Buenos Aires Design

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Avenida Pueyrredón 2501
Buenos Aires, Argentina 1113
+54 (11) 45776000Website
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Centro Cultural Recoleta and Buenos Aires Design

January 21, 2010
Rated 4 of 5 by LenR from Townsville, Australia

Immediately north of the basilica is the Centro Cultural Recoleta. It doesn’t look much from the outside but actually this is one of the city’s leading arts centres. The two-storey building, which dates from the 1730s, originally housed Franciscan monks but it was remodelled in the 1980s and now houses the Museo Participativo de Ciencias, a small science museum, the El Aleph auditorium housed in a converted chapel, and changing art and photography exhibitions. The convent retains the original flooring, stairs, walls, and other components from its original construction.

The museum, auditorium and some attractive cobbled patios are on the ground floor while the cool, white, arched hallways and simple rooms on the upper level are perfect for the art exhibitions which are mostly works by contemporary Argentine artists. You should note the windows with special panes, made from agate so that light could come into the structure but the nuns could remain hidden. The auditorium has jazz, rock and tango concerts on a regular basis and also poetry readings and recitals which will be in Spanish and have limited appeal to English-speakers.

Adjoining the cultural centre is the Buenos Aires Design, a shopping mall supposedly specialising in high-quality Argentine products. There are two vast floors of shops selling everything from alpaca carpets and furniture to leather products and exotic glassware. Shops like Puro Diseño Argentino show the new trends in furniture design and home goods. Part of the complex is given over to a host of bars and restaurants which compete with indoor and outdoor seating areas. A tempting aroma wafted from parrilladas (barbecues) cooking on the coals of the restaurants surrounding the shops. We planned to eat here but were somewhat disappointed by what was on offer and thought the prices were fairly steep. There is a Hard Rock Cafe here.

We ended up walking across to the La Biela confiteria at Quintana 600 where we had its famed lomitos and coffee at an equally steep price but with tons of atmosphere and entertainment value thrown in. Here you can eat in the elegant bistro or out on the delightful shaded terrace. This was a favourite haunt of racing car drivers in the 1940s and 50s and is a good example of a traditional confiterias with an up-market clientele.

While in this area, it is worth checking out the Palais de Grace, a distinctive circular building, to see if there is an art exhibition or a trade show happening. You might even be lucky enough to catch one of the popular wine tastings. This building started life as an ice rink but is more famous as a home for tango when it became fashionable in the 1920s.

From journal Buenos Aires - Recoleta

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