|
|
21/07/2006
|
Light & stone
Recent approaches and moods in contemporary Spanish architecture
When, on 21 June 2001, Alberto Campo Baeza inaugurated in Granada the new head offices of Caja General de Ahorros, the world of international architecture warmly greeted it as a masterpiece.
Poetical and extraordinary use of alabaster, a material traditionally associated with religious architecture, took on a new role in refining monumental, austere and simple interiors thanks to changeable relationships between opacity and transparency.
The Granada bank thus became a symbol not only of new Spanish architecture - by now one of the most extensive and innovative "workshops" on the world scene - but also the possibility of re-interpreting traditional European materials in terms of new, contemporary aesthetics in the wake of the Modern Movement.
Events such as the Barcelona Olympics and the World Exhibition in Seville, in any case, saw Spain achieve unprecedented growth in sectors such as tourism, transport, infrastructures and culture that emerged as vital occasions for general and well-informed urban and territorial re-qualification, as well as giving free expressive rein to talented figures such as Rafael Moneo, Peredes+Pedrosa, Cesar Portela, Juan Navarro Baldeweg, Anton Garcia Abril, Mansilla+Tuñon, Carlos Ferrater, Enric Miralles and Benedetta Tagliabue, alongside significant opportunities for famous names in international architecture.
This process expanded from the main centres of Madrid and Barcelona to embrace other, smaller cities; notwithstanding differences in style, the use of stone materials was a unifying element synonymous with a building culture where quality and contemporary design keep faith with the past, the landscape and local identity.
It is no coincidence, then, that Spanish architecture is one of the undisputed protagonists of the 41st Marmomacc with a dedicated convention intended to promote debate between the main protagonists of the Spanish "Renaissance" and Italian designers, focusing attention on the various languages and new technical and expressive horizons characterising contemporary stone architecture.
|
« Volver
(Fuente de información: Verona Fiere)
|
