engineering

Libertador Building

Libertador Building is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Libertador Building rather than just read about it. In short: The Libertador Building (Edificio Libertador) is a government building in Buenos Aires, Argentina, housing the Ministry of Defense. Overview The rapidly growing and modernizing Argentine military of the 1920s, whose budget had risen threefold in the decade, lacked a commensurate headquarters, and had been housed since the late 19th century in a Montserrat neighbourhood structure formerly used by the National Mint.

Key takeaways

Libertador Building belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Libertador Building to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Libertador Building from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Libertador Building (Edificio Libertador) is a government building in Buenos Aires, Argentina, housing the Ministry of Defense.

Overview

The rapidly growing and modernizing Argentine military of the 1920s, whose budget had risen threefold in the decade, lacked a commensurate headquarters, and had been housed since the late 19th century in a Montserrat neighbourhood structure formerly used by the National Mint. Seeking to remedy this, President Agustín Justo (a retired general and former War Minister) ordered the construction of a new War Ministry, and commissioned Carlos Pibernat, chief architect of the General Engineers' Office, for its design. Pibernat's plans, submitted in 1935, called for twin buildings east and west of the presidential offices at the Casa Rosada. Ultimately, however, these plans were dropped in favor of imposing new headquarters on a 3 ha (8 ac) lot east of the Casa Rosada. Designed by Ministry of Public Works architects Enrique Lopardo, Néstor Pastrana, and Héctor Campini, the twenty-story, 82,625 m2 (889,000 ft²) building would be the largest in Argentina up to that point. The building would thus be divided into three sections: two wings to be anchored by a central section staggered outwards in the 230 m (750 ft) long façade, and distinguishable also by a portico and its four additional floors. Construction on the structure began in 1938. President Juan Perón renamed the landmark the Edificio Libertador in 1950 to honor the centennial of the death of General José de San Martín (known locally as the Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru). The tunnels connecting the building to the presidential offices helped save the populist leader's life during the September 16–19, 1955, Revolución Libertadora coup against him, when he took refuge in the War Ministry before being ultimately deposed and exiled. Perón returned to power in 1973, but his break with erstwhile supporters, the far-left Montoneros, led to a violent conflict between them and his successor, Isabel Perón (his widow). Among the most noteworthy attacks in this conflict was the detonation of a car bomb by the Montoneros in front of the Libertador Building on March 15, 1976, which killed a civilian staffer and wounded 29 officers, helping trigger a coup d'état on March 24.

Its importance as the effective nerve center of Argentine government during the subsequent dictatorship was later dramatized by a scene filmed in the building by director Fernando Solanas for his acclaimed 1987 drama, Sur. The Libertador Building was again in the center of military friction in Argentina when, on December 3, 1990, during a state visit by U.S. President George H. W. Bush, far-right Carapintadas faction leader Col. Mohamed Alí Seineldín temporarily seized the headquarters in a failed coup attempt against President Carlos Menem (the revolt was quelled within hours). Originally occupied only by the Army Headquarters, since the late 80s the building also houses the Ministry of Defense and the General Joint Staff, which had until then been located at a smaller building right across the street. Defense Minister Nilda Garré ordered the departure of a Technical Cooperation Mission from the United States Armed Forces on April 20, 2009. The bureau, but for a brief interruption in 1973, had occupied offices in the building's 13th story since the 1960s.

Architectural style and construction

The Libertador Building represents the transition between Beaux-Arts, prevalent in Argentina from 1880 until 1930, and the International Style, a movement beginning to extend outside of Europe and the United States. Designed in the French Renaissance style with its imported slate Mansard roof, which covers the top three floors. Its facades, in the form of a dimensional stone, are covered in a faux stone veneer, made of white cement, marble, and limestone sand. The exterior architecture of the building is of the classic style, uniting the simplicity of its lines and grandiosity in its overall composition, while the style of its interiors correspond more to Stripped Classicism. An example of the latter is the Hall of San Martín with its tall ceilings, symmetric design, and Classical composition, which features floors and walls covered in marble. The building was equipped with Siemens elevators and communications networks, whose installation was overseen by German engineers. Following the installation of security systems, libraries, archives and a tunnel connecting the building to the Casa Rosada, as well as the lengthy and politically sensitive process of assigning wings and pavilions to the myriad Argentine military bureaus, the new War Ministry was inaugurated in April 1943.

References

External links

Argentine Ministry of Defense (in Spanish)

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Libertador Building

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Libertador Building claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Libertador Building before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Libertador Building ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Libertador Building

In research: Libertador Building appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Libertador Building in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Libertador Building is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Buildings and structures completed in 1943, Buildings and structures in Buenos Aires, Government buildings in Argentina, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Libertador Building outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Libertador Building in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Libertador Building means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Libertador Building out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Libertador Building in simple terms?

The Libertador Building (Edificio Libertador) is a government building in Buenos Aires, Argentina, housing the Ministry of Defense. Overview The rapidly growing and modernizing Argentine military of the 1920s, whose budget had risen threefold in the decade, lacked a commensurate headquarters, and h…

Why does Libertador Building matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Libertador Building?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Libertador Building.