322. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Victoria Square



Dear Pier,

La Tour de la Bourse is a skyscraper built in 1964 by
Luigi Moretti and Pier Luigi Nervi. It is considered by
many to be a masterpiece of skyscraper design. Its
facades feature a bronze-tinted curtain wall that
establish a strong counterpoint with the whiteness of
the columns at the corners.

Regards
R

321. Macroplaza, Monterrey, N.L., Mexico


Dear Ralph,

Two thin slices painted in bright red form a stele that it
is also a tower; Barragan's one of his obsessions. He
wanted it reaches towards the sky and beyond with
the aid of laser light beams creating a magic effect of
scale that could be consistent with the tremendous size
of the Monterrey's Macroplaza

Regards
R

320. Sevilla. Olimpico


Querida Lucia,

Cruz y Ortiz hablan de este edificio de un manera muy
poetica. Hablan de un edificio vestido, con muchas
capas; de un edificio que contiene un estadio en su
interior; de un gran edificio industrial que contiene unos
graderios; de un gran edificio de fachadas quebradas
en la que al sur se abre una gran ventana...

Besos mil
R

319. Kobenhavn. Gammel Torv med Domkirken



Dear Elias,

"If architecture had nothing to do with art, it would be
astonishingly easy to build houses, but the architect's
task - his most difficult task - is always that of
selecting." (Arne Jacobsen)

Regards
R

318. Buenos Aires. Edificio Comega


Querido Ricardo,

El Comega siempre me pareció 
estar mirando al rio como
distraidamente pero sin dejar
nunca de hacerlo. Pienso en él al
leer un poema de Julio Cortazar
llamado "La Ciudad" que dice asi:

El rio baja por las costas
con su alternada indiferencia
y la ciudad lo considera
como una perra perezosa.

Ni amor, ni espera, ni el combate
del nadador, contra la nada.
Con languidez de cortesana
mira a su rio Buenos Aires.

El tiempo es ese gris compadre
pitando alli sin hacer nada.

Abrazos
R

317. Den Haag. Madurodam



Querida Amparo,

En la ciudad de La Haya, en el Parque Madurodam,
existe una ciudad en miniatura con maquetas que
recrean en escala 1:25 casi todos los edificios
importantes de Holanda. Alli me lleve la sorpresa
de disfrutar entre otras, de la maqueta de la Escuela
Artesanal de Scheveningen, obra primorosa de
Johannes Duiker y Bernard Biljvoet de 1929.

Un beso de tu hermano.
R

316. Stuttgart. Weissenhof-Siedlung



Dear Hugo,

Yesterday I spent some hours visiting the site of the
Weissenhofsiedlung. I noticed there were a very few
people there so for me the day was quiet and the weather
just perfect. Fortunately I carried with me an old copy of
Henry Ford's autobiography and had time to read it all
when in there. Sitting near the big double "billboard" that
Corbu's houses were then, facing to the city down below,
I had my mind transported back to the hyperactivity of
this place in 1927.

Thank you for your contribution.
Sincerely
R

315. de Erasmusbrug



Dear Jan

"The good thing about producing a building is that,
much more so than when a new film or novel comes
out, people keep interacting with it for a long time.
The true nature of architecture is found in the
interaction between the architect, the object and the
public." (from UNStudio.com)

Best wishes.
R

314. Verona. Castelvecchio-Cortile


Dear Terry,

Louis Kahn wrote a poem on Scarpa's architecture:

In the work of Carlo Scarpa
Beauty
the first sense
Art
the first word
Then Wonder
Then the inner realization of "Form"
the sense of the wholeness of inseparable elements
Design consults Nature
to give presence to the elements.
A work of art makes manifest the wholeness of "Form"
the symphony of the selected shapes of the elements
In the elements
the joint inspire ornament, its celebration.
The detail is the adoration of Nature

Sincerely
R

313. Hotel Casino de la Selva, Cuernavaca, Mor. Mexico



Querido Juan,

Quiza influido por lo azaroso del ambiente en el casino,
antes de salir de el, mire hacia arriba, hacia el majestuoso
paraboloide hiperbolico que el gran Felix Candela trazo
en esta estructura y pense ayudado por Fernandez Mallo:
El mundo se rige por el azar de un parchis, no por las
mecanicas leyes del ajedrez.

Suerte y besos.
R

312. Wien I., Michaelerplatz



Dear Alvaro

"An object is beautiful if it is so perfect you could not
add anything or take anything away without spoiling it.
That would be the most perfect, absolute harmony"
(Adolf Loos)

Best regards.
R

311. Kunsthaus Bregenz. Karl Tizian Platz


Dear Helene,

"Movement, barely perceptible, emerges
in space. Spatial curiosity is aroused. This
is the movement that sparks a spiral
movement which leads us through the
building, gripping us at the main entrance
and gently propelling us into the building's
interior. We see the door, the entrance to
the next floor, the cascade of stairs, and
the radiant daylight ceiling of the upper
room" (Peter Zumthor on The Kunsthaus
Bregenz)
The way Peter describes this building is as
rich and graceful as his own architecture,
full of apparently effortless beauty in form
and proportions.

Best regards,
R

310. Calpe. Peñon de Ifach desde la Manzanera



Querida Cristina,

Dice Bofill:
"Definir el concepto es la parte mágica de la arquitectura,
lo más creativo"
Esto lo comparto con él. Quizá por eso lo que más me
interesa de su trabajo son las primeras obras porque es
donde la definición del concepto era mas enérgica y
clara de entender.

Mil besos
R

309. Barcelona. Primer Cinturon de Ronda y Edificios Trade






Querida Luz,

La idea original de Coderch para la solución de la
carpintería en los Edificios Trade era fijar el cristal solo
sobre el montante interno dejando el otro a hueso, y
dado que el perfil en planta de la fachada es en diente
de sierra, esto hubiese permitido que viendo el edificio
desde una dirección solo se apreciase el cristal sin
interrupción. Esto no pudo finalmente llevarse a cabo,
pero aun así estos edificios, acabados en 1965, son de
una honestidad plástica y constructiva tal que se
mantienen completamente al día después de tantos años.

Besos.
R

308. Teatro Carlo Felice. Genova



Dear Seth,

One of the numerous thoughts of Aldo Rossi included
in his celebrated book "The Architecture of the City"
states:
"...the dynamic process of the city tends more to
evolution than preservation, and that in evolution
monuments are not only preserved but continuously
presented as propelling elements of development"

Although this book was written in 1982 I believe it is
still a powerful source of valuable ideas.

Best regards.
R