Arsenal Memory Park

Project idea

The project proposes the transformation of the former Miguel de Azcuénaga Arsenal into a new metropolitan green centrality for Greater San Miguel de Tucumán, reclaiming a historically isolated territory and redefining it as an open, accessible, and inclusive public space for collective life. Taking advantage of its strategic location between the municipalities of Tafí Viejo and Las Talitas, the intervention seeks to restore urban, environmental, and social connections through a continuous landscape infrastructure that integrates memory, nature, and new collective uses. The proposal understands the landscape as the organizing framework of the territory and the existing heritage as a foundation for building a new metropolitan identity, where the preservation of historical memory coexists with cultural, recreational, educational, and productive activities.

Project description

The project is developed through an integrated system of public spaces, green corridors, and facilities that articulate three scales of intervention: territorial, urban, and architectural. At the metropolitan scale, the Arsenal is consolidated as a large public park capable of connecting Tafí Viejo and Las Talitas through a sustainable mobility network composed of bicycle paths, pedestrian routes, and new urban connections. At the urban scale, a system of complementary programs incorporates recreational, sports, cultural, educational, commercial, and service areas, creating new spaces for gathering and strengthening community life. At the architectural scale, the proposal restores and reinterprets the existing structures through contemporary interventions, highlighting the Memorial Park and Memorial Plaza, the Museum, and a series of elevated walkways that allow visitors to experience the site from different perspectives without altering its natural condition. The intervention strategy prioritizes the preservation of the areas with the highest environmental and heritage value, restoring degraded sectors and promoting a balanced and sustainable occupation of the territory.

Technical information

The proposal adopts a low-impact intervention strategy, prioritizing the reuse of the existing heritage and the incorporation of lightweight, reversible, and low-maintenance construction systems. The primary structure of the new interventions is resolved through modular galvanized steel systems, capable of adapting to different topographical conditions while minimizing disturbance to the natural terrain. The elevated walkways are conceived as steel structures supported at specific points on the ground and composed of steel profiles and perforated anti-slip metal decking. This system ensures visual permeability, natural drainage, and ecological continuity across the site. The walkways also incorporate gathering areas, lookout points, and spaces for heritage interpretation. The lookout tower and other vertical elements are materialized through a lightweight steel structure enclosed by an expanded metal mesh envelope featuring a Saint Andrew’s cross pattern, which functions as a solar filter, protective layer, and defining identity element of the project. The spaces dedicated to memory, including the Memorial Plaza and the Museum, combine exposed concrete, galvanized steel, and permeable paving, establishing a sober and timeless material palette that reinforces the contemplative character of the ensemble. The circulation network is organized through accessible pedestrian paths, bicycle lanes, and permeable surfaces that promote rainwater infiltration and reduce soil sealing. The project incorporates an integrated green infrastructure strategy based on the preservation of existing vegetation and the introduction of native, low-water-demand species, strengthening local biodiversity and improving the overall environmental performance of the site.