A new complex of cultural institutions "Puerto de la Musica" (Marina of Music) will appear in the second largest city in the country, Rosario, on the banks of the Parana River. Three buildings will be located on a total area of 6 hectares. In the main one, in the form of a hemisphere with a "fracture" of the profile, an auditorium for 2500 spectators will be located. True to his communist ideals, Niemeyer did not limit himself to this number of “chosen ones”: according to his plan, part of the theater wall could be raised, and performances and concerts could be watched directly from the square surrounding the building: thus, the audience of the performance would increase to 30,000 people. The architect has already used a similar technique: such a function is provided for in the "People's Theater", which opened a year ago in Brazilian Niteroi. The shape of the hemisphere, according to Niemeyer, is ideal from the acoustics point of view (however, this geometric body is the basis of so many of his recent projects of very different functional purposes). His new work was also inspired by prominent Argentines - Borges, Cortazar and Che Guevara (Rosario is the hometown of this iconic counterculture figure). In addition to the auditorium, the building provides space for a music school.
The theater building is complemented by a smaller structure containing an exhibition hall and restaurant and a small visitor center. Glazed surfaces prevail in their solution.
It was originally planned to open the Puerto de la Musica ensemble for the 200th anniversary of the May Revolution and Argentine independence, which will be celebrated in 2010. But now, due to the difficult financial situation, it is assumed that the complex will be ready only by 2016, when it will be 200 years old the official proclamation of Argentine statehood. However, Oscar Niemeyer, who turns 101 this December, plans to see the completion of this building with his own eyes anyway.
