Argentina's iconic 'Bridge House' restored

After a year and a half of restoration works, Argentina's iconic "Bridge House" - arguably the country's best-known example of mid-century Modernist architecture - was reopened as a house museum.

The house, located in seaside Mar del Plata, was designed by Argentine architect Amancio Williams (1913-1989) and his wife, Delfina Gálvez Bunge (1913-2014), and built between 1943 and 1946.

They designed the house, which spans a stream in a heavily wooded property, for Williams' father, composer Alberto Williams (1862-1952).

To accommodate the composer's love of nature, the 2,950 ft² home - perched on an arch and pylons like a bridge - affords a 365° view of the surrounding woods. But the composer fell ill shortly before its completion, and never lived there.

The Williamses sold the property in 1968, and the house - originally named the "Stream House" - acquired its "Bridge House" nickname on account of a radio station that operated there until its closure by the last dictatorship in 1977.

Its owner at the time, Héctor Lago Beitía, maintained the house until his death in 1991 - after which it fell into severe disrepair. It was purchased by the city in 2012, which cleaned the derelict interiors and replaced its windows.

Only in 2020 did the federal government take a formal interest in restoring the emblematic house.

"I got in touch with (Mar del Plata Urban Planning Director) Magalí Marazzo after watching her host a special on the house," President Alberto Fernández recounted. "I was so impressed, I asked (Culture Minister) Tristán Bauer about it, and he said: of course I know about the Stream House; my grandfather built it. He owned a local construction firm, and the Williamses hired him."

"So I called (Public Works Minister) Gabriel Katopodis and told him: don't explain why it's in such shambles - just know that it's essential we restore it," Fernández, visibly moved, concluded.

The president was joined by all three in tonight's reopening ceremony.

At: https://www-argentina-gob-ar.translate.goog/noticias/esta-tarde-se-reinaugura-el-museo-casa-del-puente-en-mar-del-plata-la-emblematica?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp

Argentine Culture Minister Tristán Bauer, President Alberto Fernández, Mar del Plata Urban Planning Director Magalí Marazzo, and Public Works Minister Gabriel Katopodis lead reopening ceremonies for Argentina's iconic "Stream House."

The 1946 structure - known locally as the "Bridge House" - is arguably Argentina's best-known example of mid-century Modernist architecture.

Home to a radio station in the 1970s, it was abandoned after its last owned died in 1991 and fell into severe disrepair.