Lola Mora Cultural Center building, San Salvador de Jujuy

Lola Mora Cultural Center Building, Jujuy

12 August 2026

Architects: Pelli Clarke & Partners

Location: San Salvador de Jujuy, Argentina

Photos by Jason O’Rear, Pelli Clarke & Partners

Pelli Clarke & Partners Completes the Lola Mora Cultural Center, César Pelli’s Final Project and the Firm’s First Cultural Building in South America

For the first time in over a century, six sculptures by pioneering Argentine artist Lola Mora (1866–1936) are brought together in the purpose-built, net-zero building.

Lola Mora Cultural Center in Jujuy, Argentina by Pelli Clarke & Partners

San Salvador de Jujuy, Argentina – August 12, 2026 – Pelli Clarke & Partners has completed the Lola Mora Cultural Center, located in northwest Argentina and dedicated to the life and work of Argentine artist Lola Mora (1866–1936). The project is Pelli Clarke & Partners’ first cultural building in South America and the final project led by the firm’s founder, the late Argentine-born César Pelli, FAIA (1926–2019).

Situated at the foot of the Andes and surrounded by dense subtropical Yunga forest, the cultural center overlooks the city of San Salvador de Jujuy. The building’s curving form follows the site’s topography and embraces an existing grove of native trees.

A narrow entrance leads to a bridge that spans a natural ravine — engineered to minimize disruption to the land — and gradually widens to a main lobby and exhibition hall clad in floor-to-ceiling windows, allowing Lola Mora’s sculptures to be viewed from multiple angles and distances against a backdrop of forest and mountains. Beyond the main exhibition hall, the building houses an interpretation center, restaurant, library, gift shop, and atelier for visiting artists and temporary exhibitions.

“As one of César Pelli’s final projects, the opening of the Lola Mora Cultural Center in San Salvador de Jujuy is both a professional and personal honor for our firm and my family,” said Rafael Pelli, Partner, Pelli Clarke & Partners. “My father, a native of the Argentine Northwest, admired Lola Mora’s work from a young age. To create a space that celebrates and carries forward her legacy, in a community so close to my heart, is a true privilege.”

The cultural center occupies a 1.3-hectare site, with gardens designed by Balmori Associates, the landscape architecture firm founded by César Pelli’s late wife, Diana Balmori. The project places significant emphasis on preserving and strengthening the existing ecology, with the architecture woven among the existing native trees, minimizing its impact on the terrain.

“We approached the project as a process of discovery and, above all, as the art of knowing how to listen: to the site; to the client; to the engineers, builders, and craftspeople, whose knowledge shapes what can be built; and to the community, which we hope will find here a renewed sense of identity and connection to its history,” said Susana La Porta Drago, who was the partner in charge of the project at Pelli Clarke & Partners.

The center brings together, for the first time in more than a century, six monumental neoclassical works carved in Carrara marble by Lola Mora, a pioneering Argentine sculptor of international renown. Originally commissioned for the Palace of the Argentine National Congress in Buenos Aires for its inauguration in 1906, the sculptures were removed fifteen years later and donated to the province of Jujuy.

After standing exposed to the elements for over a hundred years, the six allegorical works — The Lions, Liberty, Progress, Work, Peace, and Justice — are now displayed in the Lola Mora Cultural Center, a space conceived specifically to house them and honor the artist’s legacy.

“The building’s internal layout was designed so that Lola Mora’s works are gradually revealed, alternating between distance and proximity, between viewing them in groups and encountering each sculpture individually. The architecture follows that rhythm, transforming the visit into a dynamic and surprising experience of contemplation,” said Axel Zemborain, the project’s Design Team Leader at Pelli Clarke & Partners.

The building’s horizontal form is contrasted by a vertical tower that signals the cultural center’s presence from afar and houses five wind turbines. Together with other on-site renewable-energy sources—photovoltaic panels and solar thermal collectors for hot water—the building generates 100% of its energy needs.

A high-performance building envelope and state-of-the-art mechanical systems reduce energy consumption by 23%. The center also features a rainwater-harvesting system for irrigation where small dams located across the ravine slow runoff, mitigating erosion and helping preserve the surrounding ecosystem. A significant portion of materials, including the building’s stone cladding, is locally sourced, reducing the transportation-related impacts while supporting regional economic development. The project is pursuing LEED Gold certification.

“The Lola Mora Cultural Center is more than a museum; it is a place where architecture, art, and landscape come together to create a unique cultural experience – it celebrates creativity, cultural identity, and the transformative power of public spaces” said Victoria Martínez Fascio, Director of the Lola Mora Center.

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Pelli Clarke & Partners

Pelli Clarke & Partners designs buildings and spaces that inspire and transform communities worldwide. Based in New Haven and New York City, partners lead interdisciplinary teams of architects, designers, and technical experts across the globe.

The architecture firm’s portfolio of work includes iconic buildings such as the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, and Salesforce Transit Center in San Francisco. From its founding in 1977, César Pelli instilled a culture of creativity and innovation, and the firm proudly carries this legacy forward by designing new possibilities for living, working, and learning in a changing world. To learn more, visit www.pcparch.com and follow @pelliclarkeandpartners on social media.

Lola Mora Center

The Lola Mora Center is a space dedicated to preserving, exhibiting, and celebrating the legacy of Tucumán-born sculptor Lola Mora, a pioneering woman sculptor in Latin America. Conceived as a bridge between past and present, the center safeguards the six monumental sculptures that form part of Jujuy’s cultural heritage and offers an experience combining art, architecture, nature, and innovation. For more information, visit https://cclm.jujuy.gob.ar and follow @centroculturallolamora on social media.

Lola Mora Center – Building Information

Credits

Client: Government of the Province of Jujuy

Design Architect: Pelli Clarke & Partners

Partner in Charge: Susana La Porta Drago

Design Team Leader: Axel Zemborain

Collaborators: Alejandra Alonso, Ileana Dumitriu, Tammy Monnin

Landscape Design: Balmori Associates

Architect of Record: Arturo Beccar Varela & Asociados

Structural Engineer: Alberto H. Fainstein S.A.

MEP:EGF-Estudio Grinberg (Mechanical), Estudio Mackinlay Vignaroli (Electrical), Estudio Labonia & Asociados (Plumbing)

LEED: EGF-Estudio Grinberg

Lighting: Cappiello + Partners

Museography: MUDE

Photography: Jason O’Rear

Pelli Clarke & Partners

Lola Mora Cultural Center building, San Salvador de Jujuy, Argentina by Pelli Clarke & Partners images / information received 120826

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