Landscapes of inland Argentina: Some architectonic witnesses of the productive Peronism of 1954 with a modern twist

Abstract

We aim to identify and describe some ephemeral architectural phenomena at the end of the second Peronist government between 1952 and 1955. We assume that the productive forces identified in this view constructed social and imaginary representations mediated by the political power according to a national project, thus consolidating a landscape of inland Argentina.For this, we considered the province of Mendoza as a space of representation, privileged by its strategic geographical position. The harvest festival of 1954 and the pavilion 30 of IAME (Aeronautical and Mechanic Industries of the State), built for the Feria de América in the same year, are both expressions susceptible to analysis. Consequently, we point out that these ephemeral expressions embodied a distinctive feature of the way in which the modernist movement materialized in Latin America. They also found in this language a coherent way to communicate the political project that entailed “the new Argentina” and thus leave an imprint of their existence and dimension on that landscape.