Social and Sports Clubs in Buenos Aires
PhD Project by Sabine Kastner
Research Question
What impulses for contemporary typological questions in architecture, particularly concerning transformation and re-development, can be drawn from an engagement with the Argentinian Clubes Sociales y Deportivos? Can the analysis of these club buildings yield a typology of socially adaptable architecture—one that allows for continuous transformation and adaptation to societal change? The project investigates to what extent these incrementally developed clubs, through their spatial and typological origins, offer models for a diachronic architecture that renders the transformation of its structure intelligible. The focus is on identifying structural parameters that enable sustainable transformation and on exploring the emancipatory potential of architecture within a critique of capitalist logics.
Fig. 1: Club Gimnasia y Esgrima, Aldao Branch. 24th of May Dance, 1936. Big gymnasium on 2nd and 3rd floor. Credits: Archive of Club Gimnasia y Esgrima Buenos Aires.
Research and Theoretical Field
To what extent do the Clubes Sociales y Deportivos in Argentina, as exemplary case studies in the development of architectural typologies, offer insights into the potential for sustainable transformation of the existing built environment? Which structural parameters and typological concepts allow for ongoing adaptation to social, cultural, and historical dynamics—and how can architecture’s emancipatory potential be understood within a critique of capitalist logic? This dissertation examines the clubs as models of collective practice that promote architectural transformation and highlights their role as political and social instruments within urban space. It reflects critically on the transformation of urban environments through the lens of these clubs’ typological development and considers their civil-society dimension as a contribution to architectural history and local urban development.
Fig. 2: Club Gimnasia y Esgrima, Aldao Branch. Big gymnasium on 2nd and 3rd floor, 2024. Credits: Facundo Fernández.
Methods
In addition to historical source research, the emphasis lies on spatial (i.e., plan-based) analysis supported by graphic and diagrammatic techniques. Plans and sections play a central role, especially red-yellow diagrams, which document architectural change and underscore drawing as a specific mode of expression. This method makes transformations visible that might otherwise be difficult to grasp. The red-yellow plan visualizes the temporal development of a building or urban space and thus offers a deeper understanding of its historical and structural changes. Architecture is understood here as a dynamic process, wherein transformation occurs not only through new technologies but also through adaptation, reuse, and repurposing of existing structures. The focus of this study is on methodically capturing and diachronically examining buildings and urban spaces as ongoing processes, with an emphasis on lifecycle and continuous transformation.
Fig. 3: Club Italiano. Salón Blanco. 2019. Credits: Javier Agustín Rojas.
Results and Findings
The dissertation demonstrates, both theoretically and practically, that spatial challenges in architecture are not to be addressed solely through technological or social-scientific paradigms. Rather, it argues through a typological-architectural lens for the necessity of spatial quality throughout the lifecycle of the built environment. The typological approach is viewed as a catalyst for the development of innovative and sustainable solutions through collective spatial design. It allows for reflection on the transformation of urban spaces and serves as a model for diachronic architecture that responds continuously to social and technological change. Another key finding will be the identification of structural parameters that render architecture legible as a dynamic system of overwriting and transformation—making it usable for design practice and pedagogy. Moreover, the dissertation documents urban transformations in Buenos Aires and presents a previously untold chapter of the city’s history, critically tracing the emergence of the nation and its civil institutions.
Fig. 4: Social and Sport Clubs. Capital City of Buenos Aires. Credits: Sabine Kastner.
Key References
- Martí Arís, Carlos: Variations of Identity. Type in Architecture, Marseille 2021
- Boesch, M., Lupini, L. et al.: Yellowred. On Reused Architecture, Mendrisio Academy Press / Silvana Editoriale, 2017
- Lechner, Andreas: Thinking Design - Blueprint for an Architecture of Typology, Park Books: Zurich 2021
- Lechner, A., Postiglione, G. et al.: Architectural Affordances – Typologies of Umbau, Thymos Books: Naples 2025
- Moneo, Rafael: On Typology, in: Oppositions, No. 13, Cambridge, 1978
- Oechslin, Werner: Premises for the Resumption of the Discussion of Typology, Cambridge, 1986
- Rossi, Aldo: The Architecture of the City, Basel/Berlin/Boston, 2015
- Schoonderbeek, Marcus G. H.: Place-Time Discontinuities. Mapping in Architectural Discourse, PhD Diss., TU Delft, 2015
- Vidler, Anthony: Histories of the Immediate Present, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2008
- Wong, Liliane: Adaptive Reuse in Architecture. A Typological Index, Basel/Berlin/Boston 2023
Contribution to Knowledge
The scholarly value of this dissertation lies in the first comprehensive architectural study of the Clubes Sociales y Deportivos in Argentina, which have previously been overlooked in both local and global architectural discourse. These institutions have primarily been examined from historical or sociological perspectives, but not in terms of their architectural significance. The dissertation addresses this gap by foregrounding these clubs as key examples of social architecture and by analyzing their role within the urban fabric. Furthermore, the research extends beyond current knowledge by interpreting the clubs as continuously evolving typologies, thereby offering new insights into the diachronic development of urban spaces. An additional contribution lies in incorporating perspectives from the Global South into an architectural discourse traditionally dominated by Western narratives. Thus, these institutions are recognized not only as architectural typologies but also as cultural and social agents in a global context.
Abstract (23.06.2025)
This dissertation explores the potential of Clubes Sociales y Deportivos in Argentina as a source of typological insight for contemporary architectural practice, with a particular focus on transformation and adaptive reuse. These hybrid institutions—part civic infrastructure, part improvised commons—serve as paradigms of socially embedded and spatially adaptable architecture. By analyzing their incremental development, the study seeks to derive a typology of buildings that evolve in dialogue with shifting societal conditions, offering a model for what may be termed a diachronic architecture: one that makes the passage of time and structural transformation both legible and operative.
The research examines how these clubs, often born from collective initiative and shaped by non-linear growth, challenge dominant paradigms of design as static authorship. Instead, they embody a logic of continual building, where programmatic flexibility and spatial porosity enable long-term social relevance. Methodologically, the project combines archival analysis, site-based documentation, and typological drawing to identify the structural parameters—both material and organizational—that support sustainable transformation.
Ultimately, the dissertation situates the Clubes Sociales y Deportivos within a broader architectural discourse that interrogates the role of the built environment in either reinforcing or resisting capitalist logics. In doing so, it proposes a renewed architectural typology oriented toward emancipation, resilience, and the ongoing negotiation between collective agency and spatial form.
The research examines how these clubs, often born from collective initiative and shaped by non-linear growth, challenge dominant paradigms of design as static authorship. Instead, they embody a logic of continual building, where programmatic flexibility and spatial porosity enable long-term social relevance. Methodologically, the project combines archival analysis, site-based documentation, and typological drawing to identify the structural parameters—both material and organizational—that support sustainable transformation.
Ultimately, the dissertation situates the Clubes Sociales y Deportivos within a broader architectural discourse that interrogates the role of the built environment in either reinforcing or resisting capitalist logics. In doing so, it proposes a renewed architectural typology oriented toward emancipation, resilience, and the ongoing negotiation between collective agency and spatial form.
Counterintuitive Typologies
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Research Group
Associate Professor
Dr. Andreas Lechner
Copyright
The information provided by the individual institutes and other facilities of Graz University of Technology as well as the other information providers is compiled independently by them, and entered into the system.
© Copyright unless otherwise indicated of Andreas Lechner or the authors or of Graz University of Technology
Privacy Statement
Datenschutzerklärung
For more information on privacy: http://datenschutz.tugraz.at
Supported by cargo.site
Last update: 02/02/2025
Funded by
Austrian Research Promotion Agency
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Counterintuitive Typologies
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TU Graz states explicitly that the transmission of data on the Internet (e.g. by email) can pose security risks. Complete data protection against access by third parties cannot be guaranteed. TU Graz shall assume no liability for any damage incurred as a consequence of such security risks. The use of published contact details by third parties for the purpose of advertising is explicitly prohibited. TU Graz reserves the right to take legal action in the event that unsolicited advertising information is sent (e.g. in the form of spam emails).
Contact
Forschungsgruppe
Counterintuitive Typologies
Graz University of Technology
Institute of Design & Building Typology
Lessingstrasse 25/IV
A-8010 Graz
AUSTRIA
E: andreas.lechner (at) tugraz.at