Dear Regina,
"Architecture is an expression of values"
(Norman Foster)
R
2001. Berlin, Reichstag
Dear Sybi,
"It takes a lot of effort to make a building to look
effortless" (Norman Foster)
R
2000. Sainte-Marie-de-la-Tourette, Eveux
Querido Juan Luis:
Tiempo
El tiempo corre lentamente
vuela immerso en la roca densa
esencia inversa de la luz.
El tiempo camina mirándome
como si yo ya no estuviera
como si nunca hubiera sido.
El tiempo se detiene,
ultimo tiempo.
Jamás.
Un fuerte abrazo.
R
1999. Airport of Copenhagen
Querido Walter,
“El camino a la casa de un amigo nunca es demasiado
largo“ (Refrán danés)
Un abrazo de hermano,
R
1998. The Commons. Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago
Dear Rem,
"Man builds his environment with geometry, from the
smallest detail to the whole city. Therefore, geometry
is humankind's malleable language used to emulate
nature through human intellect" (Teresa Rovira)
Sincerely,
R
1997. Villa Savoye à Poissy
Dear Rob,
"Modern life demands a new kind of plan both for the
city and the house" (Le Corbusier)
Sincerely,
R
1996. Immeuble Molitor, Paris, France
Dear Mariela,
"To create architecture is to put in order function
and objects" (Le Corbusier)
Regards,
R
1995. Sevilla. Plaza de España y sede de la Compañía Sevillana de Electricidad
Querida Cristina,
En esta vieja postal se puede ver más allá de la estructura
curvilinea de la Plaza de España el edificio monolítico de
la nueva sede de la Compañía Sevillana de Electricidad
todavía en construcción.
Este edificio, hito pionero de la arquitectura
contemporánea en la ciudad, buscó su inspiración en la
sede proyectada por Mies van der Rohe para la compañía
Bacardí en Tultitlán, México.
Besos,
R
1994. Oslo. View from the Town Hall. The Skansen Restaurant
Dear Olof,
The Skansen Restaurant seen in this vintage postcard
was the first functionalist building in Norway. Its elliptical
shape with flat roof and continuous ribbon windows was
inspired by the shape of an airplane gondola. Its popular
terrace has a beautiful view over the Pipervika Bay.
Respectfully,
R
1993. Fonds Regional D'Art Contemporain, Nord-Pas de Calais, Dunkerque, France
Dear Aldo,
"Never demolish, never remove or replace, always add,
transform, and reuse" (Anne Lacaton)
Sincerely,
R
1992. Kouvola
Te mando esta bonita postal de la ciudad finlandesa de
Kouvola con su moderno ayuntamiento arriba a la
izquierda. Este elegante edificio fue diseñado y construido
por el reconocido arquitecto y profesor Juha Leiviska en
1968.
Besos,
R
1991. Aarhus Universitet. Aulaen
Dear Louis,
"I do not venture to consider myself a pioneer, nor do
I hope that I might justly be classified as a reactionary
architect. I shall be pleased to be taken as a representative
of the high average level of Danish architecture."
(Kay Fisker)
Respectfully,
R
1990. The Peace Bridge. Calgary
Dear David,
"I like very much the word passion, because it comes
from the Latin passio, which means “suffering.”
(Santiago Calatrava)
Sincerely,
R
1989. The Broad. Los Angeles
Dear Frank,
"Dubbed “the veil and the vault,” the museum’s
design merges the two key programs of the
building: public exhibition space and the storage
that will support The Broad Art Foundation’s
extensive lending activities." (Diller Scofidio)
Sincerely,
R
1988. St. Benedict Chapel Graubünden Switzerland
Dear Peter,
"When I start, my first idea for a building is with
the material. I believe architecture is about that.
It's not about paper, it's not about forms. It's about
space and material.” (Peter Zumthor)
Sincerely,
R
1987. Harajuku Protestant Church, Tokyo
Dear Tadao,
"The architecture for this Protestant Church is centered
by a wide nave arranged with six arches and a bell
tower that symbolically lay importance on the seven
elements, the seven days of creation, the seven churches
of the Orient…" (Ciel Rouge)
Sincerely,
R
1986. Arcade of Irwin Union Bank & Trust Company, Columbus, Indiana
Dear John,
"Architects don't take always into account how people find
their way around, or how a building fits into environment, or
how it can make people happy" (Kevin Roche)
Best regards,
R
1985. Tokyo International Forum. Interior
Dear Eladio,
"The best architecture redefines how things
are going to be, rather than repeating what
has been accepted, or what is already part of
the norm. (Rafael Viñoly)
Respectfully,
R
1984. Immeuble Molitor, Paris, France
Dear Mariela,
"The home should be the treasure chest
of living" (Le Corbusier)
Regards,
R
1983. Maggie´s Centre, Dundee
Dear Monica,
"I think it´s an inviting building, I think people will
want to come inside and spend time there, and I really
hope that in some small way it might contribute to a
sense of rejuvenated vigor for moving forward and
living life" (Frank Gehry)
Warm regards,
R
1982. Tokyo International Forum
Dear Koji,
"Buildings are forms of performances"
(Rafael Viñoly)
Sincerely,
R
1981. Turun Teatteri. Katsomo.
Querida Cristina,
Aquí te mando una postal antigua del interior del
teatro de Turku, obra temprana de Aalto. Fijándome
teatro de Turku, obra temprana de Aalto. Fijándome
en la inteligencia del diseño y la elegancia de los detalles
recuerdo la anécdota de cuando alguien le preguntó a
Aalto sobre el módulo de construcción que utilizaba
a lo que el maestro le contestó sin pestañear que
el milímetro.
Besos.
R
1980. Sanatorium 'Zonnestraal'
Dear Rem,
"Las necesidades del hombre son finitas, solamente
son infinitas las espirituales y estas requerirán cada
vez más atención" (Jan Duiker)
Respectfully,
R
1979. München. Pinakothek. Trepennhaus
Dear Jan H.,
“Hans Döllgast was truly one of the first
creative preservationists that we had in
Germany after the war. Today, most people
have forgotten that he belonged to the very
few by virtue of whose efforts the Leo von
Klenze’s Alte Pinakothek was not demolished
and replaced by something ‘contemporary.’
With his suggestion, he showed how one could
close up a hole torn open by bombs without
replacing everything as if nothing had happened.
His repair work strove to let the building’s scars
remain visible
….It is certain that in the future, Döllgast’s
modesty of built means and his reverence for
history will again become qualities to strive for
– namely when our ideology of perfectionism
has run itself into the ground.”
(Paulhans Peters)
Cheers,
R
1978. Bilbao. Isozaki Atea
Dear Hans,
"My first experience of architecture was the void of
architecture, then I began to consider how people
might rebuild their homes and cities.”
(Arata Isozaki)
Regards,
R
1977. Andorra. Santuari de Meritxell
Dear Pablo,
"Monumentality begins with the ritualization of life."
(Ricardo Bofill)
Sincerely,
R
1976. M/S Museet for Søfart. Maritime Museum of Denmark.
Dear Sara,
"What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason, how infinite in faculty!
In form and moving how express and admirable! In action how like an angel,
in apprehension how like a god! The beauty of the world. The paragon of
animals. And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust? Man delights not me."
(William Shakespeare, Hamlet)
Best regards,
R
1975. Cappella Santa Maria degli Angeli. Monte Tamaro
Dear Jan,
"The first action of architecture is to put a stone on
the ground. This action transforms a condition of
nature into a condition of culture. It's an action
tha becomes holy."
(Mario Botta)
Cheers,
R
1974. Kobenhavn Politigaarden. Arkitekt Hack Kampmann
Querida Cristina,
El cuartel general de la policía en Copenhague es
normalmente referido como el último gran ejemplo
de arquitectura neoclásica en el norte de Europa.
Su patio circular central de 45 metros de diámetro
está rodeado de 44 grandes columnas de orden
dórico.
Besos,
R
1973. Chapelle St. Rouin
Dear David,
A vintage postcard of the hermitage of Saint-Rouin
in the Argonne forest still in construction.
Dominican father Rayssiguier, a disciple of Le Corbusier,
was the architect of this little gem, a historic monument
since 1998.
Best regards,
R
1972. Kobenhavn. Flyve udsigt over Byen
Querida Cristina,
Cuando el cuartel general de la policía en Copenhague
se inauguró en 1924 su estilo neoclásico fue criticado
como anacrónico por aquellos que sentían que el
estilo que debería imponerse era el Funcionalismo,
tan en boga en Alemania y otras partes de Europa
en aquellos tiempos.
Besos,
R
1971. Barcelona. Panorámica.
Querida Cristina,
En esta interesante postal destacan además de
las conocidas Torres Trade de Coderch y Valls, las
Torres La Caixa de cristal tintado en negro también
de Coderch en colaboración con Frances Mitjans
i Miró. Las Trade se terminaron en 1969 mientras
que las Torre La Caixa se inauguraron 14 años
después en 1983.
Besos,
R
1970. Breslau. Tauentzienplatz, Wetheim
Dear Beata,
The luxurious and very modern Wertheim Department
Store was opened in 1930 and violently closed by the
National Socialist seven years later.
Happily, the building survived the war aftermath and
after several renovations and extensions it was
finally re-opened in 2009.
Sincerely,
R
1969. Helsinki. The Taivallahti Church
Dear Tapio,
"The church hall was excavated using a
certain system: first a large pit was made
while leaving a layer of one or two meters
un-excavated. The last few meters were then
excavated very carefully while planning at the
same tie how to accomplish an acoustically
suitable surface as well as some angles and
rough spots for the sake of outer
appearance."(Timo Suomalainen)
Regards,
R
1968. The Netherlands Pavilion at Expo 2000, Hannover
Dear Felix,
"The architecture of the Pavilion suggests
Dutch open-mindedness whilst referencing
stereotypes associated with the Dutch
landscape: tulips, windmills, and dykes"
(MVRDV)
Sincerely,
R
1967. The Fagus Shoe Factory. Alfeld-an-der-Leine, Germany
Dear Ludwig,
"A modern building must be true to
itself, logically transparent, and
virginal of lies and trivialities"
(Walter Gropius)
Sincerely,
R
1966. Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum. Austin, Texas
Dear Bruce,
"Was the overbearing mass of travertine called the
Lyndon Baines Johnson Library in Austin, Texas,
finished in 1971, a sly comment on Johnson's imperial
predilections, or the sad result of Mr. Bunshaft's own"
(Paul Goldberger)
Sincerely,
R
1965. Tampere Kaleva Church
Dear Rem,
"Pietilä´s avant-garde was, and is, more
of a philosophical or spiritual quality than
something merely connected to the
architectural forms" (Kaisa Broner)
Sincerely,
R
1964. Ostankino TV Tower
Querida María,
"Cuando llegas a la cumbre descubres que
no hay mucha diferencia entre ver las cosas
desde las alturas o desde el fondo del mar"
(Rafael Narbona)
R
1963. Marco de Canaveses
Querida Cristina,
"Un buen arquitecto trabaja despacio"
(Alvaro Siza Vieira)
Un abrazo,
R
1962. La Maison de Jean Prouvé
Dear Daniel,
"Never design anything that can not be made"
(Jean Prouvé)
Regards,
R
1961. Fourth Financial Center, Wichita, Kansas
Dear Natalie,
"Architecture is at the outset functional, but that
function must extend beyond the mundane to
matters of the spirit" (Bruce Graham)
Respectfully,
R
1960. Bouches-du-Rhone. L'Hôtel du département du 13
Dear David,
"Something ugly in the morning can become
beautiful in the evening"(Will Alsop)
Regards,
R
1959. Bergeijk, Weverij De Ploeg
Dear Hans,
"The spatial artist creates the environment and
proportions appropriate to our time"
(Gerrit Rietveld)
Cheers,
R
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