ODA converted a decaying parking structure into a public park and Class A office building, replacing the concrete shell with cafés, restaurants, retail, an open-air promenade, offices and a sheltered parking lot. Located in between the racecourse and the popular park “El Rosedal de Palermo,” OLA Palermo will act as an iconic new civic space and important point of connectivity for the city, re-linking the area that today finds itself divided by this very land plot.
The government of the City of Buenos Aires granted the concession of the property known as Ámbito Gigena, for a period of 15 years to the developer BSD Investments. "We have an abandoned concrete infrastructure that does not speak at all with its surroundings nor is useful for the city and its inhabitants," explained the architect and urban planner Álvaro García Resta, secretary of Urban Development of the Government of the City of Buenos Aires. For this reason, the goal is to transform the three-story building into a “multi purpose development.”
Capitalizing on the unique location situated on the edge of the active park, the adaptive reuse project completes the park loop by carrying the green path up the side of the building to the landscaped roof and ramping down the other side, connecting back to the park, bridging two previously divided neighborhoods and connecting these two communities through a new urban experience.
Porosity was central to the design process, not as a stylistic choice but as a catalyst for connection, value, and longevity. This openness dissolves traditional barriers between public and private realms, a gesture that benefits everyone, where the generosity of design extends beyond the building, creating a network of spaces that benefit the city as a whole.
The rooftop provides a continuation of the public park, complimented by a commercial brewery, as well as private terraces for office tenants, positioning the project as a key juxtaposition of the public and private sectors, unified via nature. The striking glass façade acts as a mirror to the sky and green surroundings, creating organic curves that erode away the edges of the existing parking structure.
“This project is a great example of a public-private partnership to create a truly unique typology that will benefit the city and its citizens for decades to come,” said ODA founder Eran Chen. “These types of partnerships are the future. It’s ambitious and takes bravery and bold leadership on all fronts, but when this is completed we will have a park that will become an icon for the city, and quite possibly the coolest office building in the southern hemisphere.”
This sustainable design recycles 80% of the original structure to create a 160,000 square feet of building that bridges the two previously separated neighborhoods. Gigena will include more than 40,000 SF of public terrace and open green spaces carved with pedestrian paths and a 250-car park. The ultimate work and meeting place, the building offers 360-degree views with easy access to the main highway, making it an easy commute and desirable destination. Last year, the Buenos Aires head of government, Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, toured the site with García Resta and the Minister of Economic Development and Production, José Luis Giusti. OLA Palermo, named after the Argentine jockey Gigena, who died while running a race in 1912.
“The treatment given to these open air gardens is that of a wild landscape with native flora. But it won’t be a park made to contemplate, it will be a dynamic area, to stroll and explore ", says García Resta, "The healthiest city is that which has a balanced mixed use of its public space. Where only one thing happens and not many, the number of people making use of these shared spaces is restricted.”
The design team includes ODA as both the design architects and landscape architect, with Aisenson studio as executive architect, BSD Investments, renowned developer with projects in Argentina and United States, and Coinsa, a leading firm with a proven track record in Argentina of more than 7,000,000 SF built work.
At ODA, each large-scale project as an opportunity to enrich urban life, benefiting the entire surrounding area, not just the building's occupants. A core mission guiding ODA is the expansion of the public realm by blurring the lines between private and public spaces. OLA Palermo is a prime example of the belief that 'form should follow experience’, as this transformation redefines how existing urban infrastructure can be reimagined as a civic asset, proving that the life of a building can extend far beyond its original purpose.
