326. Marseille. La Cite Radieuse

Corey,

A view of the nursery school and reflecting pool at the
Unite d'habitation's roof terrace. To me this building is
like a big ocean liners docked in the Marseilles' landscape.

Best.
R

325. Macau. Ruinas de S. Paulo

Dear Eduardo,

"The face is telling a lie is saying the
truth" (Nietzsche)

Regards.
R

324. Karl-Marx-Stadt

Querido abuelo Joaquin,

En la Karl Marx Stadt o Ciudad de Karl Marx aun
permanece milagrosamente en pie despues de los
bombardeos del 45 el edificio Schocken de
Mendelsohn construido en 1930 y que es
considerado uno de los hitos de la arquitectura
moderna. Aqui te mando una vista sesgada muy rara
de ver. Es el edificio alto hacia la izquierda de la foto
con el remate escalonado. Esta vista es posible porque
cuando se tomo esta foto el edificio vecino habia sido
demolido (o bombardeado?). En la mente de
Mendelsohn este edificio solo podia ser contemplado
frontalmente y a lo largo de sus elegantes lineas curvas.

Un beso cariñoso
R

323. Berlin. Alexanderplatz

Querida Regina,

A veces al mirar los dos edificios especulares que Behrens
construyo para la Alexanderplatz recuerdo la manera en
que el Adam Pollo de Le Clezio soñaba vivir: pongo dos
hamacas frente a frente, debajo de la ventana, asi, a eso
del mediodia, me tiendo y duermo al sol, delante del paisaje.

Besos.
R

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

307. Kimbell Art Museum

Dear Tanu,

Two thoughts from Louis I. Kahn:
"You know what's so wonderful about those porches?
They're so unnecessary."(Regarding the open porches
in the Kimbell Art Museum)
"Structure is the giver of light"

Best regards.
R

306. Fundacio Joan Miro, facada principal

Querido Juan,

Cuando llegué a la Fundació y pisé el umbral de la entrada
principal pensé en lo que Michel Houellebecq en "La
posibilidad de una isla": Quién sigue pensado en el arte
cuando es posible la felicidad?
No pienses mas en el arte.

Abrazos.
R

305. Estadio Municipal de Braga

Querida Cristina,

Para este Estadio Souto de Moura penso en los anfiteatros
romanos al adosarlo a la falda de la colina existente. No
contento con eso siguio pensando en los puentes incas
peruanos para resolver la cubierta. Comprendo que te
guste tanto...

Mil besos.
R

304. Torino. Auditorium RAI e la Mole Antonelliana

Dear Giovanni,

"A man sets himself the task of designing the world.
As time goes by, he populates space with images
of provinces, kingdoms (...) residences, instruments,
stars, horses and people. Shortly before dying, he
discovers that this patient labyrinth of lines draws
the picture of his own face" (Carlo Mollino)

All the best.
R

303. Stockholm. Stadsbiblioteket

Dear Tanu,

"Today's architectural will, when it is as its best, proceeds
towards subordinating detail, an ordering of all
heterogeneous needs and demands and dimensions, to a
strong architectural grip around a central idea: it seeks order and character" (Gunnar Asplund)
Almost a manifesto for the magnificent Stockholm Public
Library that he designed in 1928.

Best regards.
R

302. Bruselas 58. Vista exterior del Pabellon Español

Dear Aldo,

Now that the pavilion is finished and packed with people
I feel more convinced that Corrales y Molezun have
contributed enormously on the rebirth of modern Spanish
architecture with this fabulous building.

Best regards.
R

301. Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona

Dear Melissa,

"The whiteness clarifies the intention in terms of the way
in which light comes, in various ways, into the building;
and I think for me color is something which comes from
all the things which are out of control, the change of
nature, the uses of the building, the people in the building...
Everything gives it color" (Richard Meier)
Interesting way of approaching to the concept of use of
color in buildings, don't you think?

Best
R

300. Australia Square and Tower, Sydney

Dear Mr. C,

Engineer Pier Luigi Nervi collaborated with
well-known austrian-australian architect
Harry Seidler on the Australia Square project
in Sydney in 1967. The Tower Building is
approximately 170 metres tall and it was
the first Australia's authentic skyscraper.

-----------------------------------------------

This is the picture that Anya sent me. She took
it from her apartment's balcony. She told me that
she was wearing her bright red dress then.

-----------------------------------------------

What a view! Poor Mr. C living almost at street level!
He can't enjoy the sight. But I suspect that if he were
here, he would be looking "other things" most likely...

Thanks
R

299. Betondorp. Amsterdam

Dear Sybille

This Amsterdam neighborhood, literally "Concrete Village"
was built between 1923 and 1925, all of concrete because
at the time the district was created, there was a shortage of
bricks and construction workers. Up to 10 different
architects worked here designing around 900 buildings.
The building to the right of the picture, located in
Duivendrechtselaan, were created by Jakoba H. Mulder,
known as the 'lady of the Forest " because in the thirties
she designed Bosch Plan, the current Amsterdamse Bos.

All the best.
R

298. Stuttgart Neue Staatsgalerie

Querido Juan,

"En resumidas cuentas, los espacios se han multiplicados,
fragmentado y diversificado. Los hay de todos los tamaños
y especies, para todos los usos y para todas las funciones.
Vivir es pasar de un espacio a otro haciendo lo posible
para no golpearse"
(George Perec: Especies de espacios)

Un abrazo
R

297. Listers harads tingshus, Solvesborg

Dear Jennifer,

"Logic is doubtless unshakable, but it cannot withstand
a man who wants to live." (Frank Kafka: The Trial)

Best
R

296. Madrid. Museo Nacional del Prado

Dear Raoul,

"Today, our world is conveyed
mostly by electronic screens,
witnesses to a world changing at
every instant, belying stability.
Waves express this representation
of form over time. Waves, apparently
camouflaged, blend with the
landscape, trying to avoid any sense
of consolidation" (Rafael Moneo)

Best
R

295. Coronil 25, Camas, Sevilla

Muri,

He leido que Artigas admira mucho
a los poetas. Dice que lo que ellos
son capaces de expresar con dos
palabras requiere de los arquitectos
un millon de ladrillos.
Gracias por tu compañia, por tus
ideas, por ser como eres.

Mil besos.
R

294. Hotel Guarani. Asunción

Querido Alfonso,

Decía Oscar Niemeyer que la vida siempre le pareció
mas importante que la arquitectura. Este hotel, situado
en el centro de Asunción, fue diseñado por Niemeyer,
aunque oficialmente y por motivos estrictamente políticos,
no le fuese reconocida la autoría. Por suerte, en Abril
del 2008 el edificio fue renovado y ahora vuelve a lucir
como nuevo.

Un abrazo.
R

293. Rotterdam. Tree-dwellings and Pencil

Dear Enric,

Arboles

Me observan en silencio
mientras escribo Y las copas
están llenas de pájaros, ratas,
culebras, gusanos
y mi cabeza
está llena de miedo
y planes
de llanuras por venir

(Roberto Bolaño)

R