ARSENAL MEMORY PARK

Juraj Dulencin

Project idea

The project transforms a former military complex in San Miguel de Tucumán into a new permeable urban district centred around Arsenal Memory Park — a public landscape that connects collective memory, culture, and everyday urban life.

The main intervention is a philharmonic hall designed as part of an interpretation centre, together with a museum and gallery forming the new cultural core of the district. Located along the main pedestrian axis, the buildings define the Square of Memory, a central public space for gathering and cultural events.

The architecture balances monumentality and restraint, creating a dignified environment that respects the historical significance of the site while establishing a new cultural identity for the area.

Project description

The Interpretation Centre consists of two independent buildings — a philharmonic hall and a museum with a gallery — forming a unified cultural complex. Both are connected by two underground levels containing parking, technical facilities, and operational infrastructure, while their above-ground volumes remain architecturally autonomous.

The philharmonic hall is the main cultural institution of the new district. Together with the museum and gallery, it defines the Square of Memory, a central public space for gathering and cultural events.

The architectural concept is based on the contrast between a rational outer envelope and an elliptical concert hall inserted at its centre. A regular grid of monumental columns creates a clear identity, while the interior geometry responds to acoustic and atmospheric requirements.

Respecting the historical significance of the site and its proximity to the memorial landscape, the design avoids formal expressiveness and instead emphasises dignity, calmness, and restraint. Its monumentality arises from proportion, light, materiality, and spatial sequence rather than iconic form.

The building creates a respectful cultural environment that preserves the memory of the site while introducing a new cultural identity to the area.

Technical information

The building is designed as a reinforced concrete frame with an independent elliptical concert hall and a steel truss roof spanning a 787-seat column-free auditorium.

The material palette combines travertine, exposed concrete, and timber acoustic elements, creating a calm and timeless architectural expression.

The project responds to the subtropical climate through an integrated HVAC system with heat recovery, under-seat ventilation, an air-to-water heat pump, photovoltaic panels, a green roof, and external shading.

Rainwater is managed within the wider landscape concept of Arsenal Memory Park through infiltration areas and a retention basin, improving water retention and the local microclimate.