Navy Petty-Officers School of Mechanics, Naval education complex in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The Escuela de Mecánica de la Armada occupies a 17-hectare site at Avenida del Libertador 8151 in the Núñez neighbourhood. Its main complex, designed by architect Raúl J. Álvarez and inaugurated on 12 October 1928, faces the avenue between the Arroyo Medrano and Deheza street. The white symmetrical facade carries the inscription "ESCUELA DE MECANICA DE LA ARMADA" above four large cylindrical columns, with dark rectangular windows and a dark wooden double door behind them; a black metal fence runs across the front.

Between 1976 and 1983, this military facility operated as a detention site during Argentina's military dictatorship. That period profoundly changed the nation and remains central to how people understand the country's recent past.

The Officers' Casino kept working as a residence and rest area for senior navy officers while it served as the detention centre, a dual use former detainees describe. Since 2004 the 17-hectare site has held the Espacio para la Memoria, with the Museo Sitio de Memoria ESMA, the National Memory Archive and the Haroldo Conti Cultural Centre. The blue banner between the columns of the main facade marks that purpose.

The site covers 17 hectares in Núñez, with the entrance at Avenida del Libertador 8151. The Officers' Casino, where the detention centre operated, is the building to look for; it was partially remodelled in 1979 ahead of a visit by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Several institutions share the grounds, so allow time to move between buildings.

The complex houses a dedicated Malvinas Museum opened in 2014, which covers the South Atlantic islands and Argentina's connection to them. This separate collection provides a different viewpoint on Argentine identity and territorial questions.