Argentina. The first sustainable building in Buenos Aires, which saves energy and water, which does not pollute and has inside "the purest air that can be obtained in a city", is in Constitución, has 13 floors and a work by the plastic artist Rogelio Polesello covers its two facades.
"A sustainable building has three objectives: to save the maximum energy and take care of water, which are scarce goods, and to take care of the quality of the air breathed by people who spend there between eight and ten hours working," Moises Altman, the engineer in charge of this ecological construction, told Telam, a local Media outlet from Argntino.
The Altman Eco-office saves 28 percent energy, thanks to its solar panels that power the grid and airtight window glass. "The windows are made with airtight glass that prevents the interior of the building from heating up in summer and retains heat in winter," Liliana Altman, who is an architect, Moises' daughter, and also participated in the project, told Telam.
These glasses, in addition to isolating from noise, have "light and energy efficiency", thus contributing to energy savings.
The building also uses "50 percent less water" as it collects rainwater in tanks to use it, and treats and reuses greywater (those that come out of sink drains and kitchen sinks).
"When we started building this building, in 2011, there was no precedent in the country, and I decided to do it because I knew there was a real and scientific basis to build sustainably, and I had to learn it from scratch," said Moises, who is 88 years old and has been building buildings in Buenos Aires for 68 years. The Altman Eco Office was completed in 2014.
"The air that is breathed in this building is the purest that can be achieved in a city," said Moises, and explained that this is achieved with an air intake 50 meters high and with filters located in that intake and in each place towards which the air is "directed" that will then circulate inside. To this is added "a system of extraction of stale air".
On the other hand, this tower does not pollute, since the native plants – which do not need more irrigation than that of the rain and are present in the terraces and retreats – absorb carbon emissions.
"The buildings, with their normal operation, produce carbon dioxide, what is involved is to bring that pollution to zero, so on the terrace and in all outdoor spaces where you can" there are native plants that absorb pollutants, he explained.
In addition, the engines of air conditioning equipment also do not pollute, since they "filter the air from the inside out and vice versa," Liliana added. On the terrace there is also a solar thermal tank that supplies hot water to all bathrooms and kitchens.
"A building has to be useful and comfortable for those who live and work in it, plus once built it becomes part of the urban landscape, for hundreds of years perhaps, so it has to have a pleasant visual impact," Moises said.
For this reason, they asked the Argentine artist Rogelio Polesello, known for his abstract and geometric works, to design a work that covers the two facades, on Lima and Humberto 1° streets. The result was a silkscreen six meters wide and 40 meters high.
Asked about a possible trend towards sustainable construction in architecture in Argentina, Moises replied: "Building a sustainable building according to LEED standards, which govern internationally, requires investing at least 25 percent more, which makes it less profitable. Unfortunately, we can't talk about a trend."
