Pedro Benoit
Encyclopedia
Pedro Benoit was an Argentine architect, engineer and urbanist best known for designing the layout of the city of La Plata
.
in 1836 to María Josefa de las Mercedes Leyes and Pierre Benoit, an French émigré
who had left his homeland following the Bourbon Restoration
. His father, a trained architect
, engineer
and topographer instilled his interests in his son, who enrolled in 1850 at the Topography and Geodesics School of the Department of Engineering of the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina's largest.
Gaining his first professional experience designing pontoon bridges for the Argentine military, Benoit was contracted as a surveyor
for the city of Buenos Aires. In this capacity, in 1858 he planned the first road to Ensenada
, a harbor town 35 miles (56 km) south of Buenos Aires. The young surveyor was inducted into a local Freemason lodge in 1858 and the following year, he was commissioned by prominent local landowner Juan Dillon to design the urban layout for what became Merlo
(a suburb west of Buenos Aires). Benoit designed Merlo following patterns similar to those used by Pierre L'Enfant to design Washington, DC. Benoit relocated to the city he helped build, designing for it the first school and the Church of Our Lady of Mercy in 1863, still the city's central Roman Catholic church; Benoit's professed Freemasonry caused the Bishop of Buenos Aires, Mariano José Escalada, to deny the new parish a priest, however.
Benoit continued his duties as Director of the Departament of Topography, planning the rectification of the Riachuelo River flowing south of Buenos Aires, then prone to flooding. His diverse training allowed Benoit an appointment to Merlo's Committee on Public Health in 1867, when he designed the Santa Isabel Cemetery. Remaining at the Topography Department, he plotted a tramway
line between Ensenada
and Tolosa, two small cities southeast of Buenos Aires. A prominent Spanish Argentine
landowner, Manuel Rodríguez Fragio, commissioned Benoit in 1872 to design the master plan for another new city, Ituzaingó
(not far from Merlo), and towards 1880, Benoit returned to Buenos Aires to help design the new rampart
s for what would later become Puerto Madero
. These efforts earned him the honor of Lieutenant Colonel of the Argentine Corps of Engineers.
. Facing ongoing secessionist pressures from his constituency, Governor Rocha proposed the creation of a new provincial capital in replacement of the city of Buenos Aires, which was federalized as the nation's capital in 1880. The proposal, useful to the mollification of the province's Independence-leaning gentry, was quickly approved by Congress.
Governor Rocha commissioned Benoit to plan the new city, which became the renowned urbanist's most ambitious project. Named La Plata
after its mention in José Hernández's epic Martín Fierro
, the city was planned by Benoit in a regular pattern of diagonals and precisely-placed squares.
Benoit, as technical director of the urbanist project, designed most of the early public buildings in La Plata, as well. His designs for the La Plata Observatory
, Economy Ministry, Police Headquarters, Engineering Department and Governors' Offices were completed shortly after the city's November 19, 1882, christening. Giving the city its first house of worship, the Church of Saint Pontian, Benoit designed the Cathedral of La Plata
with Ernesto Meyer (the architect of the German Renaissance revivalist City Hall) in 1884. The Neogothic cathedral, the second-largest of its kind in the world, was only completed in 1999. The tireless urbanist was also commissioned to design master plans for Quilmes
, San Pedro
and Mercedes
, all important cities in the Province of Buenos Aires.
His master plan for the city earned Benoit two gold medals at the 1889 Paris Universal Exposition, where it was honored as the "City of the Future." Benoit was elected to the La Plata City Council the following year, during which he designed his city's great seal, and as Mayor in 1893. Keeping a busy schedule, he also accepted a post as the Director of the Provincial Mortgage Bank and as the first Dean of the School of Engineering in the newly created University of La Plata, in 1897.
The strain proved too much for Benoit, however, who died suddenly that year, at age 61. He is buried in La Recoleta Cemetery
.
La Plata
La Plata is the capital city of the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and of La Plata partido. According to the , the city proper has a population of 574,369 and its metropolitan area has 694,253 inhabitants....
.
Life and times
Pedro Benoit was born in Buenos AiresBuenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
in 1836 to María Josefa de las Mercedes Leyes and Pierre Benoit, an French émigré
French Argentine
A French Argentine is an Argentine citizen of full or partial French ancestry. French Argentines form the third or fourth largest ancestry group after Italian Argentines, Spanish Argentines, and perhaps German Argentines...
who had left his homeland following the Bourbon Restoration
Bourbon Restoration
The Bourbon Restoration is the name given to the period following the successive events of the French Revolution , the end of the First Republic , and then the forcible end of the First French Empire under Napoleon – when a coalition of European powers restored by arms the monarchy to the...
. His father, a trained architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
, engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
and topographer instilled his interests in his son, who enrolled in 1850 at the Topography and Geodesics School of the Department of Engineering of the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina's largest.
Gaining his first professional experience designing pontoon bridges for the Argentine military, Benoit was contracted as a surveyor
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
for the city of Buenos Aires. In this capacity, in 1858 he planned the first road to Ensenada
Ensenada, Buenos Aires
Ensenada is a city and port in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, located around the Ensenada de Barragán. It has 31,031 inhabitants as per the...
, a harbor town 35 miles (56 km) south of Buenos Aires. The young surveyor was inducted into a local Freemason lodge in 1858 and the following year, he was commissioned by prominent local landowner Juan Dillon to design the urban layout for what became Merlo
Merlo, Buenos Aires
Merlo is the head town of the eponymous partido of Merlo and seat of the municipal government, located in the Greater Buenos Aires urban area.The city was founded by Francisco de Merlo in 1755 and rebuilt by Juan Dillon in 1859....
(a suburb west of Buenos Aires). Benoit designed Merlo following patterns similar to those used by Pierre L'Enfant to design Washington, DC. Benoit relocated to the city he helped build, designing for it the first school and the Church of Our Lady of Mercy in 1863, still the city's central Roman Catholic church; Benoit's professed Freemasonry caused the Bishop of Buenos Aires, Mariano José Escalada, to deny the new parish a priest, however.
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
line between Ensenada
Ensenada, Buenos Aires
Ensenada is a city and port in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, located around the Ensenada de Barragán. It has 31,031 inhabitants as per the...
and Tolosa, two small cities southeast of Buenos Aires. A prominent Spanish Argentine
Spanish Argentine
Spanish settlement in Argentina, that is the arrival of Spanish emigrants in Argentina, took place firstly in the period before Argentina's independence from Spain, and again in large numbers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries...
landowner, Manuel Rodríguez Fragio, commissioned Benoit in 1872 to design the master plan for another new city, Ituzaingó
Ituzaingó, Buenos Aires
Ituzaingó is the capital of the Ituzaingó Partido in the Gran Buenos Aires metropolitan area, Argentina near Buenos Aires city.Ituzaingó has been the capital of the Ituzaingó Partido or municipality of Buenos Aires Province since 1995, when the partido was created...
(not far from Merlo), and towards 1880, Benoit returned to Buenos Aires to help design the new rampart
Defensive wall
A defensive wall is a fortification used to protect a city or settlement from potential aggressors. In ancient to modern times, they were used to enclose settlements...
s for what would later become Puerto Madero
Puerto Madero
Puerto Madero, also known within the urban planning community as the Puerto Madero Waterfront, is a barrio of the Argentine capital at Buenos Aires CBD, occupying a significant portion of the Río de la Plata riverbank and representing the latest architectural trends in the city of Buenos...
. These efforts earned him the honor of Lieutenant Colonel of the Argentine Corps of Engineers.
La Plata
Ongoing resentment over the apportionment of rapidly growing customs duties from the main port led to a failed insurrection in the Province of Buenos Aires against the newly elected administration of President Julio Roca in 1880. The province's voters, however, elected a candidate in 1881 who, despite his disadvantage in belonging to Roca's PAN, articulated a message of political integration with the suddenly prosperous Argentina: Dardo RochaDardo Rocha
Dardo Rocha was an Argentine naval officer, lawyer and politician best known as the founder of the city of La Plata and of the University of La Plata.-Life and times:...
. Facing ongoing secessionist pressures from his constituency, Governor Rocha proposed the creation of a new provincial capital in replacement of the city of Buenos Aires, which was federalized as the nation's capital in 1880. The proposal, useful to the mollification of the province's Independence-leaning gentry, was quickly approved by Congress.
Governor Rocha commissioned Benoit to plan the new city, which became the renowned urbanist's most ambitious project. Named La Plata
La Plata
La Plata is the capital city of the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and of La Plata partido. According to the , the city proper has a population of 574,369 and its metropolitan area has 694,253 inhabitants....
after its mention in José Hernández's epic Martín Fierro
Martín Fierro
Martín Fierro is a 2,316 line epic poem by the Argentine writer José Hernández. The poem was originally published in two parts, El Gaucho Martín Fierro and La Vuelta de Martín Fierro . The poem is, in part, a protest against the modernist tendencies of Argentine president Domingo Faustino Sarmiento...
, the city was planned by Benoit in a regular pattern of diagonals and precisely-placed squares.
Benoit, as technical director of the urbanist project, designed most of the early public buildings in La Plata, as well. His designs for the La Plata Observatory
La Plata Astronomical Observatory
The La Plata Astronomical Observatory is an observatory located in the city of La Plata, capital of the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Its IAU code is 839....
, Economy Ministry, Police Headquarters, Engineering Department and Governors' Offices were completed shortly after the city's November 19, 1882, christening. Giving the city its first house of worship, the Church of Saint Pontian, Benoit designed the Cathedral of La Plata
Cathedral of La Plata
The Cathedral of La Plata, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, is the largest Roman Catholic sanctuary in the city of La Plata in Argentina, and one of the largest in Latin America...
with Ernesto Meyer (the architect of the German Renaissance revivalist City Hall) in 1884. The Neogothic cathedral, the second-largest of its kind in the world, was only completed in 1999. The tireless urbanist was also commissioned to design master plans for Quilmes
Quilmes, Buenos Aires
Quilmes is a city in the . It is the capital of Quilmes Partido , and has a population of 230,810. It is located south of the capital of Argentina, the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires....
, San Pedro
San Pedro, Buenos Aires
San Pedro, which full name is Rincon de San Pedro Dávila de los Arrecifes, is a city and port of the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, on the side of the Parana River. It's the head city of the Partido de San Pedro, which also includes the following settlements: Rio Tala, Gobernador Castro,...
and Mercedes
Mercedes, Buenos Aires
Mercedes is a city in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is located 100 km west from Buenos Aires and 30 km south west of Luján. It is the head town of the district of Mercedes as well as of the judicial district...
, all important cities in the Province of Buenos Aires.
His master plan for the city earned Benoit two gold medals at the 1889 Paris Universal Exposition, where it was honored as the "City of the Future." Benoit was elected to the La Plata City Council the following year, during which he designed his city's great seal, and as Mayor in 1893. Keeping a busy schedule, he also accepted a post as the Director of the Provincial Mortgage Bank and as the first Dean of the School of Engineering in the newly created University of La Plata, in 1897.
The strain proved too much for Benoit, however, who died suddenly that year, at age 61. He is buried in La Recoleta Cemetery
La Recoleta Cemetery
La Recoleta Cemetery is a famous cemetery located in the exclusive Recoleta neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It contains the graves of notable people, including Eva Perón, Raúl Alfonsín, and several presidents of Argentina.- History :...
.