ArquitecturaViva 154 2013 91

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IN THE PERIOD 1948-1951 the Argen-
tinian Amancio Williams designed
three hospitals that were to be built
in a subtropical climate of intense
sun and rain. He proposed a roof
set high in the buildings in order to
leave a large space beneath it for
air to be able to circulate, ensuring
the protection of environmental fac-
tors by means of an artificial forest.
The structure involved an element
he called a hollow vault, a double-
curve sheet of reinforced concrete
which on plan was square at the
perimeter and circular at the center
(coinciding with the column, which
also serves to release rainwater).
The thin shell, six centimeters thick at
the perimeter, derived its resistance
from its form, and in the absence of
scientific calculation methods, ap-
proximations were undertaken with
the help of scale models and loads
verified by the Italian engineer Gi-
ulio Pizzetti, in consultation with
Pier Luigi Nervi.
The hospitals were eventually left
unbuilt, but this element took on an
iconic dimension. Though it had been
conceived for certain conditions, the
product took on a worth of its own,
universal and reproducible. Wil-
liams used it in subsequent projects
that were never carried out either,
but in 1963, in an exhibition pavil-
ion, he was able to see two of these
pieces materialized before they were
demolished soon after completion.
As a tribute to the architect, a pair
of them were executed and can still
be visited on the coast of the River
Plate, loaded with symbolism.
Three years ago, in 2010, in the
city of Santa Fe (Argentina), the
provincial government inaugurated
the El Molino complex. A cultural
factory set on abandoned industrial
structures, the project created a
public square that was partly cov-
ered with thirteen hollow vaults
separated from one another. In this
case (unlike in the previous occaa-
sion, where wooden formworks were
used), the structures (with 11 meter
sides and rising 12 meters) were built
with PRFV molds divided into eight
sections. To construct them, 10-me-
ter-high platforms were raised, and
the molds were installed on these,
transferring them to the next posi-
tions as they were removed from the
formworks. In this manner an archi-
tectural element was materialized
that in itself was an important piece
in the representation of the modern
architectutre of Argentina.
Foresta artificial
The Vaults of Amancio Williams
Entre 1948 y 1951 Amancio Williams
proyect tres hospitales para ser cons-
truidos en un clima subtropical caluro-
so, con un sol fuerte y lluvias intensas.
Su propuesta fue disponer un techo
alto por encima, dejando una genero-
sa circulacin de aire y asegurando la
proteccin de los factores ambientales
por medio de una foresta artificial.
El elemento estructural era una pieza
a la que llam bveda cscara, una
lmina de hormign armado de doble
curvatura, de planta cuadrada en el
permetro y circular en el centro (en
coincidencia con la columna que, a su
vez, hace de descarga pluvial). La del-
gada cscara, de seis centmetros de
espesor en los bordes, lograba resis-
tencia por forma y, ante la ausencia de
mtodos cientficos para su clculo, se
realizaron aproximaciones mediante
modelos y cargas a escala verificadas
por el ingeniero italiano Giulio Piz-
zetti, y consultas a Pier Luigi Nervi.
Los hospitales no se construyeron,
pero este elemento cobr dimensin
icnica. Si bien se haba originado
para unas condiciones concretas, era
un producto con valores propios, uni-
versal y reproducible. Williams lo
utiliz en proyectos posteriores que
tampoco se realizaron, y en 1963, en
un pabelln de exposiciones, pudo ver
materializadas dos de estas piezas, de-
molidas al poco tiempo. Como home-
naje al arquitecto, se realiz un par que
persiste en la costa del Ro de la Plata,
una solucin cargada de simbolismo.
En 2010 el gobierno provincial
inaugur en la ciudad de Santa Fe
(Argentina) el complejo El Molino-
Fbrica cultural, un proyecto montado
sobre estructuras industriales abando-
nadas en el que se concibi una plaza
pblica cubierta parcialmente con
trece de estas bvedas cscaras se-
paradas entre s. En esta oportunidad
(a diferencia de las anteriores en que
se utilizaron encofrados de madera)
las estructuras (de 11 metros de lado
y 12 de alto) fueron construidas con
moldes de PRFV divididos en ocho
secciones. Para realizarlas se levanta-
ron plataformas a 10 metros de altura
sobre las que se instalaron los moldes
a pares, trasladndolos hacia las po-
siciones siguientes a medida que se
iban desencofrando. Con ello se ma-
terializa un elemento arquitectnico
que, en s mismo, resulta una pieza
fundamental en la representacin de
la arquitectura moderna en Argentina.
Luis Mller