402. Rovaniemi. Pohjanhovi

Dear Reima.

Pohjanhovi was opened in 1936. It was built in the
functionalist style and was the Arctic Circle’s most refined
hotel. Regrettably in 1945 and within the tragic events
associated with the Lapland War between Finland and the
Nazi Germany, Pohjanhovi was burnt to the ground.

Sincerely.
R

401. New Boston City Hall-Government Center Boston, Mass.

Dear Ken,

"An architect is a man concerned with building meaningfully.
As opposed to someone who is interested in building
efficiently, or sometimes even beautifully, or as opposed to
the whole engineering aspects of building, as opposed to
adorning buildings, as opposed to all the ramifications that
consultants get into." (Paul Rudolph)

Regards.
R

400. Erba. Piazzale del Monumento

Dear Lina,

The Erba's Monument to those killed in W.W.I. was
designed by Terragni and Lingeri and completed in 1932.
Vitale has said about this monument that it is similar to the
Licinium teatro all'aperto also in Erba, in which the circles
acquire the symbolic value of places with respect to the
linear layout.

Regards.
R

399. Oslo-Doblouggarden, Basarhallene og Vor Frelsers Kirke

Dear Silke,

"Function is, of course, the primary element, but function
without a sensual component is just construction...The
functional dynamic is the postulate" (Erich Mendelsohn)

Best.
R

398. Memorial Hall of Peace, Hiroshima

Dear Koji,

"When I was engaged in the design of the Hiroshima
peace facilities, I had an ambition of coordinating the
two scales, human scale and social human scale, in one
building. I started with the Peace Memorial Museum.
Its main structure was built in social human scale, while
stairs with a landing and birdcage-like louvers were in
human scale. These two scales were meant to interact
with each other." (Kenzo Tange)

Best regards.
R

397. Barcelona. Plaza Ildefonso Cerda

Querido Enrique,

Las oficinas y taller de la SEAT en
Barcelona, obra de César Ortiz-Echague
y Rafael Echaide es la introducción en
España del llamado "funcionalismo
tecnológico". Su imagen, muy deudora
de la arquitectura de Mies, rompe con
el concepto tradicional hasta entoces de
edificio opaco y severo haciendo que el
edificio se vuelva una caja de cristal para
obtener asi un claro sentido de accesibilidad 

y una palpable atmósfera democrática.

Un abrazo.
R

396. Noordwijk Aan Zee, Holland. Grand Hotel Huis Ter Duin

Dear David,

For Bijvoet Architecture was the only thing that 

counted. He remained a builder who allowed his 

buildings to express by themselves. This Hotel, 

built in 1950, is now demolished.

Best regards.
R

395. Mannesmannhaus Dusseldorf

Dear Gio,

"Monumentality requires cubic compactness and creation
of large form" (Peter Behrens).
But he claimed also that the Mannesmann Building derives
from an analysis of use.

Regards.
R

394. St. Catherine's College, Oxford, UK

Dear Stefano,

"Any perfection we might strive to express would
(in that case) be the rule or nothingness. Close to these
lies beauty"
(P. O. Runge)

"I feel like throwing up over all this aestheticism"
(Arne Jacobsen)

Thanks for the book.
Cheers.
R

393. Aerial Tramway, Palm Springs, California

Dear Gloria,

"Creative expression reaches its climax when shape, space and composition satisfy completely the practical requirements and interpret them in a design of intrinsic harmony" (Albert Frey)

Sincerely
R