Passion for the art of living
Eugenia Rodriguez Hertz: Just as in ancient times the parchments were scraped to be used again, but the traces of what was previously written remained, I feel my works like a palimpsest. They tell about a past that we do not know, or perhaps can only imagine a little, but that are inevitably part of our present. PH Baires is a renovation and expansion project. It is an internal corridor house that is located in the center of the city, in the oldest part. We found that it had already been intervened several times and had lost the original meaning of a chorizo house, a typical typology of the time in which it was built. The premise was to reinvent the spirit of these spaces that time seemed to have left soulless.
A good part of what was found were extensions motivated by the need to add spaces to the original home, meeting only the demand to provide shelter for several people. Resulting in the addition of spaces continuing without any criteria or hierarchy. As a first intervention we decided to demolish practically half of it, due to its building condition and the lack of outdoor space. The renovation and expansion was carried out with materials that were collected from demolitions, purchases and sales or that were simply abandoned. The project was conceived as a unique and unrepeatable piece where the chance of the encounter plays a crucial role.
At the same time, we sought to recover a constructive spirit associated with the traditional, trades that have been lost, and reinterpret techniques with a contemporary look. Giving importance to manual, artisanal and sensible work. In this sense, he considers that the work does not remain in the nostalgia of a past that is no longer there, rather it has to do with recovering certain elements, learning in each work to do with what there is, which for me is an art and at the same time At the same time, it is my passion, to re-signify and re-functionalize spaces with a focus on current ways of living. All these questions affect the spirit, not only of Ph. Baires in particular, but of my passionate search to find sensitive ways of living. Living is the trace of life. To live is to leave a mark.
