502. Darmstadt. Villa Olbrich. Kunstler Kolonie

Dear Enric,

"Art holds fast when all else is lost" (German proverb)

Regards,
R

501. La Cite d'affaires de Paris. Plan Voisin

Dear Ken,

The Le Corbusier's Plan Voisin exhibited for the first
time in the Pavillon de L'Esprit Nouveau of 1925 and
showing a radical scheme for the rebuilding of part of
Paris. It was financially supported by Voisin, aircrafts
and automobiles french manufacturer.

"subway; ground level and elevators; raised highways.
Then, sixty floors of building. At the top, the armored
platform against aerial bombardments." (Le Corbusier)

Sincerely,
R

500. Expo 92 Sevilla. Pabellon Finlandia

Querida Cristina,

Esta postal es la numero 500 de este blog
y esta dedicada al inolvidable y
afortunadamente aun existente Pabellon
de Finlandia de la Expo 92 de Sevilla. El
pabellon esta compuesto por dos
volumenes antagonicos pero tambien
complementarios: la "maquina" de acero
y la "quilla" de madera. Cada uno
representa lo que Finlandia tiene de
internacional y de regional, siendo al
mismo tiempo una feliz reinterpretacion
del famoso desfiladero fines llamado "La
garganta del infierno". Curiosamente el
efecto mas poderoso de esta composicion
es el sobrecogedor vacio que se crea entre
ambas estructuras y que da acceso al
interior.

Mil besos.
R

499. Sidi Harazen, Piscine Circulaire

Dear Emile,

In Fez, at the site of the shrine of Sidi Harazem, there is
an outstanding thermal bath complex designed by
Jean-François Zevaco. The architecture of this place is
full of delicious references to Le Corbusier and Niemeyer
creations.

Regards.
R

498. Baha'i House of Worship, New Delhi, India

Dear Aston & Eileen,

The Bahá'í temple in New Delhi was completed in 1986
and designed by Iranian architect Fariborz Sahba.
Although inspired by the lotus flower, its design is also
very much influenced by Utzon's Sydney Opera House.

Hope you are doing well.
R

497. Design for the Amsterdam City Hall

Dear Ian

An international competition for the design of the new
Amsterdam City Hall was held in 1967. 803 entries
were received. Seven of the final twenty designs were
then selected and their designers asked to further
elaborate their schemes. Rafael Moneo was among
these seven finalists. He stated about his project: "The
filtering of light from the roof is the main theme of the
internal space, thus the reception-rooms have been
conceived as real light-wells"

Holzbauer won the competition, but the project was
first postponed and eventually replaced by the Stopera
Complex.

Regards.
R

496. Agadir. La Reserve

Dear David,

I found this great postcard and thought you would love it.
It is sad though to think that this splendid structure
disappeared in the horrific earthquake that in 1960 almost
destroyed the entire city of Agadir.

Best.
R

495. Hotel Savoy-Bandung. Indonesia

Mon cher David,

The wonderful Hotel Savoy in Bandung reminds me the
architecture of the first years of Frank Lloyd Wright or
the energetic horizontal lines in Erich Mendelsohn's
projects. The pretty much unknown dutch architect,
Albert Frederik Aalbers, designed this fabulous building
to be built at that time in the Dutch East Indies, today
Indonesia, where he had moved in 1928 to open his
professional office.

Again thank you and congratulations for your wonderful
blog: http://archipostcard.blogspot.com/

Cheers.
R

494. Cimitero Brion a San Vito di Altivole, Treviso

Dear Michael,

"I defend the need for decoration in order to achieve a
life of expression and meaning in architecture and I
oppose the definition of spaces denoted by bare
stereometry and simplistic formalism" (Carlo Scarpa)

Best.
R

493. Warshaw Residence (unbuilt). Los Angeles

Dear Harold,

"Modern man pays no attention to structural members.
There are no more columns with base, shaft and cap,
no more masses with foundation course and cornice.
He sees the daring of the cantilever, the freedom of the
wide span, the spaceforming surfaces of thin wall
screens" (Rudolph M. Schindler)

Regards.
R