232. Lever House, New York

Dear Aldo,

This building is located directly across
Park Avenue from the Seagram Building
by Mies van der Rohe. It was one of the
first Curtain Wall modern office buildings
in the U.S. and architecturally and
programmatically a big revolution.
Needlessly to say that the Lever House
has been much copied elsewhere from
Buenos Aires to Copenhagen.

Best regards.
R

231. Buenos Aires. Teatro Colon y Edificio Fiat

Dear Claude,

The Torre Mirafiore (called Edificio Fiat when completed
back in 1964) made me to remember the wonderful Royal
Hotel where I stayed when I was in Copenhagen.

All the best.
R

230.Copenhagen, Denmark, Hotel Royal

Dear Claude,

The Alberto K gourmet restaurant, on
the 20th floor of the Hotel Royal has besides
a marvelous menu a breathtaking view.
All Jacobsen details are preciousness too.
See you soon in Buenos Aires.

Take care
R

229. Vista Aerea de la Ciudad Universitaria. Caracas, Venezuela

Dear Alexander,

The unquestionable reference of this magnificent 

covered plaza designed by Villanueva, is Le Corbusier's 

lobby in the Palace of the Soviets project of 1931. This 

plaza works as a lobby for the theater and the rectory 

and it is decorated with art works by Bloc, Calder, 

Pevsner etc. It has been an inspiration for many 

architects, including Alvaro Siza when designing the 

Portugal Pavilion for the Expo 98.

Regards.
R

228. California Academy of Sciences

Dear Jan

“I try to get at the fundamental emotion of a site. The
roof design is like lifting up a piece of the park and putting
a building under it.” (Renzo Piano)
Now Jan you have another good reason to come back to
San Francisco.

Cheers.
R

227. Barcelona. Parque Guell, Columnas del Teatro Griego.

Querido Alfonso,

Esta estructura de columnas levantada
por Gaudi me inspira pensar en conceptos
como solidez y belleza, ambos reunidos
aqui simultaneamente. Es tambien como las
amistades viejas, tal como la nuestra.

Un abrazo
R

226. Berlin (West) Internationale Bauaustellung

Querido Juan,

Según Enric Miralles, la obra de Peter Eisenman es útil 
para pensar. Según él desde un pensamiento acerca de
ella podremos desplazarnos a los lugares donde es
posible preguntarse por el sentido de la arquitectura.
Siento no haber podido verte esta vez en Sevilla. La
próxima vez será y quizás entonces podamos
preguntarnos juntos por el sentido de la arquitectura.

Un abrazo muy fuerte.
R

225. Torino. Il Salone Internazionale delle Tecnica al Palazzo delle Esposizioni al Valentino

Cristina,

Durante algunos años de su vida Pier Luigi Nervi se
dedico al estudio de cubiertas de grandes dimensiones
construidas con elementos prefabricados de hormigon
armado. En este campo su indiscutible obra maestra
es la cúpula del Palacio de Exposiciones de Turín
(1948-49). Esta cubierta esta contituida por una celosia
ondulada de un espesor de 5 cm y una altura media de
1.5 m que es capaz de salvar una luz de 76 m. El inmenso
espacio es tan dramatico como el de las grandes catedrales
goticas.

Besos.
R

224. Markuskyrkan, Skarpnacks forsamling, Bjorkhagen, Stockholm

Dear Sven,

Lewerentz talked about ancient Persian masonry walls when asked for the design process of his famous Church of St. Mark. Indeed the archaic and closed walls of the building stand against the light birch grove on the site and continue inside the building with wonderful masonry vaults ceilings. St. Mark's was completed in 1960 when Lewerentz was 75 and it was the building that consolidated his position as the living master amongst Swedish architects.

Best regards.
R

223. Whitney Museum of American Art

Dear Arnt,

"Modern Architecture is not a style,
It's an attitude" (Marcel Breuer)

Regards
R

222. San Francisco Store designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for V.C. Morris 140 Maiden Lane

Dear Bob,

When questioned by V.C. Morris
about the omission of storefront
windows on the facade, Frank Lloyd
Wright replied:
"We are not going to dump your
beautiful merchandise on the street,
but create an arch-tunnel of glass, into
which the passers-by may look and be
enticed. As they penetrate further into
the entrance, seeing the shop inside
with its spiral ramp and tables set with
fine china and crystal, they will suddenly
push open the door, and you've got
them!"

Nice mouse trap!

Regards.
R

221. Rotterdam, Calandplein, Monument en Passage

Dear Louetta,

During the bombing of the city center of Rotterdam in
1940, the original Cafe de Unie (1925) built by J.J.P.
Oud was destroyed. It stood at the Coolsingel and it
shows here in this old postcard partially behind the
monument. In 1986 the façade was reproduced in a
different location. The design is a perfect example of
the Dutch artistic movement De Stijl with its use of
primary colours and simple abstract composition.

Regards.
R

220. Dudley Zoo

Dear Uncle Dudley,

British Dudley Zoo (1935-37) is a regrettable neglected
monument of national significance. Berthold Lubetkin,
the main architect, once said: “A society that openly
professes that the present is expendable and the future
unintelligible begets artists who have to scream to be
noticed and remembered for a quarter of an hour.”

Best regards.
R

219. New York World's Fair. The Brazilian Pavilion

Dear Lucia,

The Brazilian pavilion was one of the outstanding features
of the 1939 World's Fair. It was so, that the mayor of NY,
Fiorello La Guardia conferred the accolade of honorary
citizen of New York City on architect Niemeyer, a
declared communist.

Best.
R

218. Cantabria, Santander. Palacio de Festivales

Luz,

Aún recuerdo cuando Don Francisco nos dijo que algo
importante en este edificio era penetrar en él ascendiendo
desde la escena como un Epidauro y anclarlo en la bahía
para dejarlo clavado ahí para siempre.

Besos.
R