Each year Ankrom Moisan offers a travel scholarship to a lucky employee (or two) wanting to further their professional knowledge. Individuals are encouraged to submit applications that detail where they would like to go and what kind of insight they hope to glean during their travels. This year two scholarships were awarded: one to Seattle-based architect Levi Rippy, who proposed studying urban housing in Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro.

Part 1: Buenos Aires, Argentina

My journey started with 13 days in the romantic Argentine capital. Arriving early in the morning, dawn pulled back its veil to reveal a new city. I was here to study urban housing, and as the taxi weaved through a dense morning commute I knew that I had found a great place to start my adventure. When the cab stopped I found myself standing outside of a nondescript door marked simply with its address. The well-worn cobbles bathed in the warm winter light; I had arrived in San Telmo. Through the door was a beautifully renovated complex of simple rooms, a picturesque patio, and the owner’s apartment. This place, with its changing flow of residents, would be my home for the next two weeks.

San Telmo

This is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Buenos Aires. Narrow, one-way, cobbled streets are contained by short, four-story stone row houses. The street level is a mix of retail, offices, and restaurants. Defensa Street is the backbone of the neighborhood, hosting the local craft market every Sunday. The street is closed for its entire length, filled with people peddling their crafts. Performers occupy the corners, playing instruments, dancing, or showing some fanciful talent. An empty lot, normally reserved as a car park during the week, transforms into a lively picnic ground. Locally-made sausages are grilled, and their flavored smoke fills the air. You can pull up a chair and take in a tango show. I pause, taking in the smells, flavors, and sounds. It all feels very Argentine. This neighborhood is alive, and the whole city comes out to be a part of it. This was the perfect place for me to call home.

Palermo and Recoleta

Beloved for the cemetery and polo grounds, it is easy to understand that Palermo and Recoleta are the neighborhoods of money and power. High-end retail stores, five-star hotels, embassies, and the blue-dollar exchange houses are all here. The streets are cleaner, stripped of their urban patina, and parks are filled with dog walkers with their wealthy clientele’s pets. People live in high-rise buildings that were funded by wealthy individuals concerned with leaving a legacy. During the day it is quiet, as most people have left to do work in the city center. At night the cafés and clubs are alive with the late night vibrancy that Buenos Aires is known for. The neighborhood has the air of exclusivity, but in a more welcoming sense. It’s like a gated community that always leaves the gate open; you reluctantly enter, fully acknowledging the threshold you cross.

Puerto Madero

This is the new and booming part of Buenos Aires. Cut off from the city by the canal, this underdeveloped area has been the focus of new development. Cranes dot the horizon, and towers reach new heights. Starchitects battle for projects here. Zoning has clearly been created to provide for a livable neighborhood, but it is too new, too clean, too planned to know yet if it will work. The streets are wider, designed for anticipated cars; the prices of food reflect the trendy atmosphere of the restaurants. It is an area where all looks so perfect—until you realize there is no place an average worker can afford lunch. The entire neighborhood caters to a small and specific crowd, so it lacks that diversity that makes a truly urban neighborhood. It is sterile, restricting one's experience to a series of hermetically sealed spaces—from car to condo to café. It’s urban, but with more focus on polish than grit.

As I pack my bags and prepare for my next stop, I find the experience of Buenos Aires lingering sweetly on my tongue. The movement of tango, the smell of choripán, the sticky touch of dulce de leche, the taste of the first glass of Malbec—they all coalesce into that experience that is the City of Fair Winds.