Mario Roberto Álvarez
| Mario Roberto Álvarez | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
November 14, 1913 Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Died | November 5, 2011 (aged 97) Buenos Aires |
| Nationality | Argentine |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Buildings | Le Parc tower, Hilton Buenos Aires, Salto Grande Dam, Teatro General San Martín, Ingeniero Aeronáutico Ambrosio L.V. Taravella International Airport |
Mario Roberto Álvarez (November 14, 1913 – November 5, 2011) was an Argentine architect.
Álvarez was born in Buenos Aires in 1913, to Juana Elissamburu and Jerónimo Álvarez. He enrolled at the University of Buenos Aires School of Architecture in 1932, and graduated with Gold Medal honors in 1936. He married Jorgelina Ortiz de Rozas, and they had two children.
His first design was that of the private San Martín Medical Group's new hospital (in the northwestern Buenos Aires suburb of San Martín), in 1937. The award of an Ader Scholarship in 1938 by his alma mater's School of Exact Sciences allowed Álvarez to study and work in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, during which time he gained experience collaborating on various public housing and public hospital projects.
He returned to Argentina in 1939 and was named Director of Architecture for the important Buenos Aires suburb of Avellaneda, in 1942. Joining colleagues Leonardo Kopiloff and Eduardo T. Santoro, he established MRA in 1947. The firm's first major contract would be in 1954 with their design for the municipal Teatro General San Martín, the largest center for the stage in Argentina. Its success upon completion in 1960 helped secure MRA the design for the adjoining Centro Cultural General San Martín, built between 1962 and 1970. Other notable projects of Álvarez's in subsequent years included the Hernandarias Subfluvial Tunnel (completed in 1969), the Colón Opera House's labyrinthine production facilities (1972), the Buenos Aires headquarters for the state steel concern, Somisa (1977), the Salto Grande Dam (1979) and numerous office buildings, including the annex (1977) and the offices of IBM's Latin American division (1980). He also became a leading designer of residential and hotel properties in Punta del Este, a Uruguayan seaside city popular among Argentine vacationers. Álvarez was inducted into the American Institute of Architects as an honorary member in 1976.
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