The final project of César Pelli—the architect behind major buildings such as San Francisco’s Salesforce Tower, Kuala Lumpur’s Petronas Towers, and Los Angeles’s Pacific Design Center—has been completed. But unlike these large-scale skyscrapers and monumental buildings that catapulted him to fame, it’s a modestly sized space that melts into the landscape. For Pelli, who died in 2019 at the age of 92, it’s a poignant final work for both its location and for its subject matter. Located in northwestern Argentina, the museum is dedicated fully to Lola Mora (1886–1936), a Beaux Arts sculptor who was one of Argentina’s most famous artists before a conservative government ended her career. The Lola Mora Cultural Center has been designed to display her most significant works: six marble sculptures depicting human virtues that were created to stand outside Argentina’s National Congress building in Buenos Aires. Located in the provincial capital of San Salvador de Jujuy, not far from the city where both Mora and Pelli were born, the museum frames these sculptures and brings Mora’s nearly forgotten story to life. [Photo: Jason O’Rear for Pelli Clarke & Partners] “César was really thrilled by the opportunity. And it meant a lot to him,” says Rafael Pelli, the late architect’s son and a partner at the firm Pelli Clarke & Partners. “He worked until the end. But as he diminished his workload, it was just on stuff in Argentina. . . . This is probably the one that had the greatest meaning for him personally, and I think probably has the greatest resonance within Argentina.” César and Rafael Pelli [Photo: courtesy Pelli Clarke & Partners] The museum is a relatively small, 32,000-square-foot facility. Its fanning, leaflike form guides visitors to a curved panoramic gallery, where the six sculptures sit in front of a wall of windows. Fully wrapped in glass, the main gallery floats visitors up into the canopy of the surrounding forest before bringing them face-to-face with the art

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