- Address: Av. 53 320, B1900BAU La Plata, Buenos Aires
- Year of construction: 1953
- Phone: +54 221 482 2631
- Website: casacurutchet.net
- Architectural style: modernism
- Opening hours: Tue-Fri 10: 00-14: 30, Sat-Sun 13: 00-17: 00
The House of Cupuchet is a famous landmark of the city of La Plata, the capital of the province of Buenos Aires . This is a beautiful mansion in the style of ultramodernism. The famous architect Le Corbusier designed the house of Curucet, and this is the only one of his works, located in South America. In addition, this is one of the few buildings designed by the great Frenchman, which was built not under his direction - he just sent the customer a ready project. Perhaps, that is why the building is not present in all the works of the architect.
How did the building appear?
The project was completed in 1948, construction began in 1949 and was completed in 1953. The work was directed by Amanio Williams. The building is built in the style of ultramodernism, but it fits perfectly into the stylistics of the surrounding buildings.
In the period from 1986 to 1988 the house was restored. By the centenary of the birth of Le Corbusier Commission for the Conservation of National Values of Argentina , it was decided to assign it the status of a national monument. In 2006, the Argentine government proposed to make the House of Cupuchet a UNESCO World Heritage Site , and in 2016 such a decision was made. Today the building is the property of the city union of architects.
Architectural solution
The house consists of four floors. It surprisingly intertwined trends of modernism and the traditions of Spanish architecture - for example, the house has a traditional Spanish interior courtyard, not only on the ground floor: trees growing near the house form a single composition with it, and the terrace on the third floor is also in their shadows.
The house was used not only as a dwelling: the customer was a surgeon and took patients in the house. Therefore, on the ground floor there is a large hall, reception room, where patients could wait until the doctor is available, the doctor's office and nursing. Through the huge, along the perimeter of the wall, a window inside gets a lot of light. The floor is made of pink ceramic tiles.
The living space is "raised" upward and somewhat isolated from everything around. There are also huge windows (one of them, for example, occupies two floors), and that the scorching Argentine sun does not heat the room too much, special "sunsets" are used. It helps to preserve the coolness and the tree, preserved during the construction of the house and "inscribed" into its concept.
The entire space of the building is, as it were, united into a single whole. This is emphasized by the same - white - the color of the walls, and the "through" staircase, which runs through the entire building, and the use of tiles in all rooms as a floor covering.
Thanks to the original design, the house from the inside seems much more than outside. It is all permeated with light, filled with air. In living rooms, multidimensionality is created with the help of built-in furniture. For example, in one of them there is a cube in the center, in which there are niches used as shelves.
How do I get to Couruchet's house?
There is the Couruchet House in the heart of La Plata , it is possible to walk to it from other famous landmarks of the city. For example, from the Cathedral to Kuruche House you can walk about 20 minutes by Av. 53 and Diagonal 78 or 10 minutes from the museum of La Plata by Av. Iroala, Av.53 and Diagonal 78. The inspection usually takes about 3 hours.