and urban scale. Lastly, the plan includes the reactivation of the railway for passenger use at Central Córdoba Station—currently used exclusively for freight—connecting the southern area of the city with Tafí Viejo.
The second node targeted for revitalization is Mitre Station, which will retain its role as an interprovincial railway terminal, but will be expanded to include a Guided Bus Station. This new mode of transport will serve the entire downtown area of San Miguel de Tucumán, enabling internal mobility for residents in the densest sectors of the AMET.
Within the same site, we propose the Jardín de la República Innovation Center, located beneath the park of the same name. The core design concept was to create a building within a park, rather than incorporating green space within a building. The architectural strategy thus focused on the manipulation of void.
The park will function independently from the Innovation Center, remaining open to the public with its own programming and identity, distinct from the commercial and innovation core.
The interior of the building will host offices, coworking spaces, and technology laboratories, alongside a commercial center and a gastronomic hub. These are crowned by a 500-seat auditorium, designed to serve both the Innovation Center and provincial-scale events.
The complex is expected to operate and self-finance through partnerships with companies interested in investing in startups, entrepreneurship, and university-based research initiatives. Additional revenue will come from concessions within the commercial units, which are projected to attract a high volume of daily users due to the site's strategic position within the new transport network proposed from the outset.
The key to the project lies in leveraging real estate market logic with a different approach. Rather than using capital to intensively develop land exclusively for housing, commercial, or office purposes, we aim to merge the demand for green public space with high-yield land use, attracting private investment while enabling the development of an activity-rich zone. This strategy promotes a responsible model of urban growth, one that does not neglect environmental stewardship nor the quality of the built environment—our shared home: the city.
Technical information
For the materiality of the overall project, commonly used construction technologies were selected, ensuring the availability of skilled local labor within our province.
Reinforced concrete and steel were employed for both the structural systems and the building envelope.
The site's natural topography and existing slopes were used strategically to define the pedestrian circulation. In the case of the Innovation Center, excavation was limited to a single level (approximately 3 meters) in order to avoid interference with the water table—an ongoing challenge in urban construction—and to ensure that the building integrates with the landscape rather than dominating it, in line with the concept of an urban park.
Regarding the park, the building was modulated using prefabricated reinforced concrete shells, each with a 12-meter diameter at their crown. These elements contain both soil and vegetation, and also serve a drainage function, channeling rainwater into storage tanks for subsequent reuse in the park’s irrigation system.
The shells operate as an integrated system: structural support, enclosure, and spatial framework, providing the project with a unique architectural character and a strong, identifiable visual language.
Documentation
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