line of sight

art: tapeçarias de pastrana

Even though I saw this temporary exhibit at the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga when it opened in June, I returned today for a second look… mainly because these Flemish tapestries deal with two cities I’m taking groups to this year.

Recently restored & back in Portugal for the first time, these Flemish tapestries tell a Where’s Waldo version of the 1471 conquest of Asilah & Tangier by Afonso V. Meant to be read like a comic book, Latin text at the top of each tapestry explains the scene. Images of flags, coats-of-arms, weapons, city walls & even the king add the details.

For history buffs like me, ownership of the tapestries themselves presents the biggest thrill. Here’s what the Fundación de Carlos Amberes has to say about it (my translation):

It is uncertain how the panels arrived in Spain, & various hypotheses exist. On one hand, they could have been taken as booty in the Battle of Toro where Isabel la Católica faced Afonso V for control of the Spanish throne. They also could have been a personal gift from the Portuguese king to Grand Cardinal Mendoza as a gesture of gratitude for good treatment of Portuguese prisoners. It could be that they never even arrived in Portugal, forming part of Prince Felipe I the Fair’s luggage when he arrived in Castilla. With his death in 1506, they could have been sold at cost & bought by the Duke del Infantado. Of all the proposed ideas, the hypothesis which receives the most credit is that they were given to King Felipe II by Rui Gomes da Silva (Prince of Eboli) who came to have the title, among others, first Duke of Pastrana. In 1628, the tapestries were located in the palace of the Dukes del Infantado in Guadalajara. It is known that they were donated in 1664 to the Colegiata de Pastrana by the Mendoza family.

Incredible. The battle scenes are exciting to look at, & I was struck by the fact that the Moroccan cities don’t look Moroccan at all.  They are Flemish interpretations based on what they knew:  northern European medieval towns. Even the fortifications are inaccurate. But that does not make them less breathtaking. The exhibit is in Lisboa until September 12th, then it moves around Portugal & eventually back to Spain.

found: setting the destination blind, lisboa

Photo by Tim Boric, taken at Poço do Bispo, 1978. Profiled on the unmatched Lisboa blog, Bic Laranja.

art: 1930s basque posters

Part of the permanent collection of the Museo de Bellas Artes in Bilbao. Displayed during the excellent 2009 exhibit Novecentismo y Vanguardia (1910-1936). More posters here.

lisboa: cinema europa

[Some material for this post originally published as “keeping it reel 1” on 10 Oct 2007. Older photos from the Lisbon City Archive.]

Since movies with sound grew in popularity during the 1930s & 1940s, it was only appropriate that cinema architecture became a spectacle in itself. Grand productions were meant to be seen in grand theaters. Some of the most stunning Art Deco & Rationalist/Modernist buildings I’ve seen around the world are remnants of that era, but unfortunately they are disappearing at an alarming rate.

Far off any tourist track in Lisboa, Campo do Ourique has wonderful neighborhood vibe… definitely one of the top three areas I’d choose to live in town. In June 2007, I went in search of the Cinema Europa because I’d read that it was in danger of demolition. Archival photos make me wish for a time machine:

What I found was quite different. It’s still standing, so that’s good. According to this article from January 2006, there were plans for restoration but obviously no one did much of anything. Redesigned in 1958 by architect Antero Ferreira, the 1930s building operated as a theater until 1981. Since then it was used as a tv studio… which probably means the interior is gone for good. Plans to demolish the cinema in 2004 were stopped by the city government.

At least the funky  ‘50s mural hasn’t been destroyed. “Europa” is written in Greek letters, & the relief shows part of her story… Zeus transformed into a bull to seduce this beautiful woman. Gentle & tame, Europa couldn’t resist hopping on Zeus’s back for a ride. Big mistake. He whisked Europa off to Crete to have his way with her:

Barricades are in place as of July 2010, photographed by the neighborhood organization SOS Cinema Europa. Luxury condominiums may take the place of this Lisbon landmark soon. My idea is to spread the word so perhaps non-Portuguese speakers can help save the building. The more info online, the better. Força vizinhos!

buenos aires: ciae bibliography

Over the last month, I’ve read more about the Argentine electricity sector than I ever thought possible. Two things surprised me most during this investigation:  an large amount of misinformation across the board & huge gaps in scholarship. Fact checking does not seem to be very important nor does consulting original sources, so errors propagate throughout books & journals. For example, something as basic as the year a company was purchased or the amount of time a concession was extended should be easy to verify. I’m not writing a thesis, but it’s difficult to form opinions with so much misinformation floating around.

Since my partner is currently working on his Ph.D., I have unlimited access to JSTOR & other academic journals. Yea! The early period of the development of electricity is covered well, up until early 1960s & Frondizi. After that, there is a break in academic studies of about 20 years until Menem’s privatizations in the 1990s. Someone should take the initiative & fill the gap.

Best discoveries: The CIAE began as an Argentine-Italian joint venture with a lesser proportion of Swiss capital than is commonly recognized. “Lombardy Romanesque” does not adequately define Juan Chiogna’s architecture. The CIAE invested heavily in infrastructure until the 1940s & were content with their average 10% market share. No PDF of the Informe Rodríguez Conde can be found online, & no list of structures remaining has been compiled. No doubt there are more revelations to be uncovered…

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Below is a list of all the books, articles & URLs used for researching this series:

Alemanes en la Arquitectura Rioplatense, 2005. Coordinado por Patricia Méndez & Florencia Barcina (CEDODAL – Centro de Documentación de Arte y Arquitectura Latinoamericana).

Azpiazu, Daniel. Agua y energía: mapa de situación y problemáticas regulatorias de los servicios públicos en el interior del país / Daniel Azpiazu ; Nicolás Bonofiglio ; Carolina Nahón – 1a ed. – Buenos Aires:  FLACSO – Fac. Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, 2008.

Barbero, María Inés, Norma Lanciotti & Maria Cristina Wirth. Capital Extranjero Y Gestión Local. La Compañía:  Ítalo Argentina De Electricidad. 1912-1950. Versión Preliminar, 1 de abril de 2009. VII Coloquio de Historia de Empresas. Historia del Sector Eléctrico en la Argentina. Evolución, Políticas Y Empresas. The Universidad de San Andrés, Centro de Estudios de Historia y Desarrollo de Empresas.

Barcina , Florencia. Recuerdos de Italia en la Luz Porteña: El Patrimonio de la Electricidad, Usinas y Subestaciones Transformadoras de la Compañía Italo-Argentina de Electricidad en la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Didáctica e Interpretación del Patrimonio Industrial. Gijón: INCUNA, 2005.

Bussola, Diego.  As empresas de serviços públicos na Argentina (1880-2000), Análise Social, vol. XLIII (4.º), 2008, 721-747.

Cerutti, Leandro & Martín Schrod. Crisis del Sistema Eléctrico Argentino:  Causas y Perspectivas.

Compañía Italo Argentina de Electricidad. Evolución y Desarrollo de la Compañía Italo Argentina de Electricidad en los Primeros Veinte Años de su Actividad. Buenos Aires, 1931.

Corthell , Elmer L. Two Years in Argentine as the Consulting Engineer of National Public Works, Bulletin of the American Geographical Society, Vol. 35, No. 5 (1903), pp. 439-471.

Dalla-Corte Caballero, Gabriela. Empresas, Instituciones y Red Social: La Compañía Hispanoamericana de Electricidad (CHADE) entre Barcelona y Buenos Aires, Revista de Indias (2006) vol. LXVI, num. 237.

Genta , Guillermo. Política y Servicios Públicos: El Caso del Servicio Público de Electricidad de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires (desde su orígenes hasta su estatización:  1887-1962), Oct 2006, FLACSO.

Guía Patrimonio Cultural de Buenos Aires #6—Arquitectura Industrial, 2006. Investigación y textos: Jorge D. Tartarini (Dirección General de Patrimonio, Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires).

http://arquitectos-italianos-buenos-aires.blogspot.com Consulted 07 Jul 2010.

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esc%C3%A1ndalo_de_la_CHADE Consulted 02 Jul 2010.

http://revista-zoom.com.ar/articulo1057.html Consulted 02 Aug 2010. Opinions, wrong facts.

http://www.argentinaoculta.com/cade.htm Consulted 13 Aug 2010.

http://www.desaparecidos.org/arg/victimas/c/casariegoj/ Consulted 13 Aug 2010.

http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=963956 (Usina de la Música)

http://www.recoletacemetery.com Consulted 03 Jul 2010.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=340212 (Usina de la Música)

Italianos en la Arquitectura Argentina, 2004. Coordinado por Patricia Méndez (CEDODAL – Centro de Documentación de Arte y Arquitectura Latinoamericana).

Kupper, Patrick and Tobias Wildi, Motor-Columbus from 1895 to 2006:  111 years of Motor-Colombus, 2006.

Liemur, Jorge Francisco & Fernando Aliata, compiladores. Diccionario de Arquitectura en la Argentina (Clarín, 2004).

Luces Argentinas:  Una Historia de la Electricidad en Nuestro País, director Félix Luna, Edesur (2002)  http://www.edesur.com.ar/conozca_edesur/fr_conozca_edesur.htm

Miradas sobre el Patrimonio Industrial, 2007. Coordinado por Patricia Méndez & Florencia Barcina (CEDODAL – Centro de Documentación de Arte y Arquitectura Latinoamericana).

Petriella, Dionisio and Sosa Miatello, Sara. Diccionario Biográfico Italo-Argentino. Buenos Aires: Asociación Dante Alighieri, 1976.

Pírez , Pedro. The management of urban services in the city of Buenos Aires, Service Provision in Cities:  Environment and Urbanization, Vol. 10, No. 2, October 1998.

Pírez, Pedro. Relaciones de poder y modelos de gestión: la energía eléctrica en la ciudad de Buenos Aires, 1900-1960, Desarrollo Económico, Vol. 40, No. 157 (Apr -Jun 2000), pp. 97-120.

Romero, Carlos Adrián. Regulación e Inversiones en el Sector Eléctrico Argentino, Sept. 1998. Prepared for the Project “Crecimiento, empleo y equidad: América Latina en los años noventa” (HOL/97/6034).

Segreto, Luciano. Financing the Electric Industry Worldwide:  Strategy and Structure of the Swiss Electric Holding Companies, 1895-1945, Business and Economic History, Vol. 23 (1), Fall 1994.

Villulla, Carlos. Doctrinas Economicas del Mercado Eléctrico. III Conferencia Politica Nacional Partido Socialista de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires.

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CIAE series: Electricity timeline • Precedent & foundation • Swiss holding companies • Architecture 1 2 3 4 • Expansion • Scandal • Fade to black • Building list • Bibliography

buenos aires: ciae building list / inventario

A list of all buildings which once belonged to the Compañía Italo-Argentina de Electricidad must exist somewhere in old company archives. But after being absorbed by SEGBA in 1979, it’s anyone’s guess as to where that list may be. And how many of those structures have been demolished since then? Reading & researching the CIAE’s crazy history over the past month, I also noticed that there is no online source dedicated to the CIAE. This must change.

Documenting is the first step in preserving the architectural heritage of Buenos Aires, so I’m asking anyone interested to help make this list complete. If you have a CIAE structure in your neighborhood not mentioned below, leave a comment with the exact address, barrio, any visible identification (like a substation number). Even better, send a photo to: ciae@wrighton.com.ar. Remember there were an estimated 200 substations built & there are only 32 on the list. Special help is requested from residents of Avellaneda, Lomas de Zamora & Quilmes. By compiling a list, residents may start to value this important piece of local history. Thanks for your help!

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Llamado a la solidaridad!! Seguramente existe un inventario de todos los edificios que pertecenían a la Compañía Italo-Argentina de Electricidad en algun archivo viejo de la empresa. Sin embargo puede ser poco probable que exista después de la compra por la junta militar en 1979. Y cuantas de esas estructuras demolieran desde entonces? Al leer e investigar la historia complicada de la Ítalo durante este último mes, me di cuenta que tampoco hay mucha información en internet. Hay que cambiar eso.

Documentar es el primer paso en preservar el patrimonio arquitectónico de Buenos Aires, por eso es que les pido a quienes les interesa ayudarme aportar informacion. Si hay algun edificio de la CIAE en tu barrio que no figura en el listado, por favor dejá un comentario con la dirección exacta, el barrio dónde se encuentra o alguna identificación que tiene (por ejemplo, el número de subestación). Aún mejor, mandá una foto a: ciae@wrighton.com.ar. Acuerdense que había unas 200 subestaciónes construidas y sólo hay 32 en el listado. Sobre todo pido ayuda de los vecinos de Avellaneda, Lomas de Zamora y Quilmes. Al compilar estos datos, estaremos valorando nuestra historia local mucho más. Les agradezco!

Largest structures

Usina Pedro de Mendoza, Avenida Pedro de Mendoza 501 • La Boca – construction 1914-16 – Arq. Juan Chiogna [pics + info]

Usina Doctor Carlos Givogri, Avenida T. Edison 2701, 6º Espigón • Puerto – 1928 (projected), 1930-33 (construction) – Arq. José Molinari [pics + info]

Substations

Subusina Melo (I), Pacheco de Melo 3031 • Recoleta (1914, later demolished) [pic]

Subusina Balcarce (II), Balcarce 547 • Monserrat (partially demolished in 1962) [pic]

Subusina Montevideo (III or V?), Montevideo 919 • Recoleta [pic]

Subusina Tres Sargentos (IV), Tres Sargentos 352 • Retiro (1915) [pic]

Subusina Moreno (III or V?), Moreno 1808 • Balvanera (95% demolished) [pic]

Subusina San Antonio (VI), San Antonio 1077 • Barracas (also marked Subestación #30) [pic]

Subusina Estados Unidos, Estados Unidos 2242 • San Cristóbal, (1931) [pic]

Subusina Tucumán, Tucumán 2453 • Balvanera, (1931) [pic]

Medium-size buildings with various usage

Benito Quinquela Martín 1366 (also listed as Azara 1240) • Barracas [pic]

Gascón 1046 • Palermo (original use unknown, currently Disco América) [pic]

Benito Pérez Galdós 37 • La Boca (1928) [pic]

Humahuaca 4515 • Almagro [no pic]

Small substations (by neighborhood)

Avenida de los Italianos y Emma de la Barra • Puerto Madero [no pic]

Avenida Calabria y Blvd Rosario Vera Peñaloza • Puerto Madero [no pic]

Margen Este del Dique I • Puerto Madero [no pic]

Costanera Sur • Puerto Madero (#50) [pic]

Costanera Sur • Puerto Madero (#89) [no pic]

Pedro de Mendoza 1515 • La Boca [no pic]

Palos 755 • La Boca [no pic]

Gualeguay 378 • La Boca [no pic]

Chenaut 1983 • Palermo [pic]

Parque 3 de Febrero • Palermo [no pic]

Avenida Figueroa Alcorta (3800 block) • Palermo [no pic]

Fray Justo María de Oro 2674 • Palermo [no pic]

Julián Álvarez 1714 • Palermo [pic]

Paraguay 4511 • Palermo [pic]

Gorostiaga 1660 • Palermo [pic]

Gorostiaga ¿#? • Palermo [pic]

Brandsen s/n (2600 megablock) • Barracas (#67) [pic]

Australia 1366 • Barracas [no pic]

Wenceslao Villafañe 1247 • Barracas (#23) [pic]

José Salmún Feijóo 760 • Barracas (#28) [no pic]

Avenida Pedro de Mendoza, Riachuelo • Barracas [pic]

Pedro Chutro 2510 • Parque Patricios (labeled ex-141) [pic]

Avenida San Juan 219 • San Telmo [no pic]

Brasil 537/539 • San Telmo (#48) [pic]

Asamblea 1468 • Parque Chacabuco [no pic]

Federico Lacroze 3574 • Chacarita [no pic]

Hipólito Yrigoyen 2925 • Balvanera [no pic]

Agrelo 3435 • Almagro (#59) [pic]

San José 1580 • Constitución (#45) [no pic]

Yerbal 1731 • Flores [no pic]

Venancio Flores 3693 • Floresta [no pic]

Iberlucea Del Valle 4283 • Remedios de Escalada [pic]

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CIAE series: Electricity timeline • Precedent & foundation • Swiss holding companies • Architecture 1 2 3 4 • Expansion • Scandal • Fade to black • Building list • Bibliography

buenos aires: ciae, fade to black

The 1940s presented a series of new problems for the electricity sector. Perón’s dual policy of fixing rates & massive industrialization led to demands the network was unable to meet. To overcome problems & oversee supply, the ministry Agua & Energia de la Nación was created in 1947. Soon followed a 1949 constitution clause to nationalize all public utilities. Perón never followed through with nationalization, but the idea had been planted firmly in everyone’s mind.

The military regime which followed Perón voided the 1949 constitution as well as the scandalous 1936 concession extensions. The CIAE returned to its 50-year agreement, set to expire in 1962. Without extension, the original CADE-CHADE-CATE concession expired that very year (1957). Frondizi‘s development-centered government had to solve problems quickly; constant blackouts were a reminder that the CATE had not lived up to terms of their 1907 concession.

The solution was the creation of a new organization in 1958, 80% state-owned & 20% private. The Servicios Eléctricos del Gran Buenos Aires (SEGBA) merged the capital city with surrounding suburbs in an attempt to provide better administration & service. Three years later, the government purchased all private shares. But with democracy & dictatorship rotating like a revolving door during the 1960s & 1970s, a coherent policy for providing electricity failed to develop.

For undetermined reasons, Frondizi granted the CIAE an indefinite period for its concession one year before the original agreement was set to expire. He also added that the CIAE could approach the government for nationalization at a time of their choice. Possible reasons? Perhaps because they offered mainly residential service, perhaps because of their Swiss connections & Frondizi’s intention to secure foreign investment. In fact, conflicting information abounds here… some articles claim that the 1930s concession remained valid. Whatever the reason, the CIAE continued to operate during some of the most difficult periods in Argentine history. Juan Carosio died in 1959, & CEO Agustín Zamboni became company president until passing away in 1969.

During his third presidency, Perón’s idea of nationalizing the CIAE returned as part of a single state organization responsible for national electricity (Empresa Nacional de Energía). The ENE never formed, but Isabel Perón continued acquisition of the CIAE. Frondizi’s promise of a government buyout was decreed null & void in 1976 just before a military coup ousted Isabel from office.

De facto President Jorge Videla appointed former CIAE director José Martínez de Hoz as Economic Minister… very convenient since he authorized the 1979 purchase of the CIAE for about U$S 300 million. The company’s net worth had been valued four years earlier at only U$S 35 million. Someone benefited from adding an extra zero, no doubt Martínez de Hoz. Juan Carlos Casariego, director of foreign investment for the Ministry of Economy & subordinate to Martínez de Hoz, voiced his opinion that the purchase price was excessive (photo below, second from left). On 15 Jun 1977 Casariego was kidnapped, held for ransom & eventually murdered. His daughter opened a case in 2006 accusing Martínez de Hoz as complicit in Casariego’s disappearance.

The Compañía Italo-Argentina de Electricidad became part of SEGBA in 1979. After the restoration of democracy, a Congressional commission investigated the elevated sale price & found wrongdoing but no punishment was ever carried out. During the Menem decade SEGBA was privatized into three companies known today as EDENOR, EDESUR & EDELAP… their names have replaced those of the CIAE on most of Chiogna’s architecture. A 67 year legacy came to a bitter end, but not without leaving an unforgettable mark on the city of Buenos Aires.

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CIAE series: Electricity timeline • Precedent & foundation • Swiss holding companies • Architecture 1 2 3 4 • Expansion • Scandal • Fade to black • Building list • Bibliography

buenos aires: ciae scandal

During the 1920s, the UCR policital party (Unión Cívica Radical) attempted to investigate the pricing structure for electrical companies which serviced Buenos Aires.  While being accused of price gouging, the CIAE & the CHADE attempted to extend their 50-year concessions & renegotiate prices. Both discussions came to a halt in 1930 when General José Félix Uriburu ousted President-elect Hipólito Yrigoyen in the first coup d’etat in Argentine history. Since Yrigoyen represented the UCR, most of the party took the overthrow personally & withdrew from politics. An active UCR splinter faction had little power since Uriburu disbanded the legislative body of Buenos Aires for two years.

The military coup signaled the beginning of what came to be known as the década infame:  a decade where corruption reached extraordinary levels, elections were rigged, & civil rights were suppressed… a final attempt by the upper class to remain in power. When General Agustín P. Justo assumed the presidency in 1932, the main opposition Socialist Party took over some of the former UCR agenda. Germinal Rodríguez, head of the Public Services Commission, accused both electrical companies of overcharging & used a recent Córdoba ruling to take them to court.

But in 1933 Rodríguez & the PSC suddenly reversed their decision & created a conciliatory commission. Deans of the schools of law, economics & engineering from the University of Buenos Aires participated in negotiations. What could motivate such a quick change of opinion? It was later discovered that Rodríguez opened an account at City Bank & large sums of money were being deposited by the CHADE’s holding company SOFINA. The bribes worked wonders… so instead of sanctions, the commission granted approval for a rate increase. The following year, the BA mayor vetoed the commission’s ruling & brought to light all parties involved. The CHADE was fined 87 million pesos (almost U$S 300 million or the 2010 equivalent of U$S 4.8 billion) but managed to avoid payment.

Electric companies continued to demand rate hikes, but in 1935 the Socialists took away their dual price structure. Industry could not be charged more than the maximum individual consumer rate. By 1936, the UCR resolved internal difficulties & beat the Socialists in elections. Top on their agenda was unfinished business from the 1920s. That same year, the CHADE switched hands yet again. Due to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, the company was made 100% Argentine in order to save capital. To denote the change, they adopted a new name: the Compañía Argentina de Electricidad (CADE). Although confusing, remember that the CATE, the CHADE & the CADE are all the same company & whatever agreements they made as the largest provider of electricity were also adopted by the CIAE.

During creation of the CADE, the director of SOFINA traveled to Buenos Aires. He wanted a 25-year extension of the original 1907 CATE concession… in other words, guaranteed service until 1982 with another 25 year optional extension to 2007. Nor did they want to hand over facilities to the city at the concession’s end as initially promised. In order to grease the wheels, SOFINA bribed leading members of the UCR including soon-to-be President Marcelo T. de Alvear who needed cash for his campaign. By the end of 1936, the electric companies got most of what they wanted… an extension of their original contract by 15 years & permission to raise rates.

In 1943, the political situation changed again with another military coup. As President, General Ramírez authorized creation of a commission to investigate the obvious corruption back in 1936. Its findings were published in 1944 as the Informe Rodríguez Conde, named for the chief investigator. As a result of the report, the CADE was supposed to reduce rates & the concession extension was to be revoked. But another political change came along:  Perón. He ordered all public copies of the Rodríguez Conde report destroyed, & none of the measures recommended by Rodríguez Conde were adopted. Fortunately a number of copies of the report remained in private hands & was officially re-published in 1956.

During the Perón years, personal consumption increased as rates decreased dramatically, but funds were scarce for maintenance & upgrades. The CIAE managed to weather the storm, mainly because they focused on personal consumption rather than industry. But their reputation had been tarnished & were to become involved their own scandal…

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CIAE series: Electricity timeline • Precedent & foundation • Swiss holding companies • Architecture 1 2 3 4 • Expansion • Scandal • Fade to black • Building list • Bibliography

buenos aires: ciae expansion

After service began in 1914, the CIAE continued to grow as demand increased. They invested heavily in infrastructure–approximately 75-85%  of profits until 1950. Their main competition, the CATE, had financial difficulties in Europe after World War I, & in 1920 company control passed to the Belgian holding company Société Financière de Transports et d’Entreprises Industrielles (SOFINA). To mark the change, the CATE became the Compañía Hispanoamericana de Electricidad (CHADE) with head offices in Barcelona & Madrid. Large investment kept the CHADE as the largest supplier of electricity in Buenos Aires, especially after the 1929 opening of a super-generator port complex:

The 1930s was expected to usher in a new era of demand from the purchase of radios & refrigerators. However, serious economic repercussions from the 1929 crisis kept consumption from skyrocketing. The CIAE followed the CHADE with a new generator of their own in 1933 on the opposite dock but without Chiogna’s trademark Italian style. The Usina Doctor Carlos Givogri, designed by José Molinari used the iconography of the times–a little Art Deco mixed with some Monumentalism. In the 1960s, it was jokingly christened Nuestra Señora de Electricidad at the School of Architecture as a reference to its basilica-like appearance:

A few years earlier, three additional secondary generators had been built; however, only the Pérez Galdós installation across from the main generator in La Boca retained the original architectural branding of the CIAE’s early years. Estados Unidos (awesome eagles) & Tucumán subusinas pictured below:

Financially, the CIAE made such a profit in its early years & attracted so many new investors that the initial start-up loan of $20 million from Columbus was paid off in 1924. From 1929-36, they obtained new debt by borrowing $22 million (28% of their net worth)… mainly for the construction of the super-usina. Most of the new loan was paid off quickly & the CIAE enjoyed good financial standing.

But during the 1930s, little new capital from investors or Motor-Columbus was acquired. Profit margins leveled off at about 8% in terms of local currency & decreased dramatically in Swiss Francs. The CIAE also paid around 17% of its net profit in taxes & concession agreements… all this before stockholders were paid any dividends.  In other words, the CIAE maintained itself well–quite an accomplishment in Argentina–but never saw large growth after its first 15-20 years of operation.

When everyone was suffering after the 1929 stock market crash, competitor CHADE earned profits of 10% annually. The decrease in personal consumption was offset by industrial growth + a dual pricing structure… industry was charged a lot more than individual consumers. Although the CIAE did not supply big industry, making considerable profit during a worldwide depression & politicial troubles in Argentina made everyone question their operation & that of the CHADE…

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CIAE series: Electricity timeline • Precedent & foundation • Swiss holding companies • Architecture 1 2 3 4 • Expansion • Scandal • Fade to black • Building list • Bibliography

buenos aires: ciae architecture 4

The smallest scale CIAE structures designed by Juan Chiogna are nothing more than decorative boxes. Transformer substations were needed to distribute electricity throughout the city… in order to overcome cable resistance, transformers are used to ramp up the voltage before sending it to substations where it is then converted back to regular voltage for local consumption.

As mentioned previously, the CIAE did not provide electricity for trolleys (the largest consumers in the early 20^th century prior to massive industrialization in the 1940s) so substations could be small & located in the neighborhoods they served. The majority are wedged in between residential lots silently disintegrating while people walk by unaware of their existence. Usually on the order of 4 x 6 m, they are frequently abused by their neighbors… painted over, chipped into, or used for graffiti:

Interesting although fairly repetitive examples are free-standing substations found along the city’s edge with the waterfront, either along the Río de la Plata (Palermo, Puerto Madero) or the Riachuelo (La Boca, Barracas):

If an attendant was needed, living quarters were built on the premises like at Julián Alvarez & Paraguay (photos below). These are larger than the 4×6 box & a bit more decorative but not on the same scale as the subusinas. An estimated 200 substations dot Buenos Aires & its southern suburbs although no complete list of remaining structures currently exists:

A company report map published in 1931 shows an extensive network throughout the city branching from major generators. The problem with the map is that it is more decorative than informative… Buenos Aires is tilted at an odd angle & exact substation locations are impossible to determine. Surely a list exists in some company archive. In the meantime, they remain to be discovered by anyone walking around Buenos Aires:

Two noteworthy substations which are more decorative than most are located in Palermo & have mini-towers:  Chenaut 1983 & Gorostiaga 1660. Unfortunately the first location has a kiosk blocking the view, & the stained glass in the second location is damaged. But both are unique creations by Chiogna:

Romanesque Revival remained popular in Buenos Aires through the 1930’s, mainly seen in churches like Alejandro Christophersen’s Basílica Santuario Santa Rosa de Lima (Avenida Belgrano 2208) & J.C. Massa’s Parroquia Tránsito de la Virgen (Perón 3333). Even the central post office as far away as the city of Tucumán followed the trend. Juan Chiogna was not responsible for CIAE architecture during the company’s expansion in the 1930′s. In fact, no attempt was made to maintain the original style, but that’s jumping ahead…

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CIAE series: Electricity timeline • Precedent & foundation • Swiss holding companies • Architecture 1 2 3 4 • Expansion • Scandal • Fade to black • Building list • Bibliography