Before HSBC of Norman Foster, there was the Suspended Office Building by the Argentinian Amancio Williams (1913-1989). The desire to achieve the free-open plan is evidenced in the plans and expressed in the exterior expressions. William's work was first introduced to me by Álvaro Malo through another interesting project called the House over the Brook in Mar del Plata (1943-45), with a base structural archway spanning 19 meters. The photo of the ascending arch stairway from the creek reminds me of Rafael Viñoly's Pittsburgh Convention Center. Is it pure coincidence due to a problem in search of an efficient solution? Or perhaps a subconscious connection between the two architects who were both trained at the University of Buenos Aires some 20 years apart. And the ethos of problem-solving through clarity and care in structural simplicity is engrained in the education of both?
