In building a stable, polo player and model Nacho Figueras wasn’t seeking to just create a shelter—he wanted to create a work of art. Located 45 minutes outside Buenos Aires in the town of General Rodriguez, the structure, which was featured in AD in 2017 , takes the spotlight in a new book, Figueras Polo Stables ( $50, Oscar Riera Ojeda ). Architect Juan Ignacio Ramos of Estudio Ramos, much like Frank Lloyd Wright, took inspiration from the landscape for the stables: the pampas, the lowland plains of Argentina, are known for their vast, flat vistas, and Ramos drew upon this horizontality for the low-slung structures. But he also brought a modern sensibility, looking to the geometric monumentality of Mies Van Der Rohe’s Barcelona Pavilion, Luis Barragán’s use of water, and Tadao Ando’s work in concrete. The result is a sculptural building serves as much as an aesthetic function as it does practical ones—it is, after all, a home for 44 horses and their trainers, as well as a polo arena. “Some architectural endeavours transcend designed beauty. Their purpose, in and of itself, requires repose, serenity, poetry,” writes author Byron Hawes in the book. “Estudio Ramos’ Figueras Stables is just such a place; a respite from the everyday possessed of a deep-seated relationship with its environment, and an intuitive sense of purpose.”
Take a peek inside the stables below.
A reflecting pool sits in the middle of the stables.
A spiral staircase leads to the grassy roof.
Light and shadow play an important role in the structure.
The stables glow at night.
Concrete meets the natural landscape.
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