373. Barcelona. Construcciones modernas



Dear Tanu,

“Reflection and action respectively complement and
balance each other and must be alternated. Just like
we need both legs to make steps forwards: action and
reflection.” (Antoni Gaudi)
Here's an interesting postcard
of Gaudi's Casa Mila still under construction.

Best
R

372. Cuneo. Corso Vittorio Veneto



Dear Carlo,

This is the Carlo Mollino's first work. It was built in 1934.
It is known that he envisaged a two-tone paint scheme:
yellow for the projecting parts and red for the recessed
walls and stairwell.

Sincerely
R

370. Darmstadt Kunstlerkolonie



Dear Erik,

The Haus Christiansen was designed by Olbrich who
included in the design of this house some ideas of the
owner and painter Hans Christiansen. Christiansen
himself collaborated actively in the construction
process by creating a large-scale, partly figurative
painting in one of the facades. The building was
completely destroyed during the Second World War.

Best
R

369. Kobenhavn. Den Danske Statsradiofoni


Dear Lin,

Jorn Utzon lived across the street at the time while the
Concert Hall Radiohuset was being completed in 1945.
His friend Tobias Faber was also employed by Lauritzen
to supervising construction. It is not by chance that the shell roof of Sydney Opera House shared some similarities with Lautitzen's Radiohuset.

Best regards.
R

368. CCTV Building. Beijing


Dear Jan,

"Early 2002 we received two invitations, one to apply to
consider what should happen at Ground Zero, the other
for the headquarters of China Central Television in Beijing.
We discussed the choice over a Chinese meal. The life of
the architect is so fraught with uncertainty and dilemmas
that any clarification of the future, including astrology, is
disproportionately welcome. My fortune cookie read,
"Stunningly Omnipresent Masters make minced meat of
memory" (Rem Koolhaas)

Cheers.
R

367. Barcelona. Facultad de derecho en la Zona Universitaria


Querida Olga,

La Facultad de Derecho de la Universidad de Barcelona
gano el premio FAD en 1958 y es considerado por muchos
uno de los referentes dentro de la arquitectura moderna
española. Oriol Bohigas llego a decir de esta obra que fue
el primer edificio publico moderno y civilizado construido
en Cataluña despues de la guerra.

Besos.
R

366. Werkbund. Ausstellung Die Wohnung Stuttgart 1927. Le Corbusier


Querida Zenobia,

De un gran poeta como Le Corbusier a otro como
Juan Ramon:

LA AZOTEA

Tu , Platero, no has subido nunca a la azotea.
No puedes saber que honda respiracion ensancha
el pecho cuando al salir a ella de la escalerilla
oscura de madera se siente uno quemado en el
sol pleno del dia, anegado de azul como al lado
mismo del cielo, ciego del blancor de la cal, con
la que, como sabes, se da al suelo de ladrillo para
que venga limpia al aljibe el agua de las nubes.
!Que encanto el de la azotea!
(...)

("Platero y Yo"-Juan Ramon Jimenez)

Desgraciadamente hoy aqui en Stuttgart no estaba
el cielo tan blanco.

Saludos.
R

365. Goteborg. Lilla Bommen



Dear Bob,

The Lilla Bommen building that is situated at the entrance
of the Goteborg Canal, recalls appropriately a giant
navigational aid or floating objects that are anchored to
the bottom and are also known as buoys. Anyway this
building is commonly referred to by the locals as "The
Lipstick".

Regards.
R

364. Tampere. Kalevan Kirkko


Dear Malcolm,

"I tried to achieve a visual weightlessness by using 
rhythmic and light kinetics of broken line chains in 
constantly evolving series. It is similar to the quick 
sequences in organ music. Kaleva church fights 
against the traditional idea of wall heaviness" 
(Reima Pietilä)

Sincerely.
R

363. Torino. Interno Palazo del Ghiaccio


Cristina,

Se me olvido incluirte otra de la sala pequeña. Con una
estructura tan elocuente como la de la sala grande.

Besos.
R

362. Torino. Palazzo delle Esposizioni





Torino-Il salone Internazionale dell'Automobile al
Palazzo Torino Esposizioni-Interno

Cristi,

Hoy te mando no una sino dos postales del mismo edificio
de Nervi en Turin. Esa luz tiene algo de John Soane, no?

Besos.
R

361. The Bank of England. Consol Office



Querido Juan N.B.

"A horizon is something else other than a horizon: it is
closeness in openness, it is an enchanted region where
down is up. Space can be approached, but time is far
away" (Robert Smithson)

Saludos.
R

360. Chatelard. Le Viaduc sur l'Eau Noire


Dear Paul,

"Asi es como se espera. Viendo
a menudo las carreteras, los
puentes y la mar, viendo pasar
a los que no se quedan, a los
que se van"
(Desierto-J.M.G. Le Clezio)

Best regards.
R

359. Cesenatico. Colonia Marina AGIP


Dear Louise,

The Colonia Marina AGIP was designed 1938 by
Guiseppe Vaccaro and it is considered among his best
buildings. Located in Cesenatico on the east coast, it is
still in use.

Best regards.
R

358. Berlin SW. Haus des Metallarbeiter-Verbandes



Querido abuelo Joaquin,

El edificio sede de los trabajadores del metal en Berlín 
fue diseñado principalmente por Erich Mendelsohn y
se terminó en Agosto de 1930. Está considerado como
un modelo de "arquitectura parlante" por la claridad en
la exposición de jerarquía de espacios, circulaciones
internas y posición de escaleras y ascensores.

Un beso como siempre.
R

357. Museo Nacional de Antropologia, Mexico D.F.


Querida Maritza,

Hoy fuimos al Parque de Chapultepec a visitar el increible
Museo Nacional de Antropología. Diseñado en 1963 por
Pedro Ramirez Vazquez, y asistido por Jorge Campuzano
y Rafael Mijares, el edificio es famoso no solo por su
impresionante arquitectura, presidida por la gran columna
de la que brota el agua conocida como"el paraguas", sino
también por su fastuosa colección, que incluye piezas
como la Piedra del Sol, la Cabeza de Olmec o los murales
mayas. Espero que estés muy bien.

Saludos a Alex y Andrea.
Un abrazo.
R

356. Edificio Safico. Buenos Aires



Querida Ana Maria,

En el departamento triplex 321 en la cima del Safico a
mas de setenta metros del suelo, vivio durante un tiempo
el poeta Pablo Neruda que escribiera entre otros
"Residencia en la Tierra". He aqui uno de los poemas
contenido en ese libro y titulado "Entierro en el Este":

Yo trabajo de noche, rodeado de ciudad,
de pescadores, de alfareros, de difuntos quemados
con azafrán y frutas, envueltos en muselina escarlata:
bajo mi balcón esos muertos terribles
pasan sonando cadenas y flautas de cobre,
estridentes y finas y lúgubres silban
entre el color de las pesadas flores envenenadas
y el grito de los cenicientos danzarines
y el creciente y monótono de los tamtam
y el humo de las maderas que arden y huelen.

Porque una vez doblado el camino, junto al turbio río,
sus corazones, detenidos o iniciando un mayor movimiento
rodarán quemados, con la pierna y el pie hechos fuego,
y la trémula ceniza caerá sobre el agua,
flotará como ramo de flores calcinadas
o como extinto fuego dejado por tan poderosos viajeros
que hicieron arder algo sobre las negras aguas, y devoraron
un aliento desaparecido y un licor extremo.

Una abrazo
R

355. Celje



Dear Eduard,

The People's loan bank in Celje, Slovenia, was designed
by slovenian architect Jože Plečnik and built in 1929. It
clearly stated a very special language based on using
simplified mannerist and classical elements in a very
harmonic way.

Regards.
R

354. New Haven, Conn. David S. Ingalls Skating Rink, Yale University


Dear Paul,

"I like the story of the boy on the Yale team who said
when he looked up at the concrete arch, it made him
feel "Go, go, go!" (Eero Saarinen)

Regards.
R

353. Tarragona. Aerial View


Querida Cristina,

Decia Alejandro de la Sota: "Uno
realmente piensa si la arquitectura
necesita mostrar tanto los avances
tecnologicos como si ella misma no
tuviera un marcha propia, con su propio
ritmo, utilizando lo que la tecnica le
ofrece"
Creo recordar haber oido la misma
idea de Manolo Trillo. De cualquier
forma muy pertinente para el mundo
tan sostenible y tecnico en que la
arquitectura vive hoy.

Mil besos y feliz año nuevo.
R

352. Burroughs Wellcome Co.



Dear Tony,

"What the architect has to offer in the final analysis has
not changed through the centuries. Only the means
change, not the end" (Paul Rudolph)

Regards.
R

351. Phaeno Science Center, Wolfsburg, Germany


Dear Ray & Charles,

Zaha Hadid says of the spaces in the ten "cones" that
support this building that the idea was to occupy structure; structure becomes program. To me this is a smart revision of conceptual ideas from Louis Kahn's Yale Art Center project.

Cheers.
R

350. Lieksan Kirkko


Dear Aimee,

The crossed double arches that span the entire interior
volume and form the dome, seem to owe a debt to
Robert Maillart reinforced concrete structures according
to Malcolm Quantrill.

Merry Christmas to you.
R

349. Petronas Twin Towers. Kuala Lumpur


Dear Sean,

The Petronas Twin Towers were laid out
to symbolize grace and strength by means
of Islamic geometric rules.

Warm regards.
R

348. Tropicana Night Club, Havana, Cuba


Dear Anna,

Max Borges along with Felix Candela created in 1951
the very famous Tropicana's Arcos de Cristal. Many
pieces of furniture displayed were designed by American
designers Charles and Ray Eames. The Arcos de Cristal
was one of only few Cuban buildings included in the 1955
Museum of Modern Art exhibit entitled "Latin American
Architecture since 1945."

Regards.
R

347. Zaragoza. Pabellon puente sobre el rio Ebro


Querido Carlos,

Siempre recordare a Rafael Gonzalez Sandino, con su
mano posada en la frente y sus ojos perdidos en el
infinito recitando a Rilke cuando nos hablaba de
arquitectura y filosofia:
(...) Si nosotros encontráramos también una pura,
contenida, estrecha, humana franja de huerto, nuestra,
entre el río y la roca (...)
(Rainier Maria Rilke “Las Elegías de Duíno” 1922)

Zaha Hadid construyo algo de esa franja, yo creo.

Abrazos.
R

346. Algeciras (Cadiz) Plaza de Abastos


Mama,

"...el aire era alli el unico actor; actor , y al mismo
tiempo artifice sutil, coloreando y modelando
cuanto veias con ese tacto magico, que la realidad
y la pintura nordica desconocen, en el cual la
fuerza no excluye delicadeza ni la gracia severidad"
(Luis Cernuda: El Mercado)

Besos.
R

345. Sao Paulo. Vista Aerea Estadio Cicero Pompeu de Toledo, Morumbi


Cristina,

Artigas se dice pertenecer a una generacion de arquitectos
que luchaban por encontrar soluciones a todos los
problemas que surgian. En ese proceso humanistico
enciclopedico tan arduo Artigas supo ademas hacer poesia
de todo el. Gracias por descubrirme a este gran arquitecto.

Mil besos.
R

344. Charles and Ray in the living room of the Eames House 1975




Dear Tanu,

I was very lucky last week when I had a chance of
visiting The Eames House. As you know, this house
was built in 1949 by husband-and-wife design pioneers
Charles & Ray Eames, to serve as their home and
studio. Since then the house has became a strong
architectural statement while remaining an amazingly
comfortable and functional living space. The interior
including furnitures and all kind of objects remains very
much the same they were in the Eames' lifetimes. Now
the Eames House is the home of the Eames Foundation.

See you on Monday.
R

343. The Garden Grove Community Church


Dear Jan,

The first walk-in/drive-in church built
in the world by Richard Neutra is more
an architectural environment rather than
a typical building. When the massive
windows open, the building becomes a
continuos environment throughout the
parking lot and beyond. Neutra said about
Garden Grove that it is a place where
anyone can sit not only in the sanctuary but
also in his car, familiar and dear to the
American as a second family home.

Hope you are doing well.
R

342. School ala Merelstraat. Hilversum


Dear Christy,

Nassau School in Hilversum, built1928 by W.M. Dudok,
was one of the building that he designed when appointed
as City Architect. Incidentally it is not included on Dudok's
Architectural Route on-line brochure, but I assure you it
deserves a visit.

Cheers.
R

341. Darmstadt. Kunstlerkolonie Portal Ernst-Ludwig-Haus



Dear Vincent,

This is the statement that appears
inscribed on the brow of the House
of Work's portal:
"The artist will show his world,
which never was, nor ever will be"
This is a shorter version of the one
inside the entrance of the Secession
building in Vienna.

Hope you are doing well.
R

340. Hotel Las Salinas. Lanzarote. Islas Canarias



Querida Elsa,

Láminas de agua, ramas de árboles que se rozan con la mano, la Alhambra de Granada, una gran cúpula abierta, jardín interior, oasis... Así es como Fernando imaginó el Hotel en Teguise.

Un abrazo.
R

339. Napoli. Nuovo Palazzo della Poste


Dear Anna,

"L'architettura può esprimere i caratteri più essenziali e
profondi della cultura attuale e formularli in sintesi d'arte?
Se no, il suo interesse decade. Se sì, questo è il suo
massimo compito. Alla luce di queste finalità se ne 
debbono ricercare i massimi valori". (Giuseppe Vaccaro)

Cheers
R

338. Park Avenue. New York


Dear Koji,

"I am, in fact, completely opposed
to the idea that a specific building
should have an individual character.
Rather, I believe that it should
express a universal character which
has been determined by the total
problem which architecture must
strive to solve"
(Mies van der Rohe on the
Seagram Building)

Best regards.
R