Lecture 10

Architecture Developments in Spain [1975-2005]

New direction of Spanish architecture is that They where still referring to modernity , they did not
completely shad the mental of modernity and moved to postmodernity that was n vogue at the time so
the didn’t dis vague modernism in architecture but at the same time they understood some of the issues
that were raised regarding the problems of modern architecture mainly the lack of regard for context ,
materiality, some of these issues and they kind of went back to an early aspect of modern architecture
at least from the time of adolf loose this attention to technique materials and craftsmanship. These are
determining factors in addition to sensitivity to the context to history ,those became primordial
characteristics of this new Spanish architecture also the Portuguese architecture.

Rafael Moneo [Pritzker Prize 1996, RIBA prize 2003]

Who became a major figure on international sense, he won famous Pritzker prize in architecture in 1996
and the RIBA prize in 2003. And a number of books published on Moneo by Moneo. What distinguish
this architect is that he is also a scholar a very critic theoretician as well as an architect , which take us
back to the renaissance ideal of the architect as also theoretician and philosophers like Alberti and
palladio. In a way Moneo is part of this legacy of architect as also a man of culture.

2 books by Moneo remarks on 21 works , a compendium of 21 of his major projects that he explains in
his on words.

And second is by 2 architects titled Rafael Moneo building teaching writing, it’s a comprehensive writing
on his theoretical impute as well as his architecture works and how they are tied together in addition to
his teaching.

Museum of Roman Art, Merida, 1985

Merida Is a town in Spain which was at sometime roman colony this is a well preserved amphitheater
and on this particular site the challenge was to built an extension to the old building. Moneo really when
they started to dig they found additional remains on the site, in a kind of schematic structure that shows
the connection of the museum to the amphitheater to the other remains. We see this attempt to
overlay a grid that is a continuation of the urban fabric of the whole context of the town but here
Moneo avoid putting a large span over the ruins which will create a problematic of large foundation,
instead to engage with the site so series of columns would be inserted among the ruins and carry the
upper floors of the museum part of it at the entrees would be left as a platform to view the
archeological remains , leading down to the crypt where people could see the under structure of the
museum. But this attempt was to revive this ancient method of construction using specific roman brick
but here adding to it sky light, concrete structure for the floors , the slabs of the museums yet overall we
see the determination to engage with the site and create another layer at the entrance that allow
people to see the underground then move down in order to go to the crypt level. The rooms of the
museums where the artifacts discovered on the site will be laid out according to the periods and types ,
walls laid out in a regular way like a transepts of a cathedral and here we have an internal nave that
allows people to proceed along this path and to have a neutral and engaging background to the artwork
that is exhibited whether they are mosaic panels , roman columns of diff times and sizes. These plans
shows you the crypt and the upper level, and how this structure succeeded in creating a museum space
that is fit to its particular function . and that would be the modern way in engaging with the roman
period . the reference to roman civilization is in use of brick as a building material how ever the baring
walls of brick are also held by concrete slabs. The building as we notice is about the art of construction
and its clear articulation of the diff construction techniques , the brick walls and concrete slabs and light
playing a role in penetration of light through the skylights washing up the brick walls. We cant say that
this is a postmodernism building but its modernist in a sense . Moneo was not concerned about this
categorization, and he was not part of post modernism movement . we see more of someone coming
back to this interpretation of architecture as art of construction and why not in case like this reviving
older techniques using arch to carry the self baring rib walls and the use of brick.
the crypt on lower level , these columns do not shy away from engaging with ruins they create a dialog
between the new and old construction. We also find this shot showing a 3 levels of the museum
collections, the main entrance space where we have the larger panels of mosaic.

Kursaal, San Sebastian, 1995

Its located in bountiful town in Spain, an amazing insertion into the landscape , we have this site which
has this urban grid reaching into the water edge and we have this hill top, one of the mounts
overlooking the site faced with this particular context. Moneo devised a strategy where the building
would be a response to this geography and would recognize the attribute of the site . For him the
architect should explore , interpret the site but at the same time this is not like there’s this automatic
dictation where the site dictates the form by simply a certain generation of certain access expansion of
certain grid. That’s not the idea that has lead the creation of the project as Moneo conceived. Lets look
at the history of the site and what was on that extension that almost like a landfill used to be this casino
from the 90th century that was demolished . the fist competition that was not realized lead to a series of
projects being submitted by diff architects some of them not so well known as well as more known
architects like Mario potter a humongous complex, but Moneo was able to create a kind of poetic
sensitivity of architecture that was not based on already made and inherited type.

So Moneo was able to avoid turning the building into extension of urban fabric , and avoiding
conventional architectural solution, for him the structure should been playing the site character as a
geographical accident but in this he was also influenced by the work of specific artist that he was very
much interested in and we see those sculptures by the Spain artist that show this kind of abstract
manipulation of form that result in those accidental relation ships between solids and voids and that’s
what he tried to replicate by casting these 2 blocks that appeared like continuations of the geographic
accidents that mediate between architecture and between nature they appear to be almost like big
rocks that have fallen in this particular site. In order to resolve the functional requirements he put these
blocks in top of platforms a common platform that serves as a datum of main functions of main level,
the access to parking , to lobby and to common rehearsal spaces and this lower platform as we see from
the section and the floor plan serves as a connector , this place that filters people from the street and
takes them to the major halls , the big auditorium or to the chamber that share the common rehearsal
stage at the center. And in order to emphasize the idea of abstract volume siting on the site, Moneo
conceive it as this steel structure that have double glazed curtain wall formed of glass walls that are plat
on the interior and curved on the exterior that to give them more of textural quality on the exterior. He
creates this solid steel structure that carries the glass on all sides , in-between we have these circulation
spaces that lead u toward the main auditorium on one side the box of the theater of the auditorium is
not placed centrally its moved to the side to allow this generous stair case that moves u along the diff
levels all the way to the top and that become in its self this public forum that is very important in big
functions like this.

So this is in a nut shell the idea behind these 2 cubes that would face on the interior facing of the
auditorium and the chamber hall basically panels of cedar look to give the contrast between cold and
warm materials and create this beautiful contrast in the space. Very delegate solution to the problem
what to built on the site and how to keep the transparency between the urban grid at some points had
to frame the view from the city towards the water. While also creating a project that would have an
interesting presence on the site and at the night it becomes like a light house that Is lit on the sides.

Murcia Town Hall, Murcia, 1998

This project showed that Moneo is not really resort to ready made solutions and to kind of template of
architecture solutions that he always follow, for every project there’s a particular contextual
programmatic functional set of requirements that he tries to approach every time in a different way. For
this case the task was to design an extension on a plot where the existing building had been
demolished , an extension to the town hall of Marcia in Spain. This building would face this important
plaza were on one side we have a historic palace, on the opposite side we have the cathedral and all
around we have this historic building, so this building would frame this composition but it also have to
engage the other buildings without pretending to be part of the 90 th century heritage at the same time
paying some respect to the buildings in terms of its similar approach to the conception od the façade.
This project is the project of a façade and that’s how Moneo approached his project and in this process
we see how this site plan that show the location of the addition facing the main cathedral and the big
palace on one side. And what does Moneo do here? What he does , he creates almost like a reapable
almost like an alter piece in a church that would show an irregular rhythm on the façade to avoid
monotony almost like a musical school, but at the same time this retable has some historical
annotations and him self Moneo says that in conceiving of that he also had in mind this roman ruins in
lebia and other places he saw where we have this playful organizations of pilasters of columns . so we
see this addition that contains main auditorium o the basement level, accessible through the plaza by
these 2 stairways that lead u down to the main auditorium and the main access from the street level
leads u down to the ground floor. And another access to the auditorium from here as well, then we go
up to the upper levels and we have the additional offices and meeting rooms and the Meyers office at
the upper levels. This section shows u clearly this simple articulation of form on the street side but what
is of cures interesting here is this masterful play , this musical core that he creates with the main façade
overlooking the piazza. In articulating this faced it revolves over this local sandstone that is cut by those
very slim concrete slabs that determinate each layer of sandstone pilasters that create this interest
rhythm.
Juan Navarro Baldeweg

He had an interest in art too , a kind of indissociable link between art and architecture and theory, I
would say its really the mark of this humanist tendency in architecture that we carry since the
renaissance and it has been subject to questions criticism some people see it passive in a way but its
not , because we see evidence that it leads to the creation of very interesting work of architecture.
Baldeweg is known for several projects .

New Bibliotheca Hertziana, Rome, 2013

the new bibliotheca Hertziana in Rome which was a competition held in 1995 for remodeling of this old
palace and the creation of the library collection that it was part of another major foundation. What the
architect was faced with is part of the project that these of restoration , preservation what was there
before and how to add the additional spaces required for housing, big library collection od bibliotheca.
The original sketches summarize the strategy the architect had in mind which is to create a light well
that brings light to interior and build around the existing garden that was there to built additional spaces
that would house multiple floors going up to the level that Is permitted and that would basically house
the new collections and extend the library collection. This is the view from the entrance we have this
classic or closer to baroque interior logia leading u to the new spaces that are designed by baldewege
that show another completely modern language.

A section explains how lightwell was configured , that brings light to all of the levels and permits the
addition of multiple floors for the book collection and reading books. This is the view of original building
how it was the palazzo Zuccari , with nb 15 on upper drawing that used to be the garden and that’s the
space that baldewege kind of inhabits with the collection of spaces that are surrounding a tight inner
well that manage to bring enough light to the interior.

Detailed sections show the craftmanship in dealing with concrete slabs , glass walls , glass sections and
leading to this amazing jeweled inserted in this traditional housing complex.

Views of the interior spaces, wood paneling on the floor , stucco on the balustrades and this curtain wall
of glass and steel that forms the external surface toward what used to be garden.

A very sharp injection into the old structure that succeeds in fulfilling requirements of the program, and
providing the spaces that are needed without creating any visible addition of the exterior of the
building.
Alberto Campo Baeza\

A Spanish architect who started at the same time of Moneo as a practitioner.

Purity of architecture started to appear in his work pristine architecture

Zamora Office Complex, Zamora, 2012

Very interesting example of Difference to the site conditions to the particularly of site in this building the
Zamora office complex in Zamora were if we look at the areal view we barely notice where is this
modern addition to the urban settings , observing regulations and codes the building doesn’t rise above
the allowing height. Campo Baeza wanted to create a modern office structure , very mesian even
surpassing meis interim of its lightness and minimalisms , but in order not to cause a problematic
relation with its context, he surrounds this office complex by a stone enclosure which creates internal
courts and provides a better pore between the new addition and the context around it, using same
stones by which the cathedral and other buildings have been created but in a very minimalized fashion.
Campo baeza succeed to create this building that is at once modern but yet contextual.

This site plan shows the attention toward the urban fabric around it, the attempt to follow the existing
enclosure all the way and create this thick wall that would provide the seclusion and the necessary
isolation for the building. The office complex is the L shape element that abids part of the enclosure on
one side and leaves free room around it for circulation, it is composed of large panels of glass almost 6m
in height , double glassing held by silicon that makes these self standing elements really like a glass
curtain wall. And the contrast between them and the beautiful stone work of the enclosure could not be
more perfect.

House of the Infinite, Cadiz, 2014

House of infinite in Cadiz over looking the Atlantic ocean this beautiful house was conceived. At the
ground level were we reach the house we have this platform which operates like an infinite plain
connecting with the ocean. Bellow are 2 floors that contain the main functions of the house. This sketch
shows the intent of the architect of creating this level ground on which people can contemplate the
ocean. We see how in a lot of ways there’s an indirect system of referencing of acts on the poetic
sensitivity of architect leading him toward this kind of intuitive reactions to the site that are never the
same except the choice of materials.

For this project campo baeza describes this idea of setting this idea of relationship to nature is what
dictates the form and renders it to this absolute statement of minimality of essential qualities. And the
building become this podium with a stairway that is cut into the ground leading to the first level, were
another stairway take u to the lower level where the bedrooms are . and we have this direct connection
to the sand at the lower level to the beach. A pool at the podium level which add an element of interest
at the podium level.
Nieto & Sobejano

The couple are also interesting in this respect.

Museum of Madinat al Zahra, Cordoba, 2008

Here the architects where asked to design a museum near the old site of Madinat al Zahra which is an
archeological site that have some of the ruins of Arab Islamic architecture in Spain.

When architects went to site they said we should not built anything here the site should remain in its
pure landscape quality and so what they devise in a strategy to embed the project with site , with only 1
side having access to the road ,,presenting this enclosing wall. But other walls become embedded
around in the site and provide a neutral background to the olive trees. At the top level of the site plan
we have the ruins of the old town and on the lower right we have the project in red that was conceived
in similar way and when the architects diged they found some of the ruins that they embedded with the
project that lead them kind of integrate the same rhythm this orthogonal grid to replicate it into the
new terrain.

So this kind of Lego work of pieces was carefully managed in relation with some of existing ruins but also
in relation with programmatic requirements and centered around 2 major courtyards one at lower left ,
one at center of space that have a pound inserted to it that reflects natural surroundings.

Part of the enclosure wall is perforated to allow wind and the view to circulate through and the whole
thing is carefully crafted according to this orthogonal grid that is very complex at the same time allows
ordering for the whole thing.

The section shows the incorporation of the auditorium and the first section we see here show the
passage way from main ground level through a ramp down to the main space and below it the lower
space , the whole thing appears to be imbedded in ground with only an enclosing percent wall
appearing on the outside. And of course indirect skylight bring indirect light toward the lower levels the
double volumes on lower levels allow them to benefit from this light that comes from roof level.

These original elements of project that are incorporated in the alley ways , retrofitted with new
construction leading to this project that creates this dialog between modern construction and historical
archeological site.