SPAIN/PORTUGAL AN ARCHITECTURE GUIDEBOOK
Adjunct Assistant Professor Romina Canna Studio Assistant Professor David Goodman
SPAIN/PORTUGAL 2009 VOLUME 1 A GUIDEBOOK FOR THE 2009 SPAIN/PORTUGAL SUMMER PROGRAM Illinois Institute of Technology College of Architecture
Adjunct Assistant Professor Romina Canna Studio Assistant Professor David Goodman
SPAIN/PORTUGAL 2009 VOLUME 1 A GUIDEBOOK FOR THE 2009 SPAIN/PORTUGAL SUMMER PROGRAM Illinois Institute of Technology College of Architecture
Authors: Matthew Abbott Ayesha Akhtar Lulu Al-Awadhi Julie Alkhovsky Daniel Aronberg Aric Austermann Eric Cheng Daniel Ciorba Matt Devendorf Stacy Economy Jacob Ernst Elaine Erwin Nicole Firnbach Eun Kim Joseph Klimek Daniel Medrano Justin Miller Stacy Morton Danny Mui Matt Renfree Archit Sawhney Bryan Slonski Samantha Spencer Tyler Stellwag Mark Swingler Benjamin Tolsky Teodora Vasilev Yu Zhang
Designers, Editors, Co-Authors: Adjunct Assistant Professor Romina Canna Studio Assistant Professor David Goodman
FOREWORD
This book, the first chapter of a two-part saga, has been a collaboration between the professors and students of the 2009 Spain/Portugal Summer Program. Volume I is our travel-mate; a quick index, a compass for orientation while we’re in the field. While making this book, we took an imaginary trip through the eyes of others. We acted as collectors of images and ideas, filtering the material through our own way of understanding, maintaining the distance of an observer, not a witness. This book is full of fingerprints, an anticipation of the trip to come. It is a guide that will accompany our trip through Spain and Portugal, where we will experience firsthand the totality of the projects contained here. Volume II will be the post-facto document, a log book of our experiences. There will be no more intermediaries. Traveling is nothing but discovering. This is the first step before taking off.
Adjunct Assistant Professor Romina Canna Studio Assistant Professor David Goodman Illinois Institute of Technology
SPAIN/PORTUGAL SUMMER PROGRAM 2009 ILLINOIS INSITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
INTRODUCTION: When the Barcelona Olympic torch was finally ignited on July 25th, 1992, the city inaugurated much more than just the Summer Olympic Games. Barcelona, and the whole of Spain, seemed to crystallize in one moment the years of hard work that had followed the death of the dictator Francisco Franco in 1975. Franco’s death, and the restoration of democracy, opened Spain’s view to the world, initiating a fertile period of cultural and democratic development. Emerging from a long period of hibernation, and with billions in “cohesion funds” from the European Union, Spain developed an unstoppable spatial reorganization on all scales, from analysis of regional and urban structure to a new way of thinking about a distinctly Spanish national architecture. Nowadays, Spain is at the center of the discussion of architecture and urbanism, and all interested parties have the obligation to understand this phenomenon. But Spain was not born in 1992. During different periods, and tied to different dynamics, the country has benefitted from the rich flow of cultures that built the country, and the conflict that often accompanied the transition from one to the other. This country in the Mediterranean Sea has been home to Phoenicians, Romans, Visigoths, Muslims, Jews, and Catholics; the Spanish are a mix of all of these cultures, and this hybrid cultural legacy has left indelible marks on their cities. Cities in Spain are the accumulation of layers of this varied history. We will trace this history from different points of view, trying to understand its distinct episodes and also its broader cultural and historical background. In order to do this, we will traverse centuries of architecture and urbanism revealing not only material structures, but also the thoughts behind the interventions. Spain has now entered a new period of cultural foment; globalization and the unification of Europe have, perhaps, begun to dilute the "Spanishness" of the country's architecture, as it uses a newfound prosperity to attract architects from around the world: Zaha Hadid, MVRDV, Herzog & deMeuron, Norman Foster, and Wiel Arets, among others. We will see these projects as well, examining the latest layer to be added to the cultural mix that is Spain.
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MADRID City Population: Metropolitan Area:
3,010,500 5,840,000
When King Philip II transferred the Royal Court from Toledo to Madrid in 1561, the dusty village at the center of the Iberian Peninsula suddenly became the seat of empire. Some have argued that it has always remained a village at heart -- its spirit has long had more to do with the towns and villages of land-locked central Spain than with the cosmopolitan spirit of other European capitals. Since the restoration of democracy in Spain in 1978, however, Madrid has been, quite literally, at the center of a rebirth of a dynamic country, and the grimy, somewhat provincial capital is now a confident and self-consciously progressive city. With massive investment in public infrastructure and singular works of architecture, Madrid has reinvented itself, once again, as the seat of empire. Today, Spanish companies, headquartered in Madrid, are world leaders in renewable energy, communications, banking, and public infrastructure, once again colonizing the Americas, and parts of continental Europe. Their power, and that of the post-Franco economic boom in general, is visible throughout.
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As the new money reshapes Madrid, the city loses some of the awkward charm it once exuded: no longer an overgrown village, Madrid is now a teeming, slightly out-of-control European capital. struggling with traffic, immigration, and air pollution. Starbucks and Euro-chic bars have replaced the romantically neglected cafes and neighborhood dive bars. If you lose yourselves in the neighborhoods, though, the old Madrid remains.
PROJECT LIST Rafael Moneo Herzog & de Meuron Jean Nouvel Ábalos y Herreros Javier Saénz de Oiza Javier Saénz de Oiza Secundino Zuazo Ugalde MVRDV Rafael de la Hoz Norman Foster, Harry Cobb Rafael Moneo Juan Bautista de Toledo, Juan de Herrera Juan de Villanueva Fernando Márquez Cecilia, Richard Levene Torres Tur and Martínez Lapeña
Guillermo Vázquez Consuegra Rafael Moneo Mansilla y Tuñon Ábalos y Herreros Wiel Arets Alberto Nicolau Luis Alfonso d'Escragnolle Filho
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Museo del Prado Addition Caixa Forum Reina Sofía Museum and Additon Retiro Gymnastics Pavilion Torres Blancas BBVA Tower Nuevos Ministerios Mirador Housing Telefónica Headquarters Towers on La Castellana Atocha Station Palace and Monastery of El Escorial Casita del Principe El Croquis Headquarters Toledo Entrance Escalators Toledo Cathedral Monestary San Juan de los Reyes Archivo de Castilla la Mancha Toledo Convention Center Madrid Regional Library Usera Library Pradolongo Housing Valdemoro Swimming Pool Casa do Brasil
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Museo del Prado: Ampliaci贸n Rafael Moneo original building: addition:
1785-1819 2001-2007
The Museo Del Prado was originally designed by the architect Juan de Villanueva on the orders of Charles III in 1785. Its function as a museum was not decided upon, however, until 1819 when it was opened to the public for the first time. Since then it has served as a museum of art displaying Spain's greatest collection of paintings, sculptures, prints and drawings.
Ruiz de Alarc贸n 23
MAD
Metro: Banco de Espa帽a - L2
On November 29, 2001 work began on an expansion to the museum that would enlarge it by over 50%. The architect for the addition was Rafael Moneo, who designed a prismatic volume on the site of an existing cloister, and a low-slung band connecting the old and the new. The project was completed on the 13th of March, 2007 at a final cost of 152 million Euros. The project added 22,513 square meters to the museum and 13,363 meters of improvement to the surrounding streets. The new addition to the museum can only be seen if one enters the museum from the back or side: from Paseo del Prado, the appearance is unchanged.
This museum is a is a modification of a 1899 power station of historically significant industrial architecture.
Caixa Forum Madrid
The base of the building has been removed, creating an indoor/outdoor place at the base level. This gives this building a floating appearance in defiance of gravity, directing visitors inside. The existing building is treated with care, but not with reverence, as new openings are made, and a vertical extension seems to extrude the original volume skyward.
2008
Herzog & De Meuron Paseo del Prado 36 Metro: Banco de Espa単a - L2
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This project is a tale of two stairs: the first, a mysterious metallic appendage that connects the suspended building to the building above. The second is a white concrete spiral that spans the three main volumes of the project: new, existing,
Museo Reina Sofía Addition Jean Nouvel Ateliers 2005
The Reina Sofía Museum was designed during the 18th century by King Charles III's court architect Francesco Sabatini. Originally, the building was a hospital, and had been altered numerous times. In 1977, the building was declared historically significant and turned into a museum.
Calle de Santa Isabel 52 Metro: Atocha - L1
A competition was held for an addition to the museum. The purpose was to create a sector to accommodate a variety of supplemental functions, thus freeing up the original museum for the permanent collection. Jean Nouvel won first prize for the competition. In his design, he created three pavilions: a library (24,000 sf), a bookshop (600sf), and a temporary exhibit space (78,900 sf). The temporary exhibit space houses the restaurant, café and two large auditoriums. A central courtyard connects the three pavilions. Nouvel added a canopy over the entire addition that shades the area against the harsh summer sun. Nouvel wanted the roof to be an occupiable space that also serves as an observatory deck. Unfortunately, plans were changed during the building process, making the roof unoccupiable. The painted, reflective surfaces play a vital role in Jean Nouvel's design. He cut voids out of the canopy to allow controlled daylight to enter the building. Nouvel uses the voids, along with the bright surfaces, to manipulate the light that enters the building.
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The museum addition contrasts starkly with the original museum and the surrounding neighborhood. Nouvel's building is characterized by bright red, reflective surfaces. Tucked underneath the addition is the original building, made of load-bearing masonry walls.
For this sports pavilion in the middle of Madrid’s most emblematic park, Ábalos y Herreros proposed a platform three meters tall surrounded by trees and translucent walls. The trees were essential for shade and to shield the building from view.
Pabellón de Gimnasia
The building contains offices, changing rooms, storage areas, and an illuminated doubleheight gymnasium, clad with a mesh design on the façade.
Parque del Retiro
Ábalos y Herreros 1999 - 2003 Metro: Retiro - L2
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Observations: The flexible display allowed the architects to use the roof as a tennis court.
Torres Blancas Javier Sáenz de Oiza 1969 Avenida de América 37
Torres Blancas, completed in 1969, is a multipurpose tower that rises 81 meters. The building consists of 160 apartment units of varying shapes and sizes generated from the Wrightian pinwheel plan. Built of concrete, the organic tower seems to have been extruded from the ground. Large balconies offset the round narrow shapes adding variety to the façade and helping to keep the building cool.
Metro: Ventas - L2 and L5
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Observations: Private apartment building
The landscaping, some of which overflows from the balconies, and the wood cladding of the roof compliment the concrete and add to the natural feel. The roof is also home to all public spaces, pool, and a restaurant.
The BBVA Tower, previously known as Banco de Bilbao, is one of the most significant skyscrapers in Madrid. The building is 125m tall and has 30 levels: the top five are dedicated to the company Board of Directors, the basement houses an auditorium, and the remainder serves as office space.
Torre BBVA Javier Sรกenz de Oiza 1979 - 1981 Paseo de la Castellana 81
Sรกenz de Oiza developed a core structure and an open plan in his design, creating flexibility within the interior as well as allowing natural light to cross from side to side. The facade is made out of steel and glass panels with sunshades integrated. It is believed that the design of BBVA Tower was influenced by the skyline and skyscrapers in Chicago which Sรกenz de Oiza studied in depth during his trip to the United States.
Metro: Nuevos Ministerios - L10 and L8
This enormous government ministry building was proposed and designed in 1932 by Secundino Zuazo Ugalde, but the construction was not fully directed by Zuazo, as he was exiled following the Civil War. In 1930, the city of Madrid expanded its borders on the north/south axis of Paseo de la Castellana. The Minister of Construction, Indalecio Prieto, hired Zuazo in order to design a building that would house all of Spain's ministers and serve as a monument for the Republic of Spain.
Nuevos Ministerios Secundino Zuazo Ugalde 1932-53 Metro: Nuevos Ministerios - L10 and L8 Observations: Interiors Closed to Public
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The design references El Escorial as a basis for design with a mix of modern architecture from before and after the war. The construction began in 1933 and, due to the war, wasn't finished until 1942 and didn't become fully functional until 1953.
Edificio Mirador MVRDV 2004 Calle Princesa de Éboli 21
The 22-story building located in Sanchinarro, a suburb northeast of Madrid, acts as a "vertical neighborhood", built with a mixture of social groups and lifestyles in mind. There is a void inside the building's rectangular shape, which frames the distant landscape of the Guadarrama Mountains and also serves as a public space.
Tren Ligero: Virgen del Cortijo - L1 Observations: Private Apartment Building
Torres en La Castellana Henry Cobb, Norman Foster, César Pelli, Carlos Rubio Carvajal y Enrique Álvarez-Sala Walter 2008 Metro: Begoña - L10
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Observations: These towers are the tallest in Spain. Madrid's Barajas Airport modified its emergency flight paths to avoid the buildings.
The elevated public space is surrounded by different housing types, which create blocks containing a total of 156 units. The blocks are articulated by colors and material of the façade. The bright red strips between the blocks of the building indicate the location of the corridors.
The 250m-tall Torre Caja Madrid was the first and tallest of the towers followed by Torre Espacio (236m), Torre de Cristal (249.5m), and Torre Sacyr Vallehermoso (236m). The buildings have service and vertical circulation cores that occupy minimal space and frame the open office floors. These cores are strategically positioned to block the west/east direct sunlight, a move that has the added benefit of framing the spectacular views of the hills of Sierra de Guadarrama to the north and the center of Madrid to the south. At ground level, a 22-meter glazed atrium provides the transition from the street, and accommodates a 'floating' glass-walled auditorium set into a mezzanine. At the top of the tower, there is a void space beneath the uppermost section of the 'portal' frame is designed to house wind turbines as a possible future addition.
Telefรณnica uses its new headquarters on the outskirts of Madrid to create an image of high technology, efficiency, and power. The glass used for the fins is unique to this building and it helps shade the building. This building also contains such amenities as restaurants and a gymnasium.
Distrito de la Comunicaciรณn de Telefรณnica Rafael de la Hoz 2004 - 2008 Ronda de la Comunicaciรณn s/n Metro: Ronda de la Comunicaciรณn - L10
The Pradolongo Housing was designed by firm Wiel Arets Architects, led by Wiel Arets and Bettina Kraus. It was built in a neighborhood south of central Madrid and north of the M40 perimeter highway ring.
Viviendas en Pradolongo
There are 144 apartments in all. The apartments to the east and the west are placed so that they seem like extensions of the adjacent Pradolongo Park with horizontal strips that run along the building to help create this illusion. The space between each building was designed in the format of private squares or courtyards in order establish an atmosphere that combines both the park adjacent to it and the urban city life of Madrid.
Calle del Doctor Tolosa Latour and Avenida de los Poblados
Wiel Arets 2002 - 2008
MAD
Metro: Hospital 12 de Octubre - L3
Casita del Príncipe Juan de Villanueva 1771-75 Cercanías: San Lorenzo de El Escorial - C-8A
Editorial El Croquis Fernando Márquez Cecilia and Richard Levene 1998 Av. Reyes Católicos 9 Cercanías: San Lorenzo de El Escorial - C-8A
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observations: The building houses both the magazine offices and an architecture gallery.
The Casita del Príncipe is located between two gardens in the Jardines del Príncipe at El Escorial. The building is a small neoclassical palace that was home to the Prince of Asturias, later Carlos IV. It is known for its architectural exterior but also the conservation of its interior, which is open to the public. Its décor dates back to the 18th century and includes tapestries, lamps, clocks, furniture, and paintings with mythological themes. It is comprised of two floors and an additional wing that was added ten years after the completion date.
El Croquis is one of the most respected and successful architectural magazines available. Their headquarters was completed in 1998, with a building situated in a suburban environment in El Escorial near Madrid. The architects are Fernando Márquez Cecilia and Richard C. Levene, who are the main publishers and editors of the El Croquis magazine. This building is very much inspired by the surrounding landscape: a rocky site with a steep grade. The elevations, with their irregular horizontal striations, resemble different layered structures. The complex is composed of two buildings laid out in an L shape in plan, with a connection on the ground floor. The opaque faces of these prisms are coated inn Roman travertine marble and iroko wood, with flooring throughout of iroko wood.
El Escorial was commissioned by Felipe II as a royal palace, a monastery, and a necropolis for the Spanish kings, in particular as the final resting place of Carlos V. The plan was designed by Juan Bautista de Toledo, a Spaniard who had been working in Rome as Michelangelo's assistant on St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City. He had been appointed as the royal architect of Spain by Felipe II in 1559. Upon his appointment, Juan Bautista de Toledo immediately returned to Spain. His wife and children were to come via boat a few months later, but sadly their boat sunk and they died. Juan Bautista de Toledo was never able to recover from the loss of his family and it greatly affected his ability to work.
Palacio y Monasterio de El Escorial Juan Bautista de Toledo Juan de Herrera 1563 - 1584 Calle Juan de Borb贸n and Battemberg s/n. San Lorenzo de El Escorial Cercan铆as: San Lorenzo de El Escorial - C-8A
Construction on El Escorial began in 1563, Juan Bautista de Toledo died in 1567 and Juan de Herrera took over. Juan de Herrera had been appointed as assistant to Juan Bautista de Toledo in 1563 due to Toledo's inability to meet deadlines, appear at appointments, and get work done. El Escorial was finally completed in 1584, and was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World, symbolizing the power, and profligacy, of the Spanish Empire.
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Today El Escorial is one of Spain's top tourist attractions. The basilica is located in the center of the monastery. The mausoleum contains the crypt of the kings where all of the Spanish kings are buried along with Isabella II.
Biblioteca Regional Mansilla and Tuñón 2003 Calle Ramírez de Prado 3
MAD
Metro: Delicias - L3 or Méndez Álvaro - L6
Architects Mansilla and Tuñón converted the Aguila Brewery into the Madrid Regional Library in 2003. The original building was completed in 1914. The 30,000 square meter space contains just under 100 kilometers of shelving space. The varied program contains multimedia libraries, traditional book storage, and governmental document storage. These spaces occupy the old industrial areas of the former brewery. Even the old silos are used, now containing book storage. The distinctive façade is a creation out of necessity due to the strict fire codes in Madrid. The blending of the old and new creates an interesting juxtaposition that responds to the city's past vernacular as well as its modern advancements. The interior spaces feature rich materials and open spaces for document review.
Moneo’s expansion and reconfiguration on Madrid’s Atocha Station, central hub of Spain’s ambitious rail system, combines an existing 19th-century train shed with the new requirements of modern day rail transport. The existing train canopy is dedicated to passenger circulation and a tropical wintergarden, with separate while commuter and inter-urban rail facilities are attached to the rear.
Estación de Atocha Rafael Moneo, expansion Alberto del Palacio, original building Expansion: 1985-1988, 2000-2002, current Plaza del Imperador Carlos V, s/n
Moneo assembles these disparate elements into a potent urban composition: a sunken plaza adjacent to the existing building provides a grand entryway, shielded from the traffic of the neighboring streets. Within the station, Moneo experiments with the typology of the trainshed: instead of repeating the clear-span of the original building, he proposes instead a hypostyle hall with a canopy of spread column capitals forming the train shed’s roof - a subtle reworking of Wright’s Johnson Wax building. As in Wright’s earlier building, glazing separates each of these capitals, admitting light into the monumental space below.
Metro: Atocha Renfe or Atocha - L1
With the station’s parking garage, Moneo continues his investigation of the way in which large roof structures can be resolved through repetitive smaller elements. Here, a series of parabolic domes with oculi covers the parking deck, providing shade from the intense summer sun, and endowing the otherwise prosaic space, with a vaguely postmodern monumentality.
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The entire complex, which continues to expand, attempts to infuse the infrastructure of everyday life with a nobility and grandeur that recalls earlier modes of monument-making, far from the steel-and-glass technophelia that tends to be the default language for spaces of transport.
Catedral de Santa María de Toledo Master Martín Petrus Petri Rodrigo Alfonso Alvar Martínez Hanequin de Bruselas 1226 - 1493
The re-conquered territory which the Church of St. Mary of Toledo now occupies once held a Visigoth temple, then a mosque, and was converted to a Christian house of worship. The old church was demolished in 1227 under Alfonso VI's rule, and the foundation for the current Cathedral were laid. Following St. Ferdinand's foundation, master builders Petrus Petri, Rodrigo Alfonso, Álvaro Martínez, and Hanequin de Bruselas each had a hand in directing the work from the mid 13th-century to the late 15th-century. These master builders oversaw the construction of the cathedral’s gothic elements, from the triforia to the cloisters, to the extra widened arches.
Arco de Palacio 2 From the late 15th-century to the mid 17th-century, Renaissance artists, masons, and carpenters worked on details from the larchwood Capilla Mayor to the chiseled marble chapel of El Transparente, to the story of the conquest of Granada sculpted into the walnut stalls of the Coro (choir).
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The Cathedral removes the triforum found in typical Gothic architecture resulting in a twostaged interior elevation composed of an arcade and a clerestory that creates a squat building, much wider and shorter than normal.
Before Isabella and Ferdinand defeated Portugal at the battle of Toro in 1476, they promised they would build a church honoring St. John if they won the battle. They went to Toledo in 1477 at which point they commissioned the San Juan de los Reyes church. When they returned in 1479 they were disappointed with what had been built and commissioned a larger project. Originally they had intended it to be their final resting place, but these plans changed after the conquest of Granada in 1492.
Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes Juan Guas 1477-1504 Calle San Juan de los Reyes 2
Juan Guas, a French architect who was trained in Brussels and moved to Spain, met with Isabella in 1472 and was made the royal architect. After the victory at Toro he was placed in charge of designing San Juan de los Reyes. Although he died in 1496, before the building was completed, the Convent of San Juan de los Reyes is considered his finest work.
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In 1809 Napoleon's army set fire to the church causing massive damage to it. It wasn't until 1883 that the architect Arturo MĂŠlida was placed in charge of a restoration that would finally be completed in 1967.
Palacio de Congresos de Toledo Rafael Moneo full inauguration expected in mid 2010 Paseo del Miradero, s/n
El Miradero, or Viewpoint, was given its name due its position on an ancient wall that provides an unobstructed view of the valley of the Tagus river and the surrounding suburbs. With origins in the sixteenth century, El Miradero has aged with the city of Toledo. It has seen many renovations throughout its lifespan, the most recent of which designed by Rafael Moneo.
TOL
The building, most of which is below grade, houses parking and several auditoriums for conventions and conferences. The project is expected for full opening in mid 2010.
Elías Torres Tur and José Antonio Martínez Lapeña designed this underground car park and covered escalator link to connect new city of Toledo with the historic core above. The project is set into the hillside, takes advantage of the spectacular views of the city. The parking is excavated 30 meters into the hillside.
Escaleras de la Granja Torres Tur and Martínez Lapeña 2001 Paseo de Recaredo
The six flights of escalators are set at slightly different angles and are sheltered by a series of cantilevered concrete slabs. The high technology and tremendous efforts are concealed here, creating and architecture that blends into its environmental surroundings.
Archivo de Castilla-La Mancha Guillermo Vázquez Consuegra 1997 - 2005 C/ Río de Valdemarías, s/n Polígono de Santa María de Benquerencia. Bus: 6.1, 9.1, 9.2
TOL
Consuegra’s archives for the Castilla-La Mancha autonomous region uses a ceramic facade to create a hermetic, mute volume: a container for the records and documents within. The rust-colored facade rhymes with the arid, rocky landscape, and is here converted into a massive yet semitransparent block.
Biblioteca Pública "José Hierro” Ábalos and Herreros 2003
A tower sitting high upon the ground, the Biblioteca Pública José Hierro acts like a skyscraper for the housing of books. Ábalos and Herreros deliberately re-describe the form type of a skyscraper as an expansion of contemporary space and the contemporary typology the skyscraper creates.
Avda. Rafaela Ybarra 43 Metro: Plaza Elíptica - L6 and L11 Bus 6, 47, 60 and 81
Piscina Valdesanchuela Alberto Nicolau 2007
The first thing one comes across upon entering the building is a dramatic triple-height entrance space, followed by the discovery that the ground floor plan is extensive and is not confined to the footprint of the tower above. The great heights and the atmosphere in semidarkness help to control light. The "cracks" in the façade fragment the relation with a dull environment into small, particular views which recompose the outside world and create surprising glimpses of the context. Ábalos and Herreros took the urban, culturally diverse site and make architecture of high impact that empowered the entire community.
One of Alberto Nicolau's first solo projects, the public pool at Valdemoro uses its program as a generator for formal investigation -- namely the development of a long-span structure for the pool enclosure. Nicolau paid special attention on a truss system that would not only be strong, but would also produce a series of wave-like contours.
Calle Valdesanchuela s/n, Valdemoro
MAD
Cercanías: Valdemoro - C-3
Situated on an 8000 square meter site, the building uses glass extensively around its base, allowing the natural areas around the building to appear to flow inside. The site extends out to a flat area of manicured lawn, on the same plane as the top of the water, further unifying the indoor and outdoor space. From the road above, the building appears to form yet another facade, as light from within pierces the undulating roofline, whose curves seem to be in constant movement. These curves echo the ripples of water, unifying the building’s image with its program.
The Casa do Brasil is a Brazilian cultural school and dormitory. Luis Alfonso d'Escragnolle Filho was the official architect for Brazil and designed the building based on the location of the school. The topography of the land lent its configuration to the placement of the different blocks and individual shapes of the building. The harmony of these separate blocks, along with the use of stilts and other structural systems, are meant to give the building a sense of mobility.
Casa do Brasil Luis Alfonso d'Escragnolle Filho 1962 Avenida Arco De La Victoria s/n Metro: Moncloa - L6 and L3
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One can note a clear affinity with the Brazilian interpretations of Le Corbusier (especially the Swiss Pavilion) common in Brazil at mid-century.
CORDOBA City Population: Metropolitan Area:
325,400 351,000
Córdoba served as capital of the Roman Provincia Baetica, a region of Spain that corresponds roughly to present day Andalucía, and was later the capital of a united Muslim Spain (al-Andalus), from 750 until 1031, when the peninsula was divided into independent regions, or Taifas. During that period of relative political calm, Córdoba, center of the Córdoba Caliphate, grew to be the world´s largest city with nearly 500,000 inhabitants. The city was a world center of culture and study, and for long periods of time, Muslims, Christians and Jews co-existed peacefully here. In 1236, the city returned to Christian control, and the city was gradually eclipsed by Seville, which benefitted from its trade with the Americas, Toledo and Madrid, which hosted the Royal Court, and other cities like Barcelona and Zaragoza, that played important roles in trade with Europe. Today, Córdoba is a small city at the periphery of Europe, where traces of its former glory can be seen in temples, ruins, and in the dense streets and patios of its historic core.
COR
PROJECT LIST Córdoba Central Station Great Mosque/Cathedral of Córdoba Madinat-al Zahra Museum
Peña, Castro, y Puig Sobejano y Nieto
ES AR J E ST O L DE A ND RO
DO NAN FER AN LE S CAL
AVENIDA DE LA REPUBL ICA ARGENTINA
O CALLE CLAUDIO MARCEL
TE EN PU
S IJO RR TO DE LLE CA
O AN M RO
Estacion de Córdoba Peña, Castro y Puig 1994
Located in the Plaza de las Tres Culturas, across from the bus terminal, this is a train station built especially to handle the arrival of high-speed rail in this historic city. Steel, glass and concrete are combined to create a comfortable, light-filled station that is fully accessible to people with reduced mobility.
Glorieta de las Tres Culturas s/n Bus: 3,10 and 11
Madinat Al-Zahra Sobejano y Nieto 936-976; 2008
COR
Crta. de Palma del Río km. 5,5
The fortified palace and city of Madinat-al-Zahra is a 1.52 kilometer long by 745 meter wide rectangle, divided into three terraces. At the highest point stood Caliph Abd al-Rahman Ill's palace, called Dar al-Mulk or Casa Real. The rest of the highest terrace was filled with government and administration buildings, from which all of Muslim Iberia was governed. Destroyed in the 11th century, only a fraction of the complex has been excavated to date. Sobejano and Nieto’s sunken visitors’ center opened in 2008.
Built on the remains of former Roman and Visigoth temples, the Great Mosque of C贸rdoba is a mix of structural innovation, cultural conflict, propaganda, and sheer monumentality. It is also a mysterious and beautiful place, still drawing visitors to this sleepy Andalusian town to visit a true wonder of the world.
Great Mosque/Cathedral of C贸rdoba 785-987; 16th-century chapel addition Cardenal Herrero, 1
Begun in 785 by Caliph Abd al Rahman I, the first phase of the mosque appropriated columns salvaged from the Visigoth and Roman temples, using them as bases for the polychrome double arches that sprung from each pair. The game of one-upsmanship could not be clearer: the new order was built directly on top of the old. Further hypostyle additions were made to the mosque over the following centuries, including the lavishly adorned Mihrab, or prayer niche, constructed under the rule of al Hakam II. Each of these additions followed the structural example and module of the first. The dark, mysterious interior, with its repetitive structural module, forms a haunting counterpoint to the grid of trees in the Patio de las Naranjas courtyard.
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When the Christian Reconquista reached C贸rdoba in 1236, the Mosque was converted into the city麓s cathedral. While in many other cities, mosques were entirely destroyed to illustrate the the Catholic triumph over Islam, here, the mosque was spared, though a neogothic Catholic chapel was, in the 16th century, inserted into the fabric of the non-hierarchical mosque, profoundly altering the space.
GRANADA City Population: Metropolitan Area:
237,000 473,000
Sitting at the base of the snow-capped Sierra Nevada mountains, Granada draws tourists from around the world to the Alhambra. Most of these tourists never bother to explore the enchanting city that surrounds it. When the day ends, and the tourist buses depart for the beaches of Málaga, the real Granada appears in the narrow streets of the Albaicín quarter, where traces of the city´s Muslim past remain, and where an active student population fills this small city with a distinctly bohemian air, quite unlike other Andalusian cities.
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PROJECT LIST Alhambra Palace Generalife Gardens
IA NV GRA
ALBAICIN
S CO I L TO CA S YE RE
RO DAR DEL RA ACE
S IDA G O EC R LLE CA
ALHAMBRA AND GENERALIFE
Palacio de la Alhambra 14th-century Bus: 30 or 32 from Plaza Nueva Observations: UNESCO World Heritage Site
The Alhambra is located atop the Alhambra Hill, a foothill of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The Alhambra is a large Moorish Citadel which contains a royal palace. Much of the Alhambra dates to the reigns of Yusuf I (1333-54) and Muhammad V (1354-59, 136291) of the Nasrid dynasty. The citadel walls are made of stone and brick covered in plaster, and contain 22 towers. There are four main gates leading into the citadel. The most important gate is the Gate of Law dating to 1348. It contains 3 different kinds of vaults and the inscription "There is no God but God, Muhammad is His Prophet, There is no force or power except in God.� It was through this gate that Isabella and Ferdinand first entered the Alhambra upon the conquest of Granada. The second gate, the Gate of Seven Heavens, was partially destroyed by Napoleon's army. The third gate is the Arrabal Gate, which is the main connection between the Alhambra and the Generalife gardens. The final gate is the Gate of Arms, which connects the citadel to the town of Granada. The Alcazaba was a fortified city, or casbah, that makes up the western most portion of the Alhambra. It predates the Nasrid dynasty making its ruins the oldest remaining part of the Alhambra. Inside the Royal Palace, the Court of the Myrtles is a long courtyard with a pool running through it. The Hall of Ambassadors rises over the North façade of the Court of Myrtles. Its rich decorations, dating from the reign of Muhammad V, occupy the largest and highest tower of the Alhambra. The Bath, which connects the Court of Myrtles with the Court of Lions, dates to the reign of Yusuf I. The relatively small Court of Lions dates from the reign of Muhammad V and is the most famous part of the Alhambra. Both the Hall of the Two Sisters and the Hall of Abencerrajes have domes featuring ceilings with muqarnas, an Islamic design that looks similar to stalactites.
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The Tower of Infantas, which appears on the fortification walls of the citadel, dates to the reign of Sa'ad (1445-61) and is the last Moorish addition to the Alhambra. The Palace of Charles V, located just off of the Court of Myrtles, was added from 1527-68 after the reconquista. Charles V requested that the palace be built as the residence of the emperor. It was designed by Pedro Machuca, who learned architecture in Italy from Michelangelo. Upon his death in 1550, his son Luis Machuca took over design of the palace.
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Generalife Gardens present day gardens:: Francisco Prieto Moreno
The origins of the term Generalife are disputed, but is mainly recognized as meaning "the architect's garden." It was originally built under Muhammad III and used as a place of rest for Muslim royalty.
1302-1309 (present day gardens built: 1931-1951) After the Muslims were conquered in 1492 by the Catholics, the Catholic Monarchs assigned a keeper to watch over the gardens. In 1631 the task of keeper was assigned to the Granada-Venegas family, who held this task until the state took it over in 1921.
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The site of the Generalife was divided into terraces with 4 main vegetable gardens separated by thick walls. The Generalife consists of the Palace of the Generalife, the Romantic Observation Point, the Water-Garden Courtyard, the Sultana's Court, and various fountains, colonnades, and pavilions. The entrance to the Generalife is notable as the exterior part is rural, uncommon for a palace; one must pass through various courts in order to reach the palace.
SEVILLA City Population: Metropolitan Area:
699,800 1,450,200
Capital of the Autonomous Community of Andalucía and Spain’s fourth-largest city, Sevilla carries itself with an air of importance. It was, after all, from here that Spain’s conquistadores departed, Christopher Columbus among them. And it was here that they deposited their wealth. Though this wealth was gradually squandered, and Seville went into centuries of decline, the city maintained its elegance, with stately homes for the land-owning aristocracy and broad avenues lined with orange trees. As post-Franco Spain took shape under Seville-born president Felipe González, the city found itself the beneficiary of investment from the central government and the European Union. These investments transformed the city.
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In preparation for Expo ‘92, a celebration of the 500th anniversary of Columbus´s voyage, the city was reconceived and connected to Madrid with the first segment of the high-speed AVE train. Though the Expo grounds were slow to be incorporated into the city, and Seville seemed once again to stagnate, the city has recently inaugurated a new metro and tram system, and has begun to pedestrianize important parts of its historic core. The transformation of a capital city continues, and Seville, home of the mythical Carmen, continues to beguile those who visit.
PROJECT LIST Santa Justa Station Royal Alcázar Plaza de España Alamillo Bridge Estadio Olímpico Infanta Elena Library Doña Maria Colonel 26 Housing Diputación de Sevilla Previsión Española
Cruz y Ortiz
Santiago Calatrava Cruz y Ortiz Cruz y Ortiz Cruz y Ortiz Cruz y Ortiz Rafael Moneo
RPES CALLE SIE
CION CONSTITU AV. DE LA
MEN END EZ P ELA Y0 CALLE AGUILAS
Catedral de Sevilla (Santa MarĂa de la Sede) 1402-1506 Plaza del Triunfo Tram: Archivo de Indias - T1 Observations: Named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987. Dress Code: shorts and t-shirts not permitted
Santa Justa Station Cruz y OrtĂz 1987-1991 Avda. de Kansas City s/n
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Bus: C1-C2
The Cathedral of Sevilla is built on the large rectangular base-plan of the mosque that previously occupied the site. It is the third largest church in Europe (after St. Paul's in London and St. Peter's in Rome) and the largest Gothic building in Europe. The nave of the cathedral is the longest in Spain. The interior is lavishly decorated with gold, though it maintains an overall simplicity and restraint in decoration. The 45 carved scenes from the life of Christ were the life's work of a single craftsman, Pieter Dancart. It is carved in wood and covered with gold, making it the largest and richest altarpiece in the world. Christopher Columbus’s tomb is here.
This train station was designed and built in a largely undeveloped area with the goal not only of providing train services, but also to turn the surrounding community into a busy urban area. The station was designed as a three story building that stretched along the site in order to provide the streets with a uniform line of reference. The building itself is divided into six distinct naves, each articulated through varied lighting, and separate roof structures, thus enforcing the sense of sequential spaces as passengers move through the building.
This complex of palace buildings in Seville was begun during the Almohad dynasty and was initially a Moorish fort. It has been home to many monarchs since. To this date this place is used by Spain's Royal family as their official Seville residence.
Alcázar Real de Sevilla
This palace contains beautiful gardens, corridors and courtyards that reflect the rich culture and style of the Moors (Muslims of Al-Andalus) and the Catholic Monarchs who followed them.
Tram: Archivo de Indias - T1
The Plaza de España was built for Spain's Ibero-American Exposition of 1929. The construction of the exposition took 15 years to complete. The building was of brick, stone, and ceramic tiling. Centered around the fountain an array of ceramic tiled bridges lead pedestrians over a canal to what is now a series of government buildings. Along the outer face of the buildings is a string of benches. Each bench is dedicated to a province of Spain. They are decorated with painted ceramic tiles that tell the stories of the Spanish provinces. The Plaza de España is a clear representation of both the architectural progression and historical progression of Seville's culture and Spanish history.
Plaza de España
begun 913 13600, Alcázar de San Juan
Aníbal González 1929
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Tram: Prado de San Sebastián - L1
Alamillo Bridge Santiago Calatrava 1989-1992 Ronda de Circunvalación SE-30 Bus: 6, E5, C5
Estadio Olímpico de Sevilla Cruz y Ortiz 1999
Originally proposed to be twin bridges with a connecting viaduct for the 1992 World’s Fair, the Alamillo was ultimately built as a single structure. The Alamillo Bridge is both a roadway and a pedestrian walkway. The walkway is lifted up 1.8 meters above the road, creating an efficient and comfortable way of travel. The deck of the bridge is constructed as a steel box beam, supported by steel girders every four meters along the bridge's length. Calatrava, both architect and engineer, developed an innovative way of stabilizing the structure, allowing the pylon to counterbalance the deck, thereby substituting one of the stay cables with an angled pylon.
Estadio de la Cartuja, commonly known as Estadio Olímpico de Sevilla, was completed in 1999, in time for the World Championships in Athletics. It can seat 57,619 spectators and has hosted various sporting events and concerts, although it has never actually been the site of any Olympic games.
41970 Santiponce (Isla de la Cartuja)
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Bus: C2 or C1
At the southern end of the stadium, the upper deck is replaced by a glass facade providing a view of the city. The awning is pierced by a large oval creating a shadow that affects all sporting events with different intensities. These two elements couple to make the sporting a spectacle without losing sight of its urban location.
The new headquarters of the state library is located on the previous grounds of the IberoAmerican Exposition and was commissioned by the Directorate General for Books, Archives and Libraries of the Ministry of Culture. The building occupies the center of the site because it is unique and therefore isolated from the surrounding buildings.
Infanta Elena Library Cruz y Ortiz 1995-1999 Avenida de Maria Luisa, 8 Bus: 6, 34, 41, C1, C2 Tram: Prado de San Sebastiรกn - T1 Metro: Prado de San Sebastiรกn - L1 Observations: Backpacks/purses must be left at entrance counter.
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The library focuses on its own interior composition with a setback from the street and subsequent covering of trees. The building collapses in upon itself creating a southern patio that allows for views that cross to create a unity among the four wings that define the library. The facades reflect the internal development and are modulated with large holes allowing natural light and views. The building is divided into 3 areas consisting of the main central connection, the adult "L" section, and the southern children's section.
Doña María Coronel 26 Housing Cruz y Ortiz 1974-1976 Calle Doña María Coronel 26 Bus: 10, 11, 12, 15, 20 , 24, 27
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Observations: Closed to public.
The building contains twelve apartments of about 100 square meters each. The prevailing regulations stipulated that 25% of the site must be left free of construction, in order to reduce population density in the old city center at that time. The project concentrated on the unconstructed space as a courtyard. To solve the geometrical problems the site posed, the resultant courtyard was shaped like a kidney. It provides a focal point that diverted attention from the many different buildings behind. The courtyard is also a key element to the organization of the entire building, marking off the areas to be occupied by housing as well as positioning the stairways.
The project was designed by Cruz y Ortiz to integrate and compliment the old 17th century barracks on the site with the new building on the adjacent site. Completed in 1995, the building combines stone, timber and glass (of similar color) and follows a neoclassical pattern. The ground plan was conceived by a shift achieved by the courtyard enclosure wall and the old barracks. The structural system appears to be made up of stone coated panels but the real structural mechanisms are hidden behind it.
Diputación Provincial de Sevilla
Built for La Previsión Española Insurance Company, this building blends into the architecture of Seville through its materiality and its ambiguous scale.
Previsión Española
The project uses the remains of the wall that joined the Torre del Oro to the walls of Sevilla. It enriches the ruins of the walls by being able to enter from two passages on Calle Almirante Lobo and on Paseo de Colón.
1982-1987
Cruz y Ortiz 1991-1995 Avda. Menéndez y Pelayo 32 Bus: C4, C3, 121 Metro: Prado de San Sebastián - L1
Rafael Moneo Paseo de Colón 26
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Bus: C4, B2 Metro: Puerta de Jerez - L1