Visionary architecture - R. Bofill
"I want to achieve the impossible. Bofill
Ricardo Bofill's revolutionary visions revolutionized 20th-century architecture. From utopian, futuristic social housing projects to high-tech modernism with its emphasis on glass and steel, and post-modern classicism, the architect's resolute approach has always been ambitious.
Tribute in 3 exceptional buildings:
- Xanadù
This stunning building, whose name refers to the residence of Charles Foster Kane (the eponymous Citizen Kane in Orson Welles' film), was built by Ricardo Bofill's studio on the Peñón de Ifach (a rocky peak overlooking the town of Calp) in 1971.
This complex of 18 private apartments on the seafront, just a few meters from the Muralla Roja, is characterized by its lichen-green color, its projecting geometric f orms and the shape of its windows, sometimes arched, sometimes circular.The building is characterized by its lichen-green color, its projecting geometric forms and the shape of its windows, sometimes arched, sometimes circular. While the irregularity of the building gives it a fundamentally modern appearance, its terracotta-coloured roofs are reminiscent of the Spanish countryside dwellings that appear not far away in the landscape.
- La muralla roja (Calp, Alicante)
- Taller de Architectura
Eucalyptus, palms, olive trees, mimosas... At the heart of this idyllic landscape nestles LaFábrica, a former cement factory on the outskirts of Barcelona. This curious concrete building, with its round arches and cylindrical forms, is probably Bofill's most personal project.
In 1973, he set up the Taller de Architectura studio here. Taller de Architectura, bringing together architects, economists, critics and poets to assist him in his work. However, this paradisiacal setting was not always so: Ricardo Bofill's effort to breathe new life into this derelict Catalan industrial ruin of the 1920s, while preserving its architectural structure, was quite a challenge.
Today, it houses not only Ricardo Bofill's studio, but also a private residence and exhibition spaces.
