572. Museu de Arte Contemporanea. Niteroi, Brasil

Dear Adriana,

"It is not feminine architecture; it is architecture by an
architect who loves women" (Oscar Niemeyer)

Regards.
R

571. Marco de Canaveses, Portugal

Querido Eduardo,

"El diseño es el deseo de la inteligencia"
(Alvaro Siza Vieira)

Saludos.
R

570. Agadir, La Poste

Dear David,

Thanks to you and to your great blog
archipostcard.blogspot.com I discovered the fascinating
work of French-Moroccan architect Jean-François
Zevaco. It is hard to believe there is not much published
information about his work. Buildings like the
Physiotherapy Center and the Clubhouse both in Tit
Mellil, the Sidi Harazem Thermal Bath Complex in Fez,
the Beni-Mellal Courthouse in Beni-Mellal, or the Fire
Station in Agadir, deserve our admiration and better
knowledge.

Warm regards.
R

569. Patio del Hotel El Panama, Panama

Dear Sam,

"There is too much conformity in contemporary architecture. I like to think of architecture as an individual creative expression; I get more pleasure out of my work if I carry through my own convictions rather than pursue a dogma outlined by some other architect." 

(Edward Durell Stone)

Best.
R

568. Museo de Arte Moderno en el Bosque de Chapultepec

Querido Martin,

"La arquitectura es una disciplina de servicio en la que
se empieza por considerar a la persona que va a utilizarla"
(Pedro Ramírez Vázquez)

Un abrazo.
R

567. Rijkamuseum Kroller-Muller

Dear Klaus,

"I tell you that the time will come when the furnishing of
a prison cell by Professor Van de Velde will be
considered and aggravation of the sentence" (Adolf Loos)

Regards.
R

566. Hotel Xenia. Mykonos

Dear Dimitris,

"We might discover the eternal character of all architecture, that which is expressed differently 

in each age but that is in the end its most interesting aspect" (Aris Konstantinidis)

Regards
R

565. Sarasota Senior High School

Dear Steve,

I hope you enjoy the emotional, yet intellectual nature of
Paul Rudolph's designs. A wonderful architect who also
thought outside the box.

Thank you for everything you have done for us.
R

564. Sauze d'Oulux. Regione Lago Nero

Dear Mary,

"Only when a work is not explainable other than in terms
of itself can we say that we are in the presence of art.
This ineffable quality is the hallmark of an authentic work"
(Carlo Mollino)

Best.
R

563. Greetings from Chandigarh

Dear Tanu,

"The materials of city planning are sky, space, trees,
steel and cement in that order and in that hierarchy."
(Le Corbusier)

Best regards,
R

562. Berlin, Holocaust Mahnmal

Dear Seth,

"Space is the presence of absence" (Peter Eisenman)

Cheers.
R

561. Aalto Theater in Essen

Dear Franz,

The Aalto Theater was finished in 1988, almost 30 years
after Aalto designed it. It is an incredible building that
wonderfully combines functionality and lyricism. When I
was there, I was very impressed with its elegant deep
indigo interiors and beautiful proportions.

Sincerely,
R

560. Richard Rogers. London as it could be.

Dear Ruth,

"Historically, societies unable to solve their environmental
crises have either migrated or become extinct. The vital
difference today is that the scale of our crisis is no longer
regional but global: it involves all of humanity and the entire
planet." (Richard Rogers)

Respectfully.
R

559. Edificio de la Facultad de Ingenieria. Montevideo, Mayo 28 de 1938

Querido Eugenio,

Julio Vilamajó junto con Oscar Niemeyer formaron parte
del selecto grupo de arquitectos que proyectaron el
edificio de las Naciones Unidas en Nueva York. La
Facultad de Ingenieria de Montevideo es la obra mas
importante de Vilamajó y fue contruida entre 1939 y
1948. Este edificio tiene como claro referente la Escuela
Bauhaus en Dessau. Sin embargo Vilamajó planteó en
esta facultad la idea de "integracion de las artes",
concepto muy del gusto de este magnifico arquitecto.

Un abrazo.
R

558. Seville. Espagne. Rames AVE Madrid-Seville

Querido Antonio,

Dicen Cruz y Ortiz que un edificio ha de explicarse por
si mismo y que a ambos les gusta dilatar la percepcion
en el tiempo cuando se esta en sus edificios. Ambas
cosas son claramente perceptibles en su Estacion de
Santa Justa de Sevilla.

Un abrazo.
R

557. Fracavilla al Mare. Cattedrale

Dear Aldo,

"The design of a building like the design of a city, not
only should take into account functional, technological
and aesthetic aspects, but it should make up these issues
so as to achieve an immediate, direct, and meaningful
relationship with each other, the building and the city,
so they are derived from the other, and in any case can
not be separated from each other except through the
artificial forcing of a later analysis." (Ludovico Quaroni)

Best regards.
R

556. Bremen. Haus der Burgerschaft

Dear Hans,

"Beauty is connected with the form of the object, having
boundaries, while the sublime is to be found in a formless
object" (Immanuel Kant)

Best.
R

555. Bing & Grondahl, Copenhagen

Dear Esbjorn,

The Bing & Grondahl Porcelain Manufactory store
on Amagertorv Square was designed by Finn Juhl, one
of the leading figures of Danish modern design. No
counters were used in this store. The products were
instead placed on shelves, tables, and showcases, as in
an exhibition. All the remarkable furniture pieces in the
store were created by Mr. Juhl.

Respectfully,
R

554. Helsinki. The Town Theatre

Dear Vittorio,

"Architecture is autonomous when it gives law to itself.
Architecture is autonomous when it is subject to the
will and intellectual capacity of the architect only"
(Timo Penttilä)

Best.
R

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