HOK IN THE NEWS
HOK transforms dilapidated 1950s six-story office building into a modern home for ArgentinaÂ's national newspaper and other tenants.
La Nacion - Buenos Aires, Argentina
A multinational building team responsible for remaking the dilapidated headquarters of ArgentinaÂ's premier daily newspaper into a Class A office tower had to execute the $30 million expansion in the heat of a charged political and economic climate and without disruption to the newspaperÂ's operations.
The ambitious plan involved construction of a 16-story steel-framed structure atop the 1950s six-story, concrete-frame podium that housed the offices and printing plant of La Nacion, ArgentinaÂ's national newspaper.
With its breathtaking location along the Rio de la Plata, the estuary formed by the convergence of the Uruguay and Parana Rivers that separates Argentina and Uruguay, the old structure was ripe for redevelopment as the new millennium began. But before it could be completed, the project would sustain numerous delays and complications stemming from ArgentinaÂ's brutal economic recession.
Acquisition of materials and products was extremely slow, especially for imports like steel and glass. Â"We needed to build lightly,Â" says Ripley Rasmus, AIA, SVP and design principal with Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum, St. Louis, the projectÂ's design architect. Specifying a concrete frame would have eased financial and schedule pressures, but the added weight would have required substantial structural reinforcement to the existing podium structure, inflating the cost and making it virtually impossible for the newspaper to function during construction.
The building was originally designed to accommodate a three-story addition that was never built, as well as the newspaperÂ's printing presses, which were moved to a suburban location before the project got started. Thus, the concrete frame was capable of handling about 10 times the magnitude of a typical office floor load, says Rasmus. A 12-foot-high steel transfer truss system located on top of the base structure distributes the column loads from the steel-framed addition to the concrete columns below.
The buildingÂ's distinctive shape is a direct response to the cityÂ's setback restrictions, which were designed to protect existing buildings from being denied daylight and views by the flurry of new construction in the city. The east façade bends backward at a 10-degree arc beginning at eighth level, effectively Â"doing the limboÂ" just a few feet beneath the maximum-height tangent line. Its north and south facades step back five to 10 feet at levels 8, 15, 19 and 23 on the north face and at levels 11, 17, 20 and 24 on the south face to squeeze within the pyramid-shaped setback restriction area. Its west façade steps back in a similar fashion, but with much less severity.
Outdoor terraces are introduced at each setback. Â"Buenos Aires means Â'good air,Â'Â" says Rasmus. Â"And for a good portion of the year, you can sit on the terraces comfortably.Â"
The 16-story addition is composed of two towers linked by the concrete circulation core. Each tower has its own view and its own personality. Â"One is a river building, the other is a city structure,Â" says Rasmus.
The curving east tower provides magnificent views of the Rio de la Plata and features large, deep floor plates about 11,800 sf in size. These Â"American-styleÂ" offices, with their sizable, open plans, are geared toward attracting large U.S.-based companies, such as financial and consulting firms, wishing to establish satellite offices in Buenos Aires to serve South America. The smaller, upright west tower faces a treed plaza and surrounding office structures, creating a more urban experience.
This design approach gives the client flexibility Â"to market each floor as two unique addresses, each with very unique qualities,Â" or to join the east and west floor plates to offer a unified space to a single tenant.
The strategy seems to be working. Much of the 394,000 square feet of office space is leased, despite a stagnant office market.
Source: Â"Doubled Up,Â" Building Design & Construction, March 2005, by Dave Barista.
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