809. Mexico D.F., Lago de Xochimilco

Queridos Juan y Paul,

Después de tanto mundo viajado, de tantas cosas
maravillosas retenidas en la memoria y el corazón, una
más no os hará mal. Xochimilco siempre ha sido un paraiso de aguas y flores para el cuerpo y para el alma. Entre esos jardines flotantes hay un edificio extraño que sirve de restaurante y que asemeja una gigantesca flor de loto flotando en las aguas.

Afectos,
R

808. Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, Valencia

Querido primo Juan,

“Los problemas que se ponen hoy a la arquitectura son
sobre el futuro de nuestras ciudades, y el reto es hacerlas
más humanas” (Santiago Calatrava)

Un abrazo,
R

807. The Hong Kong Club

Dear Penelope,

"Good design doesn't date" (Harry Seidler)

Best,
R

806. The Social Security Polyclinic in Colon, Republic of Panama

Querido Rafael,

"Que Dios bendiga la esquina izquierda
del tacon derecho en la chancleta del cura
que bendijo tu salero mujer"

(La Mora-Ruben Blades, musico y activista panameño)

Saludos cordiales,
R

805. Glessner House, Chicago, Illinois

Dear Sam,

I found in glessnerhouse.org a delightful excerpt of Frances Glessner's diary about this National Historic Landmark located in Chicago and built by H.H. Richardson: Sunday October 24, 1886: "In the 

afternoon John, George and I went to the new house. 

We got a better idea of the work than we did the other visit—it is a beautiful building. We walked across the street to take a distant look and two ladies passed by 

us—one said to the other ‘there isn’t a single pretty 

thing about it.” Such will be the universal verdict 

I fear.”

The young Frank Lloyd Wright was swayed by this 

house when designing his first Prairie School houses.

Best regards,
R

804. Berlin, Potsdamer Platz mit Verkehrsturm

Querido abuelo Joaquin,

En la Potsdamer Platz de Berlin habia numerosos edificios importantes (algunos de ellos de grandes arquitectos como Schinkel o Mendelsohn) que desgraciadamente desaparecieron durante o poco 

después de la gran guerra. Uno de ellos era la elegantisima Telschow-Haus de los hermanos 

Luckhardt y Alfons Anker, visto en esta foto de
la postal de época con su fachada blanca de largas ventanas horizontales. El edificio se levantó en 

1929 y fue destruido durante los bombardeos de 

Berlín.

Un abrazo.
R

803. Figueras, Gerona. Vista parcial

Querido Pere,

Cerca de la torre de la iglesia de San Pedro de Figueras
se observa en esta foto la maravillosa cúpula geodésica
del Buckminster Fuller español: el arquitecto Emilio Pérez Piñero (1935-1972). Perez Piñero tenía tal imaginación y talento creativo que Salvador Dalí dijo 

de él que era "el gran genio de la arquitectura española"

Saludos,
R

802. Art Gallery, Spanish International Pavilion, St. Louis. MO

Querido Manolo,

"La enseñanza es la voluntad de transmitir a otros lo que
te emociona" (Javier Carvajal Ferrer)

Esto mismo tambien lo aprendimos muchos de ti.

Un abrazo,
R

801. Goteborg, Konserthuset

Dear Annika,

There is nothing like listening to the Göteborgs Symfoniker
playing Edvard Grieg's Suite No.1.Op 46. in the unparalleled
Konserthuset of Goteborg. One of my favorite classical
pieces of music, in one of my favorite concert halls.

Thanks!
Cheers.
R

800. Lyon et ses environs vue en aeroplane

Cher David,

"On ne voit bien qu'avec le cœur.
L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux"
(Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)

Très cordialement,
R

799. Toms New Chocolate factory Ballerup, Copenhagen, Denmark

Dear Felix,

The Toms chocolate factory complex is formed by
three buildings shown in this great picture postcard.
To the left the 3-story heights office building, to the
right the heating plant with the three gigantic chimneys
painted in different colors, and finally in the middle the
extensive production plant. This last building is so
widespread that the achieved effect is closer to a
massive slab rather than a volume.

Best regards,
R

798. El Palacio de los Deportes con su techo de cobre

Estimado Ramon,

Felix Candela fue el arquitecto de las tres Es: Eficiencia,
Economia y Elegancia. "Las dificultidades de todo tipo
pueden ser una de las causas que estimulen el genio
creativo" (Felix Candela)

Cordialmente,
R

797. Tampere, Uusi Kauppaoppilaitos

Dear Henri,

"I regard architecture as a part of man's practical action.
There is not architecture without physical fulfillment. The
art of architecture is inseparable from its craft."
(Timo Penttilä)

Regards,
R

796. Price Tower

Dear Ron,

"Architecture is that great living creative
spirit which from generation to generation,
from age to age, proceeds, persists,
creates, according to the nature of man,
and his circumstances as they change."
(Frank Lloyd Wright)

Regards,
R

795. Oslo Opera House by Openyourap

Dear Pat,

"We wished to make the Opera accesible in the widest
possible sense, by laying out a "carpet" of  horizontal and
sloping surfaces on top of the building. This carpet has
been given an articulated form related to Oslo's cityscape"
(Tarald Lundevall of Snøhetta)

Cheers,
R

794. Oviedo. Calle de Arguelles

Querido Luis,

El edificio INP en la esquina de Arguelles con Plaza
Carbayon es un ejemplar edificio racionalista construido
en los años 30 y finalizado en 1942. Sus arquitectos,
Casariego Terreros y el tambien renombrado pintor
Joaquin Vaquero Palacios, consiguieron transformar esta
populosa esquina de la capital ovetense en uno de los
puntos mas atractivos y modernos de la ciudad en buena
parte del siglo XX.

Un abrazo,
R

793. Goteborg, Gustaf Adolfs torg

Dear Bill,

When finished in 1937, a perfect synthesis through the
harmonic contrast between the classical old facade of
Goteborg Law Courts and the new and modern
extension facade was exemplary achieved by one of the
most important Scandinavian architects: Erik Gunnar
Asplund. This building is the one in pale yellow beyond
the statue of king Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden seen
in this postcard.

Kind regards,
R

792. Helsinki University of Technology. Main building.

Dear Raili,

"Nothing is as dangerous in architecture as dealing with
separated problems. If we split life into separated problems we split the possibilities to make good 

building art." (Alvar Aalto)

Sincerely,
R

791. Miami, Florida

Dear Bernardo,

"Buildings should communicate something, they 

should be emotional…What a building feels like 

is the important thing. Does it make you laugh? 

Does it make you cry?
(Laurinda Spear/ Arquitectonica)

Iconic Imperial Condominium Building is seen on 

the left side of this picture showing its animated and colorful garden roof.

Respectfully,
R

790. Hotel Mont-Parnes, Athens, Greece

Dear Aris,

The Mont Parnes casino-hotel located on Mount Parnis
at an altitude of 1078 m, rallied Greece’s intellectual
avant-garde of the time. The architect of this delicate
and elegant building was inspired by both modern and
medieval Greek architecture.

Respectfully,
R

789. Palm Springs Visitor Center

MK,

"I would tell students to observe very carefully. To study
how thing come about and study nature. See lots of
architecture...get full of it" (Albert Frey)

Ready to return?
R

788. Ronchamp, Chapeller de Notre-Dame du Haut, Le Grand Portail

Dear David,

"This Saturday I am going to a factory near Tours to paint
on enamel 2 X 9 m2 doors = 18 m2. The time spent
learning from L'Eplattenier is bearing fruit: I'm really ready
for this kind of thing" (Le Corbusier in a letter to his mother)

Thank you sooo much for your beautiful postcards. I was
thrilled when I saw the two postcards with the Claude
Parent's building. I also enjoy his architecture and they are
very hard to find.

Thank you again.
All the best.
R

787. Montreal

Dear Mark,

The "Big O" in Montreal is one of the most recognizable
stadiums in the world and a masterpiece of modern
organic architecture. Planned for the 1976 Olympic
Games, its 175-metre tower is the tallest inclined structure
in the world.

Regards,
R

786. Acropolis from airplane

Dear Nikos,

The white building near to the bottom left corner of the
picture is the elementary school designed by Karantinos
in 1932. A brilliant example of the Modern Movement
and part of the Greek school building program of this
period, this is one of the best-known Greek buildings
of the era.

Sincerely,
R

785. Hotel Borgafjäl, Dorotea

Dear Jeremy

This is a tourist hotel in Lapland that architect 

Ralph Erskine built when he was 34. This building 

was his first job of greater importance. The hotel 

merges with the surrounding beautiful natural 

landscape, so literally that even the roof has a 

ski slope.

Regards,
R

784. Segrate, Milano

Dear Vera,

"Everything has a beginning and an end. You. Me.
Architecture. We must try to do the best we can, but
must remain modest. Nothing lasts for very long."
(Oscar Niemeyer)

Best regards,
R

783. University of Leicester, Engineering Building & Library

Dear Rena,

"The particular way in which functional-symbolic elements
are put together may be the "art" in the architecture"
(James Stirling)

Regards,
R

782. M.I.T. Chapel

Dear Enric,

"To me, the drawn language is a very
revealing language, one can see in a
few lines whether a man is really
an architect" (Eero Saarinen)

Siempre,
R

781. Sagunto, Teatro Romano y Castillo

Querida Ana,

"La arquitectura es ante todo una actividad practica.
Ver las cosas y transportarlas: este es el proceso."
(Giorgio Grassi)

Saludos,
R

780. Hotel Camino Real, Ixtapa, Guerrero, Mexico

Querida Maritza,

Dijo una vez Ricardo Legorreta que Mexico es un pais
de arquitectos; de constructores, y que el no era una
excepcion. Tu tambien ayudaste a construir mi casa con
tus cuidados. Te estamos agradecidos por eso y por tu
amistad.

Con cariño,
R

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