Balconies in Buenos Aires: Design Strategies in Apartments

Written by Agustina Iñiguez | Translated by Amelia Pérez Bravo
Published on January 22, 2023

The search for outdoor spaces in dense city dwellings has become for some a necessity and for others a requirement to be fulfilled. In short, it is one of the most sought-after commissions that architects around the world receive on a daily basis. Beyond the fact that this phenomenon has been accentuated during the Covid-19 pandemic, since their origins, these expansion spaces have been conceived not only to increase the use of natural lighting and ventilation but also to promote the indoor-outdoor relationship, giving the possibility to accommodate various uses and functions even when square meters are scarce or when the connection with nature is glimpsed far over the horizon.

+ 24

Walking through the city of Buenos Aires, it is evident to observe in an innumerable number of buildings the arrangement of linear balconies of about one meter deep on their facades. Using different materials in their floorings, ceilings, and railings, these spaces compose the language of a city where the old coexists with the new, where one architectural style overlaps with another, and where each building reflects a particular historical context or regulation.

The truth is that there are different design strategies that, by applying variations on scales, proportions, shapes, heights and other variables, make it possible to generate outdoor meeting and rest spaces, opening up a range of opportunities to develop different activities in accordance with the needs of their users. ODA's ZETA residential building, currently under construction, proposes to reimagine the language of residential buildings in Buenos Aires.

Related article:
Green Balconies: Gardens with Altitude

In the following, we propose three possible categories to analyze the role of balconies in apartment typologies within Buenos Aires and to understand what strategies can be implemented to improve the well-being and comfort of their interiors.

Towards the dematerialization of balconies

What differentiates a balcony from a terrace? Are we on the way to replacing one space with another? It is probably not only a question of proportions but also of factors such as levels, equipment, complementary uses, and other conditions to determine their differences. There is a large number of buildings that are considering breaking or, better said, dematerializing that strip layout so characteristic of Argentinean housing in order to propose spaces of greater use in the apartments that adapt to the needs of their users, contemplating from the most favorable orientations to the best visuals.

RH+ Building / RBK arquitectura

Year: 2022
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Balconies in Buenos Aires: Design Strategies in Apartments - Image 6 of 29 — Edificio RH+ / RBK arquitectura. Image © Luis Barandiarán

Balconies in Buenos Aires: Design Strategies in Apartments - Image 7 of 29 — Planta - Segundo nivel. Edificio RH+ / RBK arquitectura. Image

Commodore Apartment Building / Planta

Year: 2019
Location: Nuñez, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Urban Style 2 Building / F2M Arquitectos

Year: 2019
Location: Villa Urquiza, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Offset vs repetition

At the moment of turning the initial ideas of a building on the table, there are several architects who seek to break with the repetition in height of floor by floor. The proposal of a disarticulated language where the interchange between the different heights and field dimensions are applied based on programmatic and building criteria, etc. is presented as an alternative that, on many occasions, can be capable of linking building masses or volumetrics that had no relationship with each other. The interruption in the rhythm of a façade, either through longitudinal or transversal offset operations, perforations or completion, produces quality spaces that differentiate one from another.

Gamarra 1245 Building / LST Arquitectura

Year: 2022
Location: Parque Chas, Buenos Aires, Argentina

BTE 05 Building / Bustamante Arq

Year: 2020
Location: Castelar, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Ciudad Building / from Puerto Sardin Arquitectos + Arquitectonika

Year: 2020
Location: Belgrano, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Balconies in Buenos Aires: Design Strategies in Apartments - Image 22 of 29 — Edificio Ciudad / del Puerto Sardin Arquitectos + Arquitectonika. Image

Integration in the volumetry

Instead of designing the balconies outside the building volume, the idea of integrating the outdoor expansion spaces within the volumetry itself is another strategy that is often used to expand the interior spaces of the houses or to compose a single piece where the enclosure takes center stage, among many other reasons.