“Looking at the city appreciating the architectural and heritage value and the beauty that surrounds us is an exercise that all Uruguayans must do,” said the Minister of Education and Culture, Pablo da Silveira, in the act held this Friday 3, in which the Artigas building was declared a National Historical Monument. The property is located at the intersection of Rincón and Treinta y Tres streets, in the Ciudad Vieja neighborhood of Montevideo.
The event, held in the Artigas building itself, was also attended by the director of the Nation’s Cultural Heritage Commission, William Rey.
These instances allow encouraging those who undertake and build, when it comes to materializing their undertakings, and motivate the population to enjoy the architectural landscape and be healthy critics, Da Silveira pointed out.
“Looking at the city appreciating the architectural and heritage value and the beauty that surrounds us is an exercise that all Uruguayans must do,” said the minister. And he added: “The declaration of this building allows us to recognize, honor and assume commitments, we are dialoguing with ourselves and with our history.”
The building evokes New York art deco skyscrapers. It was commissioned by Henry Brown Lutcher, as a tribute to Uruguay, towards the end of the 1940s, and designed by the American architect Aaron Alexander, to install a branch of the National City Bank of New York and rental offices.
The engineer García Capurro participated as a local counterpart in its construction, in which various modern technologies for the time, typical of the international style, which were imported from the United States, were introduced.
Rey considered that it is a modern building, with great architectural value, that incorporated many artistic works and that it is in an excellent state of conservation. These characteristics enable it to become a National Historical Monument, “it is a unique and exceptional piece,” he pointed out.
