779. Central Post Office, Kharkov-Mordvinov

Dear Richard,

This is the Central Post Office and Police Department
(left side) in Kharkiv. A great constructivist building.
One of the best examples of the revolutionary Russian
modernist architecture that abruptly ended in 1932.

Best regards.
R

778. Helsinki, Porthania Building of University at Helsinki.

Dear Paul,

Aarne Ervi was a very important architect who worked
for Aalto before establishing his own office. Ervi was a
pioneer in using prefabricated architectural components
and new building materials, and his Porthania building is
a great example of this experimental spirit.

Regards,
R

777. Auferstchungskirche Essen-Altstadt

Dear Lisa,

The protestant Church of the Resurrection was built in
Essen in the early years of the Great Depression. The
architect Otto Bartning designed a simple central structure
on a circular ground plan, and used steel, concrete, and
brick as construction materials. The unusual shape of this
influential church not only responds to budget restrictions
but to the architect's willingness of making the building
reflects its main function: a community grouped around
the preacher.

Warm regards,
R

776. Rovaniemi, Finland

Dear David,

"The town is situated in the midst of forest in a park like
environment. In town planning as well as in building flats
one important thing is flexibility since we don't know
what is going to happen tomorrow. A part of the town is
left for the future..." (Alvar Aalto)

Sincerely
R

775. Akbar Hotel, New Delhi

Dear Hasan,

"Bad artists copy. Good artists steal."
(Pablo Picasso)

Regards,
R

774. Beira, Moçambique. Estacao do Caminho de Ferro

Querido Luz,

Francisco de Castro Rodrigues es un arquitecto portugués 
que trabajó gran parte de su vida en las antiguas colonias
portuguesas en Africa. Su obra más abundante y conocida
está en Lobito (Angola), donde aún se le conoce como el
arquitecto que construyó Lobito. Castro trabajó también 
en Mozambique, donde construyó la magnífica y moderna
Estación de ferrocarriles de Beira.

Un beso,
R

773. San Diego

Dear Geoffrey,

"I think architecture is a ride, a physical ride, and I 

mean that literally: a ride like in an amusement park, 

a fascinating journey towards the unexpected"

(Antoine Predock)

Regards,
R

772. Thorncrown Chapel, Eureka Springs, Arkansas

Dear Robert,

"Architecture is a kind of musical
instrument on which nature can play.”
(E. Fay Jones)

Best regards,
R

771. Curitiba

Mi querido Juan,

El dia de hoy cumpliria Oscar Niemeyer 105 años.
Me permito usar uno de tus poemas como pequeño
homenaje al gran maestro brasileño, que nos dejo
el pasado dia 5 de Diciembre.

ojos de pez

una vez conocí a una chica que comía
ojos de pez
y su visión del mundo abarcaba toda la manzana
cuando caminaba
con paso ligero por la calle

(Juan Luis Lara Ruiz-Granados
http://brandneweyes.wordpress.com)

Gracias por tu maravillosa amistad.

Besos.
R

770. Mount Angel Abbey. St. Benedict, Oregon

Dear Duke,

"When I stood in the library hall and felt the combined
effect of space and light, I knew that we had designed
a good building"
(Elisa Aalto speaking about the Mount Angel Abbey
library)

Sincerely,
R

769. Teatro Regio, Torino

Dear Luigi,

"Everything is admissible as long as it is
fantastic" (Carlo Mollino)

Best regards,
R

768. Australia's National Gallery and High Court

Dear Kylie,

Australia's National Gallery and High Court in Canberra
are two late 20th-Century Brutalist buildings of great
historical, social, and aesthetic relevance. The High Court
was designed to be seen from across the lake, while the
National Gallery is characterized by the informal plantings
of the Sculpture Garden and the very fine landscaping
around it.

Regards,
R

767. Brasil. Brasilia-DF. Igreja N. Sra. de Fatima

Dear Master,

Thank you for your endless talent, for your astonishing
sensibility and sense of beauty, for your strong and
permanent commitment with people from any kind of
social class.
Today I say that that Le Corbusier exclaimed when he
first visited the Praça dos Três Poderes:
"Bravo, Oscar, bravo"

Oscar Niemeyer (12/15/1907-12/5/2012)

R

766. Sevilla, Puente de la Barqueta

Querido Rafa,

"Asi, por tanto, el puente no viene a estar en un lugar,
sino que -por el mismo puente- nace el lugar".
(Martin Heidegger, Construir, Habitar, Pensar)

Este es otro precioso puente que esta proximo al
"Caballo de Troya" de Calatrava, conocido como
El Alamillo, y del que Casandra protege a Sevilla.
Seguro que te acuerdas de el.

Feliz Cumpleaños!

Te quiero mucho.
P

765. La Manga del Mar Menor

Querida Ines,

Esta postal nos lleva de viaje a un pasado
reciente y a la vez lejano. La imagen es de
mediados de los 60, ya que la "Torre Negra"
del Conjunto Hexagonal se termino en 1965.
Es obra del gran arquitecto catalan Antoni
Bonet Castellana que en esta su primera obra
en La Manga experimenta con formas derivadas
de una trama de hexagonos regulares. Toda la
composicion incluyendo los jardines y las piscinas
derivan de esas formas geometricas. El Conjunto
Hexagonal estaba formado por 7 bloques
menores y una unica torre de 14 plantas. Todos
los edificios tenian vistas a ambos mares, el
Menor y el Mediterraneo, y estaban revestidos
de ceramica vidriada verdosas en los bloques
verdes y negra en la Torre Negra. La persiana
mallorquina abatible fue el elemento tradicional
de proteccion solar aplicado a este conjunto tan
racional y a la vez poetico.

Un abrazo.
R  

764. Storhamarlåven

Dear Enric,

"Architecture is not just a question of rationalism, but an
irrational idea that needs to be supported by a rational
structure" (Sverre Fehn)

Best,
R