Architecture Classics: General San Martín Municipal Theater / Mario Roberto Álvarez, Macedonio Oscar Ruiz
On Avenida Corrientes, the Teatro Municipal General San Martín (TGSM) rises between party walls in the heart of downtown Buenos Aires. Designed by Mario Roberto Álvarez and Macedonio Oscar Ruiz in 1954, this building comes to address an artistic and cultural issue common to the large cities of America. It stands as one of Argentina’s most important theaters, providing spaces for theatrical and cinematic performances as well as art exhibitions. Spanning 30,000 square meters, it constitutes a theater complex alongside the General San Martín Cultural Center, operating independently.
Inaugurated on May 25, 1960, during the presidency of Arturo Frondizi, the architects’ main challenge was to deal with the constraints imposed by the terrain. They chose to create a composition of juxtaposed volumes that separated the functions into independent building blocks. This way, the project could be developed in different stages, and the volumetrics would be formed into three bodies, comprising thirteen floors and four basement levels. These would house three theaters, a photo gallery, a cinema, the Central Hall Alfredo Alcón, workshops, exhibition rooms, storage areas, and offices for various tasks related to artistic production. Service areas were placed along the party walls and towards the back, freeing the center to position the hall with the stage and establish support areas behind it. Meanwhile, offices were located in the ten-story volume to reconfigure the front along Av. Corrientes.
In my opinion, architecture is primarily about utility and function. Beauty is a possible consequence, but it is not an objective. Architecture has to be logical, functional, and straightforward. The aesthetic outcome is a possible but not mandatory consequence. – Mario Roberto Álvarez
Alongside officials, directors, artists, and theater technicians, architects formulated a program designed to meet the most demanding needs, contributing to the creation of a comprehensive work. The program was organized around a comedy theater with a capacity for 1130 spectators spread across two levels, adaptable for other performances. In the first block on Corrientes Avenue, there are administrative offices, the Secretary of Culture, and a micro-cinema located on the tenth floor, designed for both private and public use, and can also be used as a conference hall. Next, there is the presence of another volume containing two performance halls with a tall block housing the stage, dressing rooms, and maintenance areas. Along Sarmiento Street, the section of the School of Dramatic Arts is presented, distributed over eight floors, and composed of classrooms for the teaching of stage theater, choreography, cinematic arts, etc., along with an underground parking lot.
Due to its dimensions, facilities, equipment, and stage machinery, the stage is one of the most comprehensive in its genre, capable of adapting to choreographic and musical performances, among others. It features 9 lifting platforms with 34 seats each, 2 rotating stages, an orchestra elevator, a 3 x 6.50 m freight elevator, 6 platforms for set maneuvers, 2 grids with 14 lifting machines, 3 lighting bridges, a booth for projected scenery and one for film productions, 6 footlights, towers, rakes, projectors, and effect machines, 30 electromagnetic control stations for lighting, and 10 scene control stations, a sound control booth, 9 effect microphones, 11 speakers, 3 curtains, a panoramic screen, etc.
I believe that each architect should have principles, try to adhere to them, not betray themselves, but also not believe that what one does is the only thing that needs to be done. – Mario Roberto Álvarez
The theater has the following halls:
- Martín Coronado Hall: Its name pays homage to one of the pioneers of Argentine playwriting. With a capacity of 1049 spectators, it features two stepped stalls and an Italian-style stage with an opening ranging from 11 to 16 meters, equipped with a central section capable of moving vertically, entirely or partially, through 9 elevators operating simultaneously or separately. Additionally, it includes a lifting orchestra pit and modern lighting and sound systems. In its foyer, you can admire José Fioravanti’s artwork ‘Allegory to the Theater,’ and on the side walls, the sculptures ‘The Drama’ and ‘The Comedy’ by Pablo Curatella Manes.
- Casacuberta Hall: Named in honor of the 19th-century dramatic performer Juan José de los Santos Casacuberta, the hall has a capacity for 566 people, arranged on a semicircular stall that is divided into three radial sections. The presence of a lifting stage provides the opportunity to function as a stage, a stall floor, or even an orchestra pit, while the stage itself has dimensions of 35 meters in width by 6 meters in depth. In its foyer, you can admire Luis Seoane’s mural ‘The Birth of Argentine Theater,’ the terracotta allegorical relief by Carlos de la Cárcova, and Enio Iommi’s steel sculpture ‘Continuous Forms.’
- Cunill Cabanellas Hall: In tribute to the Catalan director and pedagogue Antonio Cunill Cabanellas, this hall is dedicated to experimental productions with a capacity of approximately 200 spectators. It is designed to adapt the stage-audience relationship according to the needs of unconventional performances. In its foyer, you can find Luis Diego Pedreira’s mural ‘The Podestà Brothers.’
- Leopoldo Lugones Hall: Intended for film screenings, this hall has a seating capacity of 233 spectators and is located on the tenth floor of the theater.
Above the main facade, there are three double-height superimposed lobbies, which connect the halls and also the ground floor lobby with public access, seen as an extension of the sidewalk that continues toward the exhibition hall. The entrance from Corrientes Avenue leads directly to the central lobby named ‘Alfredo Alcón,’ clad in stone and spanning almost the entire width of the property. Above it, the volume housing the Martín Coronado Hall outstands, with its floor serving as the ceiling for the lobby, and prominent slanted columns highlight its significance. The space features a ceramic mural by Juan Batlle Planas, and a mezzanine surrounds the lobby, providing space for exhibitions.
The photo gallery, established in 1985, enables direct communication with the Sculpture Courtyard of the San Martín Cultural Center and serves as a reference space for the field of photography and visual arts. The areas designed for works by artists such as Enio Iommi, Libero Badii, etc., facilitate the connection between art and architecture.
The main facade is constructed using a curtain wall of steel and glass, allowing for structural unfolding as the floors overlap in the lobby. The marquee is supported by tensioners from the facade on Corrientes Avenue, protecting people passing by and creating a space for film shoots, designed with granite tiles on its upper part.
Towards the year 2000, the San Martín Theater transformed into the headquarters of the General and Artistic Direction of the Complejo Teatral de Buenos Aires (Buenos Aires Theater Complex).
Sources:
– Moderna Buenos Aires, Centro Cultural San Martín 1962-1970
– Moderna Buenos Aires, Teatro Municipal General San Martín 1954-1960
– Informes de la Construcción Vol. 10, nº 94, octubre de 1957
– Complejo Teatral de Buenos Aires, 2000-2021
