If you have ever passed by Las Heras Avenue and looked up to see that building that looks like a neo-Gothic cathedral in Buenos Aires but is not, you probably know that it is one of the headquarters of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Buenos Aires. What few know is that behind its walls and towers hides an urban legend and one of the most secret and hidden museums in Buenos Aires.
A gothic cathedral that hides a faculty and an urban legend that everyone repeats… but that is not true.
It is said that the architect responsible for the construction of the building, Arturo Prins, threw himself off the top floor when he couldn’t finish it. But don’t panic: it’s an urban legend. The truth is less dramatic: the money simply never appeared to complete the three towers that were in the original plans, which is why for many people this engineering faculty building seems half-finished or unfinished.
The truth is that Prins died in 1939 in a Buenos Aires clinic of a lung disease, far from the legend of suicide. In addition, he never received his full fee for a work on which he worked for 30 years. His children filed a lawsuit and only in 1962 did they receive what was owed to him. They say that the money was barely enough to pay for lunch.
Finished or not, this Gothic-looking building has its charm: walls that look like a village house or a cathedral, it contains much more than classrooms. In fact, its walls house one of the most hidden museums in Buenos Aires: the National Museum of Science and Technology.
A museum inside a gothic building that hides a pendulum that shows the movement of the Earth.
Inside this building there is a hidden treasure: the National Museum of Science and Technology. Not only are the classic engineering subjects taught here, but there are also models of ships and dams, miniature ports, gears and even a Foucault pendulum that demonstrates the movement of the Earth. The museum is free and open to the public.
The next time you pass by Las Heras Avenue, look beyond its façade: this building has stories, secrets and science to explore. And who knows, maybe you’ll discover something no one told you.
Faculty of Engineering 📍Avenida Las Heras 2214