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Stacking the Dock
La Boca
Buenos Aires, Argentina
PALOLO Arquitectura Urbana

Much of Buenos Aires is a rectangular grid of streets with short blocks and high density, the ideal foundations for walking and biking. Although Buenos Aires has a commuter rail, a subway and a bus system, auto-centric planning over the past 60 years has encouraged the growth of automobile use and deterred biking. Mass transit systems have since declined and are in need of re-investment.

At the southeastern edge of Buenos Aires, the Riachuelo River wraps around a striking formerly industrial area called La Boca. Once the city’s main port, many of the docks are now deserted as shipping activities have long since moved elsewhere. Old freight rail lines have fallen into disuse and an 8-story highway viaduct cuts through the site. Its industrial infrastructure has fallen into dilapidation, with low-income housing and squatter settlements now filling in the voids.

These images attempt to stack the docks in favor of the Riachuelo by blending its industrial heritage with new amenities that prioritize public space and livable streets.

A dynamic new waterfront is created, anchored by the already popular restaurants, bars, and milongas tango clubs along Caminito Street. Promenades with bike lanes and plentiful public spaces activate both sides of the river, linked by BRT, water taxis and a pedestrian and cyclist-only bridge.

The old freight rail line becomes a non-motorized boulevard dotted with new shops and colorful housing. To ensure broader connections to the city, a BRT corridor runs down the popular commercial street, Almirante Brown Avenue. Here, La Boca’s industrial past is reclaimed as the foundation for a people-oriented future.

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