Recoleta in Buenos Aires -- Design Center and more...
Buenos Aires is referred to as "the Paris of South America". It is a beautifully quaint and elegant city, with a thriving art and design scene. Specifically, the neighborhood of Recoleta is home to a lot of the most important art/design related sites. The Museo de Bellas Artes (Museum of Fine Art), BA Design Center, and the metal rose are all contained within this area. The Museum has a spectacular collection of European and significant South American artists. Most museums like the Met like lacking in South American masters, so this museum definitely fills in that void for the curious traveler. The BA (Buenos Aires) Design center is housed within an old fortress near the water. It is mainly underground. It consists of numerous stores containing, sort of in the style of the MoMA stores, that have a range of beautiful furniture, lighting and product design. The BA Design Center also has a scultpure garden in front. The metal rose is in the park that lies between Recoleta and the water. It's a massive metal sculpture that opens its petals during the day and closes them at night, very much like a real flower would. This sort of design touch can be found all over Recoleta. It is sometimes very subtle and sometimes not. For example, a lot of the the restaurants in Recoleta have experimental interior design that creates an entire experience that goes along with the meal.
All in all, Recoleta is a top notch location for the curious designer-traveler, who wants to see how another culture keeps recreating itself and what their aesthetic standards are. The wonderful thing about Recoleta is that all this new creation is occuring next to exceptionally beautiful old buildings that look like they've been plucked out of Paris and placed on another continent. A designer would definitely benefit from seeing all the amazing things that the designers down there are creating.
By Anja M.
Top image: The metal rose.
Middle image: A view of the main avenue in Recoleta.
Bottom image: BA Design Center, outside.
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