The majority of the 167 co-owners and ten commercial premises of the Pan-American building on the Rambla del Buceo rejected on Thursday the claim of Oceano FM to build in the surroundings of the radio studio. In this way, the way was clear for the businessman Pablo Lecueder -responsible for the facilities- to initiate the trial to seek demonstrate their right to build on the property despite resistance from neighbors.
The instance in charge of the Conciliation judge, Sylvia Castelli, was unsuccessful in getting the parties to reach an agreement, as stated in the minutes to which she agreed. The Observer. Only three people out of more than one hundred cited agreed to the requestbut the rest asked that conciliation be considered “uselessly tempted” – that is, they stood firm in their rejection.
Judge Castelli set a new hearing for next April 27 to convene those who did not appear before the court on 25 de Mayo street. Diego Carbajales, the defense attorney for some 180 people among those summoned, explained that the summons responded to “a documentary issue” due to the “volume of people” they have as attorneys-in-fact. “It’s going to be like doing it again with those of us who went – we’re going to express the same position of opposition – but today it would have taken hours to pass it into the minutes,” he said.
consulted by The Observer whether or not to file a lawsuit, businessman Lecueder and his legal representation refrained from commenting.
While local 013 – in which the radio studio is located – understands that it can build in that area that surrounds the structure, the neighbors and their defense assure that they cannot, and therein lies the crux of the matter.
The project
The issue goes back to a long-standing disagreement, as a result of a project formulated by the prestigious architect Raúl Sichero, who died in 2014. “It was a Commissioned by Lecueder to generate a low office area against the retaining wall (between the studio and the building),” he reviewed in dialogue with The Observer the architect Pablo Frontini, author of the book ‘Raúl Sichero: modern architecture and urban quality’.
“He considered that it was up to the previous projects and that it would not clash within the formal project of the Pan American”, assured. “It is not invasive in height. It would be like an extension of the terrace that is already planned in the building, in the form of triangles typical of its latest style that harmonize with the entire complex. By not adding floors in height, it is a relatively discreet intervention,” Frontini explained.
As stated in the descriptive report of the project disclosed by Gallerythe structure would have an “office block developed on two levels that leans on the retaining wall behind the radio building, extending to one side and the other in a harmonic game of volumes and materials”.
The building would have “three free floor duplex offices with their respective services”, in an area of 2,308 square meters and without exceeding the maximum height established by the co-ownership regulations at that point. On the other hand, “its horizontal roof is projected as a garden terrace, an extension of the building’s terrace”, with a glazed facade and conditioning of the entrance ways to the radio.
The architect Frontini considered that in the development of this project “the quality that Sichero would have intended is at stake”, and affirmed that the construction company must “respect the formal criteria that he had” regarding modulation, structural layout and other elements.
no support
As reported The Observer, Lecueder wanted on more than one occasion to submit the project to a vote in the orbit of the assembly of co-owners in order to obtain the endorsement to carry it out. The Horizontal Property Law establishes that any construction that “alters the architectural aspect” of a building requires the approval of a special majority of two thirds of the co-owners.
All attempts were unsuccessful given that “not even the required special quorum was reached” as a rule, at the same time that they aroused the disapproval of the majority of those present. Local 013 –Ocean FM studio– assures that the area surrounding the iconic structure is a “common space for exclusive use” of its own.
There is a discrepancy between both parties regarding the extension of that area, which in the co-ownership regulations drawn up decades ago – the building was founded in 1959 – is named with the letters “00B”, “Z” and “A”. The Uruguayan Publicity Company SA –Oceano FM’s trade name– defends that they all refer to the “same physical space”, but for the Administration this is not so clear and they indicate that the area in question is smaller.
There are also differences regarding whether the approval of Sichero himself is sufficient guarantee. Ocean FM argues that the late architect responsible for erecting the Pan-American can authorize works without having to go through a co-owners’ meeting in his capacity as “Managing Architect of the Building.” But the defense counters that Sichero “removed from his position once the construction work was completed.”
