Torre Aqualina

Torre Aqualina (Spanish, "Aqualina Tower") is a high-rise residential building currently (2008) being built in Rosario, province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It is located on the corner of San Luis St. and Alem St., in Barrio Martin, a few blocks south of the National Flag Memorial. [http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=206699 Torre Aqualina] at SkyscraperCity.]

Once finished, the tower will be 125 m high and have 40 storeys devoted to luxury apartments, and 2 basement floors, with a total area of 14,700 m². The apartments will have a view to the city center and to the Paraná River.

At the current pace of construction, Aqualina will be finished in late 2008. For some time, until the completion of the Dolfines Guaraní 1 and 2 towers, it will be the tallest building in Rosario and also in Argentina outside the city of Buenos Aires. [ [http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=220093 Torre Aqualina] at Emporis.]

As of June 2008, the internal structure of the building is ready, and a showroom on the 24th floor is about to be opened to guests.

Design and construction

Torre Aqualina was designed by Mario Roberto Álvarez, a Buenos Aires-born architect who also designed (among others) the Le Parc tower (the tallest residential building in Argentina), the seat of the Rosario branch of the Banco de la Nación Argentina, the intelligent building of the Rosario Commodities Exchange, and the airports of Neuquén and Córdoba.La Capital, 26 November 2004. [http://www.lacapital.com.ar/2004/11/26/ciudad/noticia_153089.shtml "Mario Álvarez: "La torre Aqualina será armónica con su entorno"] .] [ [http://www.palermonline.com.ar/noticias/nota170_leparc.htm "Edificio Le Parc"] at Palermonline.]

The building was developed by the Rosario-based firm OP Developers, [ [http://www.opdevelopers.com/ OP Developers] — Institutional website.] and the construction is in charge of Constructora Sudamericana. [ [http://www.cosud.com/ Constructora Sudamericana] — Institutional website.] [ [http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=43437 Torre Aqualina] at SkyscraperPage.com.]

Criticism

Since the project was first presented, in 2003, Aqualina has been criticized by the citizens in its neighbourhood. The builders have assured that the building will harmonize with its environment. During the construction of the tower, two judicial rulings (similar to injunctions) were interposed to stop the works, reacting to demands that an environmental study was needed to assess the impact of the tower on the surroundings. In 2005, an accusation was also filed against the Municipality of Rosario because it had let the works proceed in spite of these rulings. [Rosario/12, 27 April 2005. [http://www.rosario-12.com.ar/2005/04/27/tciudad.htm "La construcción del edificio más alto de la ciudad sigue su ritmo"] .] The case went up the judicial ladder until, in May 2007, the Supreme Court of Justice of Santa Fe Province ruled that an environmental impact study of Aqualina was not necessary. [La Capital, 12 May 2007. [http://www.lacapital.com.ar/2007/05/12/ciudad/noticia_388303.shtml "Aqualina no necesita un estudio ambiental"] .]

References