553. Brasilia. Aspectos da Ponte JK

Dear Sabrina,

The Juscelino Kubitschek Bridge in Brazil was finished
in 2002. Its three arches are inspired by the movement
of a stone bouncing on the water surface.

Best.
R

552. Nederlands Architectuurinstituut

Dear Joel,

The Netherlands Architecture Institute in Amsterdam is
dedicated to the preservation and documentation of this
country's architectural heritage. It is also open to possible
contributions and suggestions from international designers.

Best.
R

551. Selfridges, Birmingham

Dear Jan,

The skin is made up of thousands of aluminium discs,
creating a fine, lustrous grain like the scales of a snake
or the sequins of a Paco Rabanne dress.
(Amanda Levete of Future Systems)

Best.
R

550. Costa Dorada. Salou, Cabo Salou

Querida Montse,

La casa de techo plano y forma triangular que está 

en el centro y hacia la derecha de la imagen es la Casa
Rubió, obra de Bonet Castellana y Josep Puig Torné
terminada en 1962. Esta maravillosa vivienda posee los
dormitorios en planta baja y los estares en la primera
para ganar altura y disfrutar de las vistas. Las formas
triangulares responden a lo escarpado del terreno y a
la abundancia de árboles existentes. El forjado
intermedio se extiende fuera de la cubierta para crear
extensas terrazas exteriores que se adaptan en su forma
a los acantilados,

T'envio petons.
R

549. Camino Real Hotel, Guatemala City, Guatemala

Querido Juan Carlos,

Supongo que conoces este hotel
alla en tu linda tierra. Es obra de
Raul Minondo, magnifico arquitecto
que estudio en Harvard e hizo
muchas obras importantes en
Guatemala.

Cuidate mucho.
R

548. Bucuresti, Palatul Asiguraii Romanesti

Dear Marcel,

The Asigurarea Romaneasca (ARO) insurance building
in Bucharest was the first important modernist structure
in Romania. Horizontal lines, consistent with urban
circulation of motor vehicles, and simplicity of forms are
the two main features of this building.

Sincerely,
R

547. Berchem-Sainte Agathe A la Cite Moderne. Place des Cooperatives

Dear David,


In contrast to what is usually stated, the main inspiration
for Victor Bourgeois's Cite Moderne is not so much in
Tony Garnier works as it is in Neoplasticists buildings.

Best.
R

546. Pärnu

Dear Sven,

The flagship of Estonian functionalism was the Rannahotell built in 1937. Its curved middle section, with a roof terrace facing the Baltic Sea, imitates the machine aesthetics of contemporary steamboats.

Regards,
R

545. Malagueira, Evora

Dear Francesco,

"Each of my designs seeks to capture,
with the utmost rigor, a single concrete
moment of fleeting image, in all its
nuances" (Alvaro Siza)

Best.
R

544. Barranquilla, Colombia

Estimado Carlos,

El gran arquitecto y humanista Fernando Martínez Sanabria, español de nacimiento pero colombiano 

de adopción, formó parte fundamental de la 

vanguardia intelectual colombiana junto a figuras 

como Fernado Botero, Gabriel García Márquez o 

Edgar Negret. Martínez Sanabria es ampliamente considerado junto a Guillermo Bermúdez y 

Rogelio Salmona uno de los arquitectos 

fundamentales en el desarrollo de la arquitectura 

moderna colombiana y latinoamericana. Poco 

conocido fuera de su pais, Martínez Sanabria,
arquitecto de talla mundial, es autor de obras 

maestras como las casas Calderón o Wilkie en 

Bogotá o el Banco Agrario en Barranquilla. 

Este último muestra paralelismos formales con 

obras como el Centro Carpenter en la Universidad 

de Harvard diseñado por Le Corbusier el mismo 

año, aunque conceptualmente esté más cerca de 

la idea de arquitectura orgánica representada magistralmente en la obra de Alvar Aalto.

Cordialmente,
R

543. Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. Los Angeles, California

Fernando,

"La arquitectura es musica congelada"
(Arthur Schopenhauer)

Saludos cordiales,
R

542. Chantonnay, Piscine tournesol

Dear David,

Thank you so much for sending me more postcards.
Your serie about modern architecture of Rouen is
fascinating. I always enjoyed my old few derriere le
miroir but now I am enjoying also my new derriere le
pare-brise. (just a joke)
This Piscine tournesol is also another little but wonderful
present from you. Do you know the year this particular
remarkable structure was built? 1975 I am guessing?

All the best to your magnificent blog
http://archipostcard.blogspot.com/ and to you too.

Warm regards,
R

541. Lima, Peru. Hospital del Seguro Social del Empleado

Dear Mario,

“Architecture should be timeless and convey by its very
fiber the assurance of permanence"
(Edward Durell Stone)

Congratulations!
R

540. Bratislava. Avion

Dear Emil,

The housing block Avion is a very interesting case of a
multi-use dwelling and commercial building. The architect,
Josef Marek, skilfully combined a compact ground floor
for retail spaces with 6 dwelling blocks on the upper
floors.

Sincerely.
R

539. Sanatorium Zonnestraal, Hilversum

Dear Louis,

Completed in 1928 Zonnestraal is one of the finest example of dutch Nieuwe Bouwen or New Objectivity. The ideal of  "light-air-sun" is materialized in this remarkable sanatorium complex at its best.

Regards.
R

538. The Phillips Exeter Academy, The Library

Dear David,

"Sometimes you ask concrete to help
brick and brick is very happy...because
it becomes modern"
(Louis I. Kahn)

Best.
R

537. Bodegas Gonzalez Byass, Jerez de la Frontera

Querida Rosa,

La Gran Bodega Tio Pepe en Jerez esta formada por
cuatro modulos de 42 X 42 metros cubiertos con sus
respectivas cupulas de hormigon, unidos para conformar
una gran nave rectangular que responde al tipo de
"bodega catedral". Las cupulas estan resueltas de forma
similar a la del Mercado de Algeciras.

Con cariño,
R

536. Gyttorp. Vastmanland

Dear Bruno

"Architecture differs from all others majors arts in that it
is useful. But like them its symbols and poetry express the
culture's priorities and its evaluation of people's needs"
(Ralph Erskine)

Regards.
R

535. Expo 67 Montreal, Canada. Habitat 67

Dear Louis,

Habitat 67 is a well-known housing complex located in
Montreal, Canada. Its design was created by architect
Moshe Safdie based on his master's thesis project and
built as part of Expo 67.

Regards.
R

534. The Corning Museum of Glass

Dear Pierre,

"I am not imposing a form on a program. I am trying to
simplify it through finding relationships that mesh"
(Gunnar Birkerts)

Best.
R

533. Kleurontwerp voor een kamer in het huis van Bart de Ligt te Katwijk aan Zee Theo van Doesburg

Dear Bob,

Van Doesburg sought to replace
architecture with spatial painting, as
proposed by Mondrian in his 3D
works. He said: "When contemplating
a work of art it is possible to perceive
if it has been created according to the
eye or to the spirit, in other words, if
it projects three-dimensional reality or
spiritual n-dimensionality"

Best.
R

532. Suresnes. Ecole de plein air Permanente. Une classe ouverte 5

Queridos MGM

Antes de la siesta habia que asistir a clase. Pero el aula
no era como las demas.

Enhorabuena por vuestra reciente publicacion.

Un abrazo
R

531. Matosinhos, Casa de Cha

Prezado Alvaro,

O puro longe, liberto do peso do Actual...
(Fernando Pessoa, Ode Maritima)

Feliz aniversário!

Atenciosamente seu amigo
R

530. Stockholmsutstallningen, 1930 Masten med Presslaktaren

Dear Lisa,

"Everything perceived through our senses,
through the whole of our human awareness
and capable of conveying feelings of desire,
pleasure or captivation can be art"
(Gunnar Asplund)

Regards.
R

529. Entrance to Dudley Zoo

Dear Dudley,

"Architectural design can be either a metaphor of the
world to come or an epitaph of the one that has gone,
never to come back again" (Berthold Lubetkin)

Love.
R

528. Expo 92 Sevilla. Pabellón del Futuro

Querida Laura,

En Sevilla existe un edificio cuya estructura diseñó y
calculó el gran ingeniero irlandés Peter Rice: el Pabellón
del Futuro. Uno de los grandes ingenieros de nuestro
tiempo, Rice contribuyó en la construcción de edificios
tan importantes como la Opera de Sydney, el edificio
Lloyd de Londres y el Centro Pompidou de Paris. Peter
Rice creía que los mejores edificios son el resultado del
trabajo conjunto entre el ingeniero, que es el inventor del
objeto, y el arquitecto que es el creador de la idea.

Besos.
R

527. Firenzuola. Piazza Agnolo Chiesa di S. Giovanni Battista

Dear Sergio,

Carlo Scarpa said that he could only visualize something
by drawing it before. Architects used to learn how to see
the world by learning how to draw.

Take care.
R

526. Edificio Facultad Odontologia, Mexico D.F.

Querido Vicente,

Decia el gran Ove Arup hablando del no menos 

grande Felix Candela:
"El diseño se inicia con un sentimiento estructural 

obtenido por medio de la experiencia y guiados 

por cálculos aproximados. En este proceso produce 

más y mejores resultados la aptitud para hacer la 

correcta conjetura inicial (lo que Candela llamaba 

la intuición), que una gran cantidad de matemáticas."

Un abrazo.
R

525. Shanghai 2010. Spain Pavilion

Querida Benedetta,

Enhorabuena por haber creado este edificio fascinante.
Cuando lo visité recordé un pensamiento de Coderch
sobre la importancia que tiene para un arquitecto el hacer
compatible el progreso con la humanidad que irradian las
viejas construcciones. Este Pabellón evoca no a una
construcción sino a un tipo de artesanía pero igualmente
antigua, humana y de gran utilidad.

Te deseo lo mejor.
R

524. Centre Le Corbusier, Heidi Weber, Zurich

Dear Ivonne,

"Those who pursue an ideal and fight for it have to be
made of steel" (Le Corbusier)

Respectfully
R

523. Bornholm, Svaneke-The mill

Dear Bill,

Went to Yucatan. The ruins are wonderful so why worry?
Sydney Opera House becomes a ruin one day.

Jørn Utzon

522. Maison de la Culture a Troyes

Dear David,

Claude Parent worked with Yves Klein in the early 1960's
thinking about architectural projects of air and space. I
enjoy Klein's quote about the new architecture: "Man
liberated to the point of being able to levitate! Occupation: leisure. The obstacles raised by traditional architecture have been eliminated"

Warm regards,
R

521. Utrikeshallen, Bromma flyplats

Dear Silke,

The Bromma Airport in Stockholm was the largest in
Sweden for many years. Designed by Paul Hedqvist,
it was completed in 1936. The postcard picture shows
the main waiting room that includes a beautiful mezzanine
level where the restaurant is located.

Best regards.
R

520. La Tourette

Dear Charles Gris

"It is not the form that dictates the color, but the color
that brings out the form" (Hans Hofmann)

Respectfully
R

519. Aalborg. Nordjyllands Kunstmuseum. Interior fra Foyeren

Queridas Marta y Maria,

El futuro es espacio,
espacio color de tierra,
color de nube,
color de agua, de aire,
espacio negro para muchos sueños,
espacio blanco para toda la nieve,
para toda la música.
(...)

(Pablo Neruda-El futuro es espacio)

Besos.
R

518. Daniel House. Los Angeles

Dear Greg,

Gregory Ain was an influential architect who worked for
many working-class clients. One of his guiding principles
was "to address common architectural problems of
common people"

Best.
R

517. Hyvinkaa Suomi, Kirkko

Dear Viljo,

The pyramidal shaped Hyvinkaa Church, designed by
Aarno Ruusuvuori in 1961, embodies the essential
characteristics of Finnish Architecture of the 1960s.

Best regards.
R

516. Werkbund. Ausstellung Die Wohnung. Stuttgart, 1927

Dear Laszlo,

Julius Posener, a pupil of architect Hans Poelzig, said
about his master that he never spoke of what architecture
might need at a particular time, even less of what
architecture is. He talked about comfortable and
uncomfortable staircases, about the optimal position of a
room in relation to other room, about the best type of
structure for a roof, etc... how uninterested in style only
he was.

Regards.
R

515. Chapelle de Notre Dame du Haut-Ronchamp (Haute-Saone)

Dear Corey

"Space and light and order. Those are
the things that men need just as much
as they need bread or a place to sleep."
(Le Corbusier)

Cordially.
R

514. Aranzazu

Pablo,

El retablo, en la foto, es obra de Lucio
Muñoz, artista español que tiene obras
en el MoMA de Nueva York, en la
TATE de Londres o en el Reina Sofia
de Madrid. Pero, Saenz de Oiza,
arquitecto de Aranzazu, tambien llamo
a Alvarez de Eulate para las vidrieras,
a Chillida para las puertas de acceso y
a Oteiza para el friso escultorico de la
fachada. Todo un compendio de Arte
Moderno en un espacio sacro
excepcional.

Un abrazo.
R

513. Banco de Seguros del Estado. Montevideo, Uruguay

Querido Jorge,

Esta es una curiosa foto de epoca
del interior del Banco de Seguros
del Estado en Montevideo. El
edificio, levantado en 1940 en una
compleja parcela triangular,
combina con armonia las exigencias
representativas de una importante
institucion bancaria con el lenguaje
de la modernidad que los
arquitectos mas cultos de entonces
empleaban.

Un abrazo.
R