Libertad Palace, Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Cultural Center, Cultural center in San Nicolás, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The building occupies an entire city block and comprises eight floors with numerous art galleries, concert halls and exhibition spaces within the Beaux-Arts architecture of Buenos Aires' former central post office.
Ramón José Cárcano, national director of posts, commissioned the building in 1890 from French architect Norbert Maillart, trained at the École des Beaux-Arts, who modelled it on the New York post office. Poor ground reclaimed from the river delayed the work. It served as the Central Post Office until the 1990s, and in 2006 an international competition with over 340 firms chose the conversion into a cultural centre, inaugurated in stages from 2010 and completed on 21 May 2015.
The institution presents contemporary art, dance, opera and orchestral performances on a regular basis, providing cultural programming for diverse audiences within one of Latin America's largest cultural centers.
The building fills the block between Sarmiento and Corrientes, a short walk from the Plaza de Mayo axis; the glass lookout in the former dome and the rooftop terraces are reached by lift. The main halls sit in the newer half of the building, while the ceremonial rooms keep their original layout.
The building's dome was converted into a glazed lookout during the 2010 renovation, and the former post office's ceremonial rooms keep their period furniture. A plaque unveiled at the 2015 opening honours Néstor Kirchner, whose father was a postal worker and who visited the building on trips from Río Gallegos to Buenos Aires.
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