Mar del Plata, that city that never sleeps, is about to recover one of its most precious jewels: the Ariston inn. That four-leaf clover-shaped building standing by the sea, halfway between downtown and the booming Chapadmalal, has new owners and an ambitious plan to restore the splendor it lost decades ago.
The structure, designed by Hungarian Marcel Lajos Breuer, one of the most prominent figures of the Bauhaus School, is the only one of its kind in all of Latin America. Since 2019 it has been a national historic monument, but that did not save it from neglect and mistreatment. Now, a local business group has purchased the property and has already submitted a restoration project to the National Commission of Monuments, Places and Historic Assets.
Mara Knezevic, leading the initiative alongside Miguel Fernández Allué and Marcelo Poczinok (owners of the La Fonte D’Oro chain), assured that the project is backed by experienced professionals and seeks to “provide a profitable and sustainable environment over time to preserve a work of incalculable cultural value.”
The plan not only aims to restore the inn but also to complement it with a dining space and a 36-room hotel on adjacent lots. Architects Jerónimo Mariani and Oscar Cañadas, responsible for the overall project, explained that they aim to “be as heritage-conscious as possible and return to the maximum value of the Ariston design.”
The mistreatment suffered by the Ariston over the years included demolitions of annex buildings and the addition of others, such as a roadside grill. “It was designed as a jewel and then architecture was added without criteria,” lamented Cañadas. Now they seek to recover that structure, restore it, and provide it with public activity complements.
Architects Majo de la Fuente and María Eugenia Millares, specialists in heritage preservation, are part of the team that gave technical shape to the project. De la Fuente stressed that there is no room for indoor activities within the historic building: “Only to recover it as an icon with the strength of cultural heritage.” Cañadas imagines it as a museum piece that can be toured, but with activities in outdoor spaces.
Mariani, for his part, highlighted that adding a hotel and a café will ensure sustainability from other adjacent lots and that “they will generate a backdrop for the central figure that is the inn.” The complex will have significant public space and preservation of the Ariston’s views, including landscape design toward Route 11 and integration with the beach access.
“It will possibly become the new starting point of the south of Mar del Plata,” ventured Mariani, marking a growth that the city has been experiencing, similar to what happened with the Faro area and the Alfar neighborhood, or closer to Miramar with Chapadmalal.
The project has already been submitted to the National Commission of Monuments and “had a very good reception,” according to those involved. Material surveys are planned to determine the state of the structure and the steps toward restoration. The architects anticipate trying to restore the original image of the Ariston with its large windows, curtains, and period furniture.
Cañadas believes the inn could offer tours and function as a study center, with documentation and publications by Breuer. “Let it be a meeting center with a support of bibliography and talks,” he imagined. The investment is in the millions, but the owners are convinced it is worth it to rescue a unique work in the world.
Para mí esto huele a cuento de siempre, loco. Vuelve el trébol de cuatro hojas pero para los chetos nomás. Los mismos garcas de siempre van a explotar el parador Ariston mientras los laburantes ni a la playa podemos ir. Expropiación ya y gestión obrera, carajo. Abajo el negocio inmobiliario.
Para mí esto huele a otro curro de los zurdos: quieren restaurar el Ariston para hacer un museo de la pela. ¡Basura! Yo creo que deberían demolerlo y hacer un hotel 5 estrellas privado, sin mochileros. ¡La propiedad privada manda! Aguante la derecha.