In front of the National Congress, the façade of the building that housed the Confitería del Molino, an architectural icon of our city, was an open wound for many years in the heritage of Buenos Aires. Its constant deterioration -it closed in 1997- and in front of the work space of the legislators of our country, was another clear example of the regression that hurts Argentine culture.
But we must say, the most dire predictions were reversed in a hopeful present. In 2014 its expropriation was approved and in 2018 the Administrative Commission of the Del Molino Building took possession of the property to begin the rescue of its former splendor. Said work progressed after drawing up a Comprehensive Restoration Plan that includes the material and immaterial dimension of the cultural assets gathered there since the inauguration of the confectionery more than a century ago, on July 9, 1916, on the Centennial of our Independence.
To advance with this task it was necessary to go to master craftsmen and craftwomen of numerous trades; from bricklayers to specialists in ceramics, stained glass, wood, marble, iron and other materials. To recover the stained glass windows and the ornamental cresting that topped the building, lost years ago, they had to resort to old photographs, even taken by individuals, in a great success of the heritage management carried out by an interdisciplinary team.
Another piece of information of interest, Paula Farina Ruiz -external stained glass advisor-, in collaboration with Catalan specialists Sílvia Cañellas and Núria Gil Farré, studied in depth the stained glass windows in the dome and the main hall, which display scenes of Don Quixote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, and discovered that the nine compositions are based on the version illustrated with lithographs by the Frenchman Gustave Doré (1832-1883).
The plan promises a site museum and the "De las Aspas" (“Of the blades”) cultural center, alluding to those that gave life to the old flour mill that worked on the site since viceregal times and the one that gave identity to the confectionery, turning to the high in front of its building, today already restored.
We invite you to enjoy an interesting dialogue between the Argentine architect Guillermo García, cultural heritage advisor for Del Molino building, and his Barcelona counterpart, the architect Xavier Villanueva, director of works for the Casa Batlló, the creation of Gaudí. The video allows us to compare both works of architectural art of modernism of the early twentieth century, and its recovery: watch video
Photographs: Guadalupe Alonso (Administrative Commission - Edificio del Molino)