Architecture in Argentina

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  La Plata, Argentina
Monday, November 24, 2008

Before heading down to La Plata, I visited the Police Station again, to get a report filled out as I wasn't able to get one done on the weekend.  I then went and bought the cheapest camera I could find (electronics are really expensive in South America) before boarding one of the frequent buses down to La Plata.  I went to La Plata for one reason, to visit Le Corbusier's Curutchet House.  In fact, it was the sole reason I wanted to stay around Buenos Aires a few days longer than Chris and Dan.  Having never really truely understood what the fuss over Le Corbusier was all about, I was quite keen to see one of his works in the flesh.  And, now I begin to understand what the fuss is about.  It was really good.  It's a tiny site but everything works so well.  His 5 points of architecture are expressed clearly, and walking around it I got the impression nobody could have done more with so little.  Visiting it completely validated my decision to stay behind in Buenos Aires and for the first time in 48 hours, I felt good about travelling again.

I went back to Buenos Aires and visited the Museum of Latin American Art which was was alright (didn't bother to go inside though, just photographed the building from the outside) and the impressive Temple for the Amijai Community.  I actually got told off talking pictures of the outside of the complex (the temple itself is actually hidden from the outside).  I did my usual "no entiendo" routine and threw in the old "soy estudiante de arquitectura" for good measure.  The cop (who was actually stationed out the front) seemed to understand and rang the door bell.  A man in a suit came out and but made me delete all the pictures for security.  He said I could go inside and take all the photos I liked for 20 pesos.  It wasn't a nice guesture.  If I thought the money was going to a good cause, I wouldn't have minded, but this was an expensive church in a wealthy neighbourhood.  And the money just went into this guys top pocket.  Anyway, having gone all the way out there, I felt I may as well pay it anyway.  I took some photos but felt uncomfortable because of the way I was being watched.  So I didn't stay long and ended up retiring for the day.  It was another long one.  A good one, but one that left me exhausted by it's end.

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