Marifer Echeverri
Arch 316 – Final Draft
Prof. Gary Paige
December 14, 2021
When considering important figures in Modern Spanish architecture, Ricardo Bofill and Rafael Moneo are hard to miss. They are both internationally acclaimed Spanish architects who surprise and inform with their dramatic takes on simple materials and traditional programs. These two architects are contemporaries who both studied and developed their craft in Spain during the mid-20th century opening their firms a couple of decades later. Despite many similarities throughout their scope of work, demographic, upbringing, and career paths, their approaches to architecture reflect their diverging priorities as architects and their views on how we should treat the urban fabric and context through their housing projects.
Historical Background
Ricardo Bofill
1. Walden 7 (Naja, Ramzi. “AD Classics: Walden 7 / Ricardo Bofill.” ArchDaily)
Ricardo Bofill was born in 1939 after the end of the Spanish Civil War in Barcelona, he studied at Escola Tecnica Superioir d”Arquitectura de Barcelona but was ultimately expelled from the university due to his participation in a demonstration in 1958 with the Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia. Along with being expelled from university, he was deported from Spain, so he began his life in Switzerland and finished his schooling in Geneve. This physical separation from Catalunya did little to weaken his familial and political ties to Catalunya. His cultural as well as architectural ties stem strongly from his influence from his father, who was also an architect and therefore exposed him early in his life to construction and artisanal crafts that he would later adopt into his continual studies of form. His growth as a person was at a pivotal time in the history of Spain, where the tension between Catalunya and Castilla were as strong as ever and a fresh wound in the eyes of the people (“Ricardo Bofill.” Biografias y Vidas).
2. La Ciudad en el Espacio (“Gallery of Ricardo Bofill: ‘Why Are Historical Towns More Beautiful Than Modern Cities?" - 20.” ArchDaily,)
His projects are seen as great examples of critical regionalism, as a reaction against modernism - which is defined by its interest in innovative construction methods and modern materials like glass, steel, and concrete - and the Franco dictatorship. His team continuously experimented with original methodologies based on three dimensional modular geometries during the 1960s (“Ricardo Bofill.” Biografias y Vidas). An excellent example of these ideologies is Walden 7 (Figure 1) and La Ciudad en el Espacio (Figure 2). These two projects are examples of his utopic ideologies being grounded by reality and context. His views on urbanism are not meant to demolish and rebuild corrupt systems, but to repair and heal these injured fabrics with traditional typology and materials, rejecting modernist materials and ideologies of a crystal city (“Gallery of Ricardo Bofill: ‘Why Are Historical Towns More Beautiful Than Modern Cities?" - 20.” ArchDaily).
3. Edificio Muralla Roja (“Gallery of Ricardo Bofill: ‘Why Are Historical Towns More Beautiful Than Modern Cities?" - 20.” ArchDaily,)
4. La Fabrica (“Gallery of Ricardo Bofill: ‘Why Are Historical Towns More Beautiful Than Modern Cities?" - 20.” ArchDaily,)
As his team in Paris during the 1970s evolved, they began to explore the traditions of classical architecture along with his previous urban and utopic ideologies. Two projects by the firm during this time are Edificio Muralla Roja in Calpe, Spain (Figure 3) and his home and studio La Fabrica in Sant Just Desvern, Spain (Figure 4). These projects further exemplify his admiration of existing typologies and structures and his respect of traditional vernacular. These projects, along with many others have brought him to be known as one of the most iconic postmodern architects in Europe. Bofill’s approach to context follows the ideas of Kenneth Frampton as he tries to make buildings that are responsive to the weather and natural elements that are present on the site in which the building is to be situated. On top of this environmental context, he also pushes for cultural relevance through this critical regionalism in abstract and reduced forms that are reminiscent of traditional typologies, but not at the expense of the building’s response to the natural elements.
Despite his opposition to modernist materials in his early works that mostly consisted of masonry projects, starting in the 1980s he progressively shifted his palette to glass and steel and began to abandon many ideas of critical regionalism in attempts to preserve culture and typology through building elements such as columns and pediments, which are reminiscent of Frampton’s critical analysis of context. Examples of this shift are depicted in 77 West Wacker Drive in Chicago, Illinois and the National Theater of Catalonia in Barcelona, Spain. These modern materials take on traditional and neo classical forms in attempts to remain relevant in the city through cliché and overused symbols. The buildings feature traditional elements such as pediments, columns, and simple shapes, displaying neo classical style while modernizing it with glass, steel, and modern spans (both vertically, as seen in the Wacker Drive Tower, and horizontally). This turn in his career points to a weakening in his stance on context and form.
5. 77 West Wacker Drive (“77 West Wacker Drive.” Ricardo Bofill Taller De Arquitectura)
6. National Theater of Catalonia (“National Theatre of Catalonia.” Ricardo Bofill Taller De Arquitectura)
7. W Hotel (Alarcón, Jonathan. “W Barcelona Hotel / Ricardo Bofill.” ArchDaily)
Presently, his work has shifted to a highly formal sense of geometry that further seems to abandon the idea of critical regionalism and even the one of mirroring typology in attempts to fake this idea of contextuality that he adopted later in his career. A monumental example of this abandonment is the W Barcelona Hotel on the coast of the city (Figure 7). This shift in his style has caused great controversy and is either seen as an iconic monument or an eyesore to the people of Barcelona. The form is derived from the shape of a sail, but the extremely modern materials and the lack of void that he has famously used throughout his many successful projects leads many people to fail to recognize this massive building as a Bofill or as a respectable piece of architecture (Alarcón).
Rafael Moneo
8. Biblioteca Universitaria de Deusto, Campus Bilbao (“RAFAEL MONEO.” Rafael Moneo Arquitecto)
9. National Museum of Roman Art in Merida (Langdon, David. “AD Classics: National Museum of Roman Art / Rafael Moneo.” ArchDaily)
Rafael Moneo was born in Tudela, Spain in 1937 and studied at ETSAM in Madrid, unlike Bofill he did successfully graduate from this institution in 1961 and established his firm in Madrid four years after his graduation. He also began to teach at ETSAM in 1966 (five years after his graduation) and then in 1985 he served as chair of the architecture department at Harvard GSD for five years (“Arquitectos De Madrid: Rafael Moneo.” Comunidad De Madrid). He is known for designs that seamlessly incorporate contemporary and historically referential elements that exemplify the idea of context that is put forth by K. Michael Hays in which a homogony of culture is represented and traditional architecture is reduced to form.
Moneo’s consideration of context comes in many different forms and examples. One project that is greatly reflective of the cultural and typological context is the National Museum of Roman Art in Merida (Figure 9). This building has soaring structural arches that are reminiscent of the Roman theater across the street and are a contemporary take on an ancient structure. In addition to the mirroring nature of his projects, he also manages to create monumental forms in illusory ways, like the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles (Figure 10). The soaring interiors and monumental form creates a landmark in the city while using contemporary language in a building that people would consider to be needing traditional architecture (as most cathedrals seem to), but his abandonment of what would be fake historical elements, Moneo chose to reflect the city’s modernity and culture through the materials and forms that are reflective of a more modern church within a largely Hispanic city.
Moneo is known for his work with public programs such as museums, auditoriums, theatres, and libraries, augmenting the context through monumental forms and interventions, but the delicate hand that he uses when realizing different programs such as housing exemplifies his ability to create contextually sensitive and functional buildings.
10. Our Lady of the Angeles, Los Angeles (Stott, Rory. “Spotlight: Rafael Moneo.” ArchDaily, ArchDaily, 9 May 2020, https://www.archdaily.com/629147/spotlight-rafael-moneo.)
Housing and Context
The two buildings that will be examined to comparatively dissect both architects’ approach to context during their early careers are Walden 7 in Barcelona by Ricardo Bofill and the Urumea Building in San Sebastian by Rafael Moneo. The two buildings are chosen as they were both built only a couple of years apart and are a part of their early work in residential architecture.
11. Walden 7 Exterior (Naja, Ramzi. “AD Classics: Walden 7 / Ricardo Bofill.” ArchDaily)
12. Walden 7 Interior Courtyard and Fountain (Naja, Ramzi. “AD Classics: Walden 7 / Ricardo Bofill.” ArchDaily)
Walden 7 is described as an exaltation of every-day working class housing using highly expressive monumental architecture (Naja). Built in 1975, it sits on the outskirts of Barcelona and it was meant to be a part of a larger project that included multiple similar buildings, but only one of the tower collections was built. The building we see today still stands as an icon of Bofill’s work. The language that he employs in this project is often associated with monumental buildings like governmental and authoritarian structures, but by using this language for housing, he is elevating the seemingly ordinary program to a more respectable position. The use of volumes and geometries creates a strong juxtaposition of solids and voids. The lack of windows throughout the façade except for the balconies creates a very strong language of solidity and strength (Figure 11). Bofill credits his use of traditional typologies of monuments and cultural influences on the projects that he explored with his father, who was also an architect, during his youth (“Gallery of Ricardo Bofill”). In addition to the influence of these monumental government buildings, there is a clear reference to industrial buildings, but it is softened by the material treatments and programmatic elements such as the fountains seen at the bottom of the shared courtyard spaces and the sprawling green areas that envelop the building on the site.
13. Walden 7 Interior Courtyard and Circulation(Naja, Ramzi. “AD Classics: Walden 7 / Ricardo Bofill.” ArchDaily)
Walden 7 is a modern iteration of Mediterranean and Spanish architecture with the use of stepped massing, bright color, and frequent courtyards (Figure 12). The stark massing is given relief and intricacy through the addition of seemingly random balconies. These balconies, in harmony with the oversized voids, connect the interior courtyards to the interior of the building and beyond the building. The traditional forms that he explores in his work is highlighted in this project, along with the use of noble yet inexpensive materials that he prizes over the over decorative structures or the expensive materials he often saw used in modernist architecture. Furthermore, Bofill often stated how there is no fixed method for approaching a project and that every site, problem, and proposal deserves its own method to create a solution that uniquely fixes the challenges associated with the project, and this is reflected in how he dealt with the challenges of creating a variety of units.
He designed this building to have three main unit types that could be changed around with the movement of partitions. These types are a studio apartment, and duplex units that could have several bedrooms. With this option to change the layout and density of the units it is hard to calculate exactly how many units are in the Walden 7 building but with 18 floors, we could estimate that there are around 450 units dispersed throughout the 18 towers connected by a labyrinth of interconnected passageways (Figure 13).
The building is made of reinforced concrete and masonry, and it was initially covered in terracotta tiles, but as time went on the tiles began to fall off of the façade creating a safety issue, so they were mostly removed and the building was painted a terracotta color.
14. Aerial view of Walden 7, Google Earth
His use of this monumental language demonstrates his attitude toward utopian societies (“Gallery of Ricardo Bofill”). Bofill explains how he believes that Corbusier was the one architect who killed the city through his disregard for history and dislike of the city structure itself, which he continually tried to dissolve through aggressive zoning and automation. Corbusier’s ideas describe the opposite of which Bofill has come to appreciate, a preservation of history and a reparation of existing urban fabrics through a reduced typology, rather than a total abandonment of the existing city. This historical context is displayed through the building’s association with the site, socially as well as physically, Walden 7 demonstrates these ideologies, creating a contextually responsive building that still harks toward the future with the exaltation of the working class in a haven of green surroundings (Naja) (Figure 14).
15. Urumea Building view from Urumea River (Rafael Moneo, “Urumea Building”)
Rafael Moneo’s Urumea Building in San Sebastian was built in 1973 and approaches context in a completely different way than Bofill’s Walden 7. The idea of context in this building is replicated by echoing and translating the facades of the surrounding buildings through the repetition of elements, not necessarily through critical regionalism that Bofill often employed. Through maintaining the same height and balcony datums (Figure 15) as well as creating a similar typology using pitched roofs, color, material, and breaking up of the façade with undulation and vertical datums, Moneo stitched together the urban fabric near the river to create continuity and reverence to the historical facades that surround Urumea. The interior program is exposed through the façade through these vertical datums, revealing the unit sizes and divisions. The building is highly contextual with its mirroring of elements, but it still maintains a modern and clean design. This approach to context is similar to the one stated by K. Michael Hays, which promoted a homogony of culture by reducing typology elements to form, separating the architecture from adornment.
16. Urumea Building façade (Rafael Moneo, “Urumea Building”)
17. Urumea Building a block away from Kursaal Congress Center and Auditorium (Rafael Moneo, “Urumea Building”)
The building seems to also be made of reinforced concrete and masonry and seems to hold around 85 units. This building, unlike Walden 7, is a mixture of programs which further weaves the building into the immediate context, where the surrounding buildings have a similar program where retail inhabits the bottom floor and residents inhabit the top 7 floors. The circulation in this space does not meander through shared courtyards but it is broken up between units, creating a sense of strict continuity from the street and a sense of privacy for the residents. This building also lacks balconies, but the façade elements that are mimicking the language of balconies continue the datums set up by the surrounding buildings.
Moneo’s ideologies are often surrounding the idea of marketplace and congregation within the city and how important they are regarding the social structure. Even with projects that don’t include a congregation space for the city like this housing project he still exemplifies the importance of these spaces with the interior layout of the building (Figure 16). The Urumea Building has a relationship with Moneo’s Kursaal Congress Center and Auditorium a block away from the housing complex, emphasizing the relationship of the city with the congregational spaces in the urban fabric (Figure 17). Furthermore, the building reveals the city’s standards of blocks and private space. He continues to prioritize context within the urban fabric the “iconization” of projects (Shoshkes).
Side by Side
These two buildings indicate the architects’ ideologies and considerations of context through the formal elements that they are projecting. They were built only two years apart, and both are in northern Spain, but remain quite different due to the architect’s interpretation of what it means to be contextual. The two different approaches to context and history in highly historical areas and cities with well-established organizations and typologies demonstrate the delicate hand that it takes to help cure the urban fabric that Bofill described Corbusier trying to dismantle so that he could create a sterile utopia. The Spanish influences on these historic considerations can be examined in a societal lens where both architects are trying to conserve their homeland’s culture and visual elements in modern architecture.
18. Walden 7 Floor Plans Level 9 (Naja, Ramzi. “AD Classics: Walden 7 / Ricardo Bofill.” ArchDaily)
19. Urumea Building Floor Plan (Rafael Moneo, “Urumea Building”)
Looking at these buildings we can observe how the architects are preserving the Mediterranean form of courtyards at different scales. Bofill penetrates the building in multiple points (Figure 18), creating a more intimate relationship between the units and the courtyards and circulation zones. Moneo treats the integrity of the building more emphatically and only creates a single courtyard (Figure 19). The cross ventilation that is key in Mediterranean housing typologies is facilitated with these courtyards. This is one of the key methods through which both architects keep a formal typology alive within their unique projects.
20. Walden 7 Site. Google Earth
21. Urumea Site. Google Earth
22, 23. Walden 7 Site(Naja, Ramzi. “AD Classics: Walden 7 / Ricardo Bofill.” ArchDaily)
24. Urumea Building (Rafael Moneo, “Urumea Building”)
Looking at the sites, we can also see their opposing interactions with the site boundaries and the surrounding buildings. Walden 7 is in a more open site that is not being blocked in by existing buildings, and furthermore, Bofill chose to situate the building on a diagonal in the middle of the site, creating an abundance of open space around the building while still maintaining a dynamic relationship with the boundaries (Image 21). This separation from the boundary line allows for a more ceremonial and monumental presentation of the building as one walks up to it (Image 22, 23). The Urumea building is trying harder to fall in line with the existing buildings and the block’s regular placement to become a seamless part of the urban fabric within a crucial neighborhood in San Sebastian that is very close to the mouth of the river (Image 24).
The nature of the projects themselves, along with the architect’s approach to context and historical continuity has created two formally very different buildings that seem to have an abundance of similarities. This differing treatment of the projects goes to show how small changes in approach to architecture can create drastically different results which are valid in each of their instances.
The color palette used in these buildings is quite expressive as masonry colors that are often used in Spanish architecture. Walden 7 uses terracotta tiles and colors in the exterior portions of the building with turquoise tones on the interior courtyards, defining the wrapped spaces created by the volumetric subtractions within the mass (Figure 25). These colors are more typical of the Mediterranean region in which Barcelona is located while the Urumea building is almost predictable considering the buildings that surround it, carrying bricklike reds and browns along with plaster that carries harmonious tones with the neighborhood’s facades (Figure 26).
25. Walden 7 Courtyards and Circulation Space (Naja, Ramzi. “AD Classics: Walden 7 / Ricardo Bofill.” ArchDaily)
26. Urumea Building (Rafael Moneo, “Urumea Building”)
While the approaches to the site, form, material, and typology are quite different, they are unique due to the differences in site that both of these projects experience. Bofill and Moneo demonstrate delicate and intelligent approaches to both buildings in their own way and their priorities shine through as soon as we begin to examine them. Understanding the nuances of these architects’ history and manifestos of architecture allows us to see the intelligence behind these seemingly simple housing compounds. These elegant simplicities are reasons why both men are greatly recognized as icons of contemporary Spanish architecture and the urban fabric.
Bibliography:
Alarcón, Jonathan. “W Barcelona Hotel / Ricardo Bofill.” ArchDaily, ArchDaily, 29 May 2015, https://www.archdaily.com/297165/w-barcelona-hotel-ricardo-bofill.
“Arquitectos De Madrid: Rafael Moneo.” Comunidad De Madrid, 24 Apr. 2020, www.comunidad.madrid/cultura/patrimonio-cultural/arquitectos-madrid-rafael-moneo.
Ferrer Forés, Jaime J. “Jørn Utzon y Rafael Moneo. El Mercado Como Lugar de Encuentro.” Dearquitectura, no. 17, 2015, pp. 126–45, doi:10.18389/dearq17.2015.08.
“Gallery of Ricardo Bofill: ‘Why Are Historical Towns More Beautiful Than Modern Cities?" - 20.” ArchDaily, https://www.archdaily.com/795215/ricardo-bofill-why-are-historical-towns-more-beautiful-than-modern-cities/57d7f765e58ece70b600015a-ricardo-bofill-why-are-historical-towns-more-beautiful-than-modern-cities-image.
HAO, Xinyang. “Urumea Residential Building, San Sebastian.” Modern Architecture: A Visual Lexicon, 12 Oct. 2017, visuallexicon.wordpress.com/2017/10/04/urumea-residential-building-san-sebastian/.
Langdon, David. “AD Classics: National Museum of Roman Art / Rafael Moneo.” ArchDaily, ArchDaily, 1 Oct. 2018, https://www.archdaily.com/625552/ad-classics-national-museum-of-roman-art-rafael-moneo.
MacLeod, Finn. “Video: Enter the Ethereal Spaces of Los Angeles' Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.” ArchDaily, ArchDaily, 12 Sept. 2015, https://www.archdaily.com/773227/video-enter-the-ethereal-spaces-of-los-angeles-cathedral-of-our-lady-of-the-angels.
Naja, Ramzi. “AD Classics: Walden 7 / Ricardo Bofill.” ArchDaily, ArchDaily, 12 Apr. 2020, www.archdaily.com/332142/ad-classics-walden-7-ricardo-bofill.
“National Theatre of Catalonia.” Ricardo Bofill Taller De Arquitectura, 10 Oct. 2017, https://ricardobofill.com/projects/national-theatre-of-catalonia/.
“Rafael Moneo.” Biografias y Vidas, www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/m/moneo.htm.
“RAFAEL MONEO.” Rafael Moneo Arquitecto, rafaelmoneo.com/en/projects/urumea-building/.
“RAFAEL MONEO.” Rafael Moneo Arquitecto, https://rafaelmoneo.com/en/projects/deusto-university-library/.
“Ricardo Bofill.” Architectural Digest, vol. 48, no. 9, Aug. 1991, pp. 44–45. EBSCOhost, search-ebscohost-com.libproxy1.usc.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ada&AN=103491307.
“Ricardo Bofill.” Biografias y Vidas, www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/b/bofill_ricardo.htm.
Schuman, Tony. “Utopia Spurned: Ricardo Bofill and the French Ideal City Tradition.” <i>Journal of Architectural Education (1984-)</i>, vol. 40, no. 1, 1986, pp. 20–29. <i>JSTOR</i>, www.jstor.org/stable/1424844. Accessed 13 Sept. 2021.
Shoshkes, Ellen. “Rafael Moneo: Building, Teaching, Writing.” Journal of Architectural Education (1984), vol. 70, no. 2, Routledge, 2016, pp. 332–34, doi:10.1080/10464883.2016.1197693.
Stott, Rory. “Spotlight: Rafael Moneo.” ArchDaily, ArchDaily, 9 May 2020, https://www.archdaily.com/629147/spotlight-rafael-moneo.
“Walden-7.” Ricardo Bofill Taller De Arquitectura, 13 Feb. 2019, ricardobofill.com/projects/walden-7-2/.
“77 West Wacker Drive.” Ricardo Bofill Taller De Arquitectura, 5 Sept. 2018, https://ricardobofill.com/projects/77-west-wacker-drive/.
Commentaires