In September of 2021, the New York City-based architectural firm ODA announced the unveiling of its first large-scale mixed-use project in Argentina.
This transformative, revitalizing project is called Paseo Gigena, in Buenos Aires.
ODA is converting this decaying parking structure into a public park and Class A office building.
This hideous concrete shell (see photo at left) will be replaced with cafés, restaurants, retail, an open-air promenade, offices and a sheltered parking lot.
Located in between the racecourse and the popular park El Rosedal de Palermo.
Paseo will act as an iconic new civic space and important point of connectivity for the city, re-linking the area that today finds itself divided by this very land plot.
“We have an abandoned concrete infrastructure that does not speak at all with its surroundings nor is useful for the city and its inhabitants,” explained the architect and urban planner Álvaro García Resta, secretary of Urban Development of the Government of the City of Buenos Aires.
“For this reason, the goal is to transform the three-story building into a multi purpose development,” he continued.
Capitalizing on the unique location situated on the edge of the active park, the adaptive reuse project completes the park loop by carrying the green path up the side of the building to the landscaped roof and ramping down the other side, connecting back to the park.
The rooftop provides a continuation of the public park.
It will be complemented by a commercial brewery, as well as private terraces for office tenants, positioning the project as a key juxtaposition of the public and private sectors, unified via nature.
The striking glass façade acts as a mirror to the sky and green surroundings, creating organic curves that erode away the edges of the existing parking structure.
“This project is a great example of the private sector working with the government to create a truly unique typology that will benefit the city and its citizens for decades to come,” said ODA founder Eran Chen.
“These types of partnerships are the future. It’s ambitious and takes bravery and bold leadership on all fronts, but when this is completed we will have a park that will become an icon for the city, and quite possibly the coolest office building in the southern hemisphere. If you want to get people back to work, then we need to be thinking like this,” he added.
The government of the City of Buenos Aires granted the concession of the property known as Ámbito Gigena for a period of 15 years to the developer BSD Investments.
This sustainable design recycles 80% of the original structure to create a 160,000 square feet of building that bridges the two previously separated neighborhoods.
Gigena will include more than 40,000 SF of public terrace and open green spaces carved with pedestrian paths and a 250-car park.
Envisioned as the ultimate work and meeting place, the building offers 360-degree views with easy access to the main highway, making it an easy commute and desirable destination.
All images courtesy of ODA.