1719. Concepción, Chile, Estación Ferrocarriles del Estado

Querida Mónica,

"Primera condición de toda obra maestra: pasar inadvertida"
(Nicanor Parra, poeta chileno)

R

1718. Berlin-Reinickendorf-Ost, Aroser-allee mit Brückenhaus

Dear Siby,

In addition to the Siemensstadt housing estate and the "Horseshoe"
settlement in Britz among others, the "White Town" at the village
of Reinickendorf was one of the most remarkable functionalist
residential communities built in Berlin in the 1930s.
The centerpiece of this 60,000 square meter estate was the
bridge-like building across the Aroser Allee built by Otto Rudolf
Salvisberg.

Cheers,
R

1717. Stockholmsutställningen 1930

Dear Anne,

"(...) my parents went to visit the grand exhibition in Stockholm
in 1930. (...) There they were exposed to a new and simple, white
architecture that drew in light and air, one that let in the sunshine
and paid homage to the practicality, the uncovered- you might call
it the functionalist. This was evident in Gunnar Asplund's
exhibition buildings that were made with light constructions and
emanating something completely new in Scandinavia.(...)
(Jörn Utzon)

Sincereley
R

1716. Terme Radioattive Regina Isabella Lacco Ameno (Isola Ischia)

Querido Gio,

"Dejando intactos solo la columnata exterior, su nombre, los
buenos augurios, y la historia sin cambios" (Ignazio Gardella)

Saludos cordiales,
R

1715. Secessions-Ausstellung, Wien

Querida Cristina,

Te mando un preciosa postal de 106 años de antigüedad.
Esta es además un magnífico complemento de otra que publiqué
en este blog hace ahora casi diez años el día 7 de enero de
2009 (postal número 176).

Todo mi cariño y feliz año nuevo.
R

1714. Bruxelles 1958. Pavillon de la Yougoslavie

Dear Sam,

This elegant and graceful, almost ethereal Yugoslav Pavilion
was highly admired when built in the occasion of the Brussel's
Exposition of 1958.  Today it is still standing in a different
location: Saint Paulus College at Wevelgem, Belgium.

Best regards,
R

1713. Notre Dame du Haut, Ronchamp

Dear David,

"The purpose of architecture is to move us"
(Le Corbusier)

Buon Natale,
R

1712. Republic Square, Tbilisi, Georgia

Dear Zurab,

The monumental concrete arches nicknamed "Andropov's Ears"
were built to honor an oficial visit of Yuri Andropov, the general
secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and former
chairman of the KGB.
The monument was demolished in 2005 after Georgia's
independence from the Soviet Union occurred in 1991.

Sincerely,
R

1711. Baghdad University. Office Tower.

Dear George,

"Baghdad is an ideal project.(...) The total design of a
university is a goal achieved" (Walter Gropius)

Regards,
R

1710. L'Ecole la plus moderne de France

Querido Walter,

"No les evitéis a vuestros hijos las dificultades de la vida,
enseñadles más bien a superarlas" (Louis Pasteur)

Un abrazo,
R

1709. MIT's Ray and María Stata Center

Dear Sarah,

"The Stata's appearance is a metaphor for the freedom, daring,
and creativity of the research that's supposed to occur inside it."
(Robert Campbell)

Regards,
R

1708. Hotel Xenia, Poros

Dear Dimitri,

"You have to become laòs (the people of God) yourself
first before you can show others what is valuable from
your own people" (Aris Konstantinidis)

Sincerely,
R

1707. The Kruševo Makedonium, Macedonia

Querido José,

En 1903 un grupo de macedonios hizo frente al ataque del
Imperio Otomano iniciando un movimiento que desembocaría
en la creación de la República de Macedonia.
En 1974 se levantó este monumento-edificio que recuerda
extrañamente a las válvulas de un corazón, quizá inspirado
por los corazones de aquel grupo.

Un abrazo,
R

1706. Imperial Hotel, Tokyo, Japan

Dear Toyo,

"I just shake the buildings out of my sleeves"
(Frank Lloyd Wright)

Respectfully,
R

1705. The Juilliard School building at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts

Dear Marcel,

"The most important features of architecture are space, structure,
and scale" (Eduardo Catalano)

Best regards,
R

1704. Vouksenniskan kirkko

Dear Raili,

"Yet a harp might be constructed
Even of the bones of fishes,
If there were a skillful workman,
Who could from the bones construct it"

(Elias Lönnrot, The Kalevala)
Respectfully,
R 

1703. National Bank of Denmark, Copenhagen

Queridos Luz, Manolo y Gabriel,

"Los dioses no regalan grandeza. Nada verdaderamente
grande se obtiene gratis" (Soren Kierkegaard)

Besos,
R

1702. Bermeo (Bizkaya) Batzoki

Cristina,

El Batzoki (Sede política del PNV) de Bermeo es un edificio
que oscila entre el racionalismo y el expresionismo dominante
en Europa en la época de su construcción.
Las referencias naúticas en las formas redondeadas de la esquina,
balcones y barandillas son claramente distinguibles.

Besos,
R

1701. Landesschule Klotzsche

Dear Alvaro,

An old postcard depicting the Saxon State School in Dresden.
When I looked at this picture beautiful memories of my visit
to your Teachers Training College at Setúbal came to my mind.
A similar sense of elegance and harmony are shared between
these buildings.

Gratefully,
R

1700. Alvar Aalto Museum, Jyväskylä

Querida Cristina,

"En una ciudad había una mujer tan feliz que se la expuso
en un museo, ahí ella sonreía. Irradiaba una felicidad tal que
la gente parada en la puerta tuvo que usar anteojos de sol, no
se permitió la entrada a los niños. Cada hora recitó un aforismo
sobre el amor, la gente llegó y escribió en sus pequeños cuadernos
cuadriculados, también suspiraron felices. Ellos no vieron cómo el 
celador por las noches llevaba a la mujer al cuarto de atrás, le abría
una tapa en la espalda, le recargaba las pilas, cambiaba su falda, le
lavaba el cabello sedoso. La boca de la mujer, más profunda que
ninguno de los lagos del país de canciones tristes, se abría y 
cerraba, tragaba todo y sonreía" (Kati Neuvonen)

Besos,
R

1699. La Cité Universitaire de Paris. Collège néerlandais

Dear Rosa,

"Architecture is the art of defined spaces"
(Willem Marinus Dudok)

Best regards,
R

1698. Algeciras, Mercado de Abastos

Mamá

Concepto mondo y lirondo
suele ser cáscara hueca;
puede ser caldera al rojo.

(Antonio Machado, Proverbios y Cantares)

Un millón de besos,
R

1697. Balfron Tower

Dear Amy,

"The whole object of building high is to free the ground for
children and grown-ups to enjoy Mother Earth and not to cover
every inch with bricks and mortar." (Ernö Goldfinger)

Regards,
R

1696. Centro Botin Centre, Santander

Cristina,
Sáenz de Oíza citando a García Lorca decía que el esfuerzo, la
técnica y el oficio son las tres premisas que requieren el oficio
de arquitecto (o de cualquier artista).
Al visitar este edificio el verano pasado noté que los tres estaban
presentes.

Besos,
R

1695. Aalto Theater, Essen

Querida Siby,

"Sin el encanto, lo demás es inútil"
(Jorge Luis Borges, Una, La Divina Comedia; Siete Noches)

Besos,
R

1694. Fondation Louis Vuitton

Dear Frédéric,

"I see my building as if it were moving through the forest,
tracing an alley, a fluid liquid element, an entity whose unity
and direction from whatever side, always seems different, not
easy to determine whose nature and ephemeral quality blend
with the clouds, variation of the sky and rain being factors
constantly changing the perception of the building"
(Frank Gehry, talking about Fondation Louis Vuitton)

With gratitude,
R

1693. Atrio del Museo Guggenheim Bilbao

Mamá, Louis,

"...el mundo entero es un Bilbao más grande"
(Miguel de Unamuno, Rimas de dentro)

Besos muchos muchos,
R

1692. J.K.K. Kirjasto

Querido Roberto,
.
"...,pero biblioteca es pan o pirámide o cualquier otra cosa..."
(Jorge Luis Borges, La Biblioteca de Babel)

Con admiración,
R

1691. Tallinn, Hotel Olümpia

Dear Indira,

One of Tallinn's most noticeable building, this 26-story
hotel building was built for the 1980 Summer Olympics
sailing competitions occasion. It was renovated in 1997
and most recently in 2017 and renamed Radisson Blu
Hotel Olümpia.

Sincerely,
R

1690. Fagus Werk

Dear Karl,

"The role of the walls becomes restricted to that of mere screens
stretched between the upright columns of the framework to keep
out rain, cold and noise." (Walter Gropius)

Sincerely,
R

1689. Centro Botín, Santander

Dear Luis,

“I feel truly honored to have taken on this project for the city
of Santander because it is yet another example in my repertoire
of open, tolerant, and accessible cultural spaces, joining the
Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Auditorium in Rome, Foundation
Beyeler in Basel, the Morgan Library in New York, and the Art
Institute of Chicago; all urban spaces loved by the people”
(Renzo Piano)

Regards,
R

1688. Sabaudia. Casa del Balilla

Dear Florestano,

"Frezzotti's one story Balilla building is perhaps the most
interesting building in Sabaudia, in spite of the later downgrading
of his reputation. It is kept in a sober size, but nevertheless
monumental in style. Its clean geometrical shapes are articulated
in an ochre yellow brick, with travertine details and generous
amount of glass"
(Hanne Storm Ofteland,  Sabaudia 1934, Materializing the Fascist 
Corporate Town, 2002)

Sincerely,
R

1687. House 14-15, Weissenhofsiedlung, Stuttgart, 1927

Dear Hans,

"House is a machine for living in"
(Le Corbusier, Toward an Architecture, 1923)

Sincerely,
R

1686. Oesterreichisches Haus, Cöln 1914

Dear Lucius,

"Beauty is the result of centuries of care and ordering."
(Josef Hoffmann)

Regards,
R

1685. Bata Store, Reichenberg, Tuchplatz

Querido Walter,

Este elegante edificio de los famosos almacenes de calzado
Bata te resultará familiar de tus tiempos en Liberec.
El arquitecto, Vladimir Karfík, construyó muchos edificios
para esta compañía incluyendo el renombrado Edificio 21 de
16 pisos en la ciudad de Zlín, sede principal de la firma.

Un abrazo,
R

1684. Edificio Siboney, Puerto Chico, Santander

Querido Rafael,

Hermoso edificio expresionista el Siboney con sus fuertes
referencias naúticas como las esquinas redondeadas, las largas
tiras horizontales de ventanas, las ventanas en ojo de buey, los
colores blanco y celeste, como si fuese un gran transatlántico
amarrado en Puerto Chico...

Saludos afectuosos,
R

1683. Hotel Panorama, Štrbské Pleso, Slovakia

Dear Peter,

The impressive Hotel Panorama was built in 1970 to accommodate
visitors to the World Ski Championship. Since 2008 the building
has been remodeled as a mixed-use complex including besides the
hotel, private apartment units, and common areas and facilities.

Regards,
R

1682. Abidjan, Cathedrale Saint Paul.

Dear Patrizia,

The shape of the windows recall the form of a powerful elephant.
The structure is supported from above. The power from Above.

Sincerely,
R