CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE in Spain
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CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE in Spain www.spain.info Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism Published by: © Turespaña ÍNDICE Created by: Lionbridge NIPO: 086-18-006-3 Introduction 3 FREE COPY 30 works of contemporary The content of this leaflet has been created with architecture 4 the utmost care. However, if you find an error, please help us to improve by sending an email to Museums [email protected] Cultural venues Front Cover: Niemeyer Centre, Avilés. Back cover: Bridge Pavilion, Zaragoza. Venues for congresses and shows Photo: Carlos Edgar Soares Neto/123rf.com. Buildings for housing and offices Wineries Other areas 2 INTRODUCTION Photo: @Fundación Botín-Centro Botín Botín-Centro @Fundación Photo: a CENTRO BOTÍN Travel around Spain and explore how wealth is another of Spain's significant history blends with the present through assets, without forgetting ourexquisite its architecture. Ground-breaking build- cuisine. You won't be able to resist the ings co-exist in harmony with classic haute cuisine restaurants, food mar- architecture. Come to a country brim- kets and some of the best wines in the ming with architectural creation and world. innovation. Here you can enjoy masterpieces by The Roman and Moorish legacy in Spanish architects who have been mainland Spain, majestic medieval, awarded the Pritzker Prize, said to be Renaissance and Gothic buildings and the Nobel Prize for Architecture, like the materials used in them have inspired Rafael Moneo and the Studio RCR, as today's architects when modernising well as buildings by renowned interna- our cities. Tradition and avant-garde tional personalities like Frank Gehry, go hand-in-hand to offer the traveller Oscar Niemeyer, Renzo Piano, Jean endless inducements. Nouvel and Norman Foster. And that is just one of the attrac- Unique façades, bioclimatic buildings, tions. Our enviable climate means you extraordinary interiors... all this and so can enjoy your trip at any time of the much more awaits you in Spain, a para- year. Extraordinary natural and artistic dise for lovers of fine architecture. 3 CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE IN SPAIN Photo: Luigi Pascale/123rf.com Luigi Photo: a MACBA BARCELONA 30 WORKS OF CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE THAT YOU REALLY SHOULDN'T MISS Strolling around the streets in Spanish cities you'll see howinnovation and design are to be found in more and more of its buildings. Here are 30 examples of won- derful works of architecture which have become urban icons. 4 30 WORKS OF CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE THAT YOU REALLY SHOULDN'T MISS MUSEUMS NOUVEL BUILDING OF THE REINA SOFÍA MUSEUM, MADRID Apart from contemplating the re- reflecting façade in fibreglass and pol- nowned Guernica by Picasso, a visit to yester, will leave a lasting impression. the Reina Sofía National Art Museum In the central courtyard you are greet- gives you a chance to appreciate the ed by a large Roy Lichtenstein statue harmonious contrast between the which stands between two laminated main building, formerly an 18th cen- steel and glass boxes. tury Neoclassical hospital, and the The Nouvel building also has an mag- new extension in contemporary style. nificent public library on the ground Between them, these buildings are floor. The cafeteria-restaurant is an home to one of the best collections of array of colours and flavours, you can Spanish modern and contemporary art. enjoy a brunch on the terrace or a deli- The new extension designed by the cious dinner in unique surroundings. French architect Jean Nouvel, which L More information on features an enormous, red ceiling and a www.museoreinasofia.es b NOUVEL BUILDING OF THE REINA SOFÍA MUSEUM MADRID Photo: _fla/123rf.com Photo: 5 CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE IN SPAIN MACBA - BARCELONA MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART The white colour, the light and the transparency of the glass are the prom- inent features of this museum in the heart of Barcelona designed by Richard Meier. Take a stroll around the outside and inside of this masterpiece by the American Pritzker prize-winning archi- tect and enjoy the best contemporary art in its long galleries and open spaces. According to Meier himself, "the shape, configuration and light in the MACBA were inspired by the Gothic quarter and its overwhelming architectural wealth and character". This makes the open spaces and the connections between them look like an extensive network of patios in ancient convents, monaster- ies and palaces in Barcelona's medieval neighbourhood. L For more information go to www.macba.cat GUGGENHEIM IN BILBAO Like a titanium ocean-going liner moored in the Bilbao estuary, this mu- seum is a surprise from the moment you catch a glimpse of it in one of the great avenues that converge at the La Salve bridge. Each side of the museum has a dif- ferent façade resulting from the in- tricate shapes and forms created by the Canadian Architect, Frank Gehry. A sculptural structure which blends perfectly into the Bilbao skyline and the surrounding area, it has become an undisputed icon of the city. 6 _ GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM BILBAO Photo: Melanie Lemahieu/123rf.com Melanie Photo: 30 WORKS OF CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE THAT YOU REALLY SHOULDN'T MISS Once inside, you'll discover one of the designed and built this ancient Moorish world's most unique museums. The Medina a thousand years ago. Guggenheim's three levels are organ- In a large extension, which has not yet ised around a central atrium. Gehry been fully excavated, the architects uses titanium, glass and limestone to connect the different areas via curved Fuensanta Nieto and Enrique Sobejano walkways, lifts and towered staircases. decided to proceed just like an archae- ologist would, locating the museum L For further information go to building underground, as if with the www.guggenheim-bilbao.eus passage of time it had remained hidden until today. This unique building has re- MEDINA AZAHARA VISITOR ceived the prestigious Aga Khan Award CENTRE, CÓRDOBA for Architecture and the Piranesi Prize. Immerse yourself in the al-Andalus past Explore the mysterious underground in the remains of the ancient Hispanic- Moorish city of Medina Azahara. The passages, open areas and patios which current museum and visitor centre for will appear as you make the tour. You'll this important archaeological site, cre- be amazed by the interplay between ated by the Spanish architectural stu- light, shade, texture and the materials, dio of Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos, in surroundings that invite you to re- suggests a dialogue with those who main silent as if in a holy place. Photo: joserpizarro/123rf.com Photo: 7 MEDINA AZAHARA VISITOR CENTRE CÓRDOBA CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE IN SPAIN Photo: Roberto Atencia Gutierrez/123rf.com Atencia Roberto Photo: a MUSAC LEÓN MUSAC, LEÓN The first thing you notice about the In the extension to the museum, a sin- Castile-Leon Museum of Contemporary gle-storey building constructed with Art (MUSAC), located in the heart of the white concrete walls, the aim is to cre- tree-lined Avenida de los Reyes Leoneses, ate a space where contemporary art is the stained glass façade. This original plays a leading role. On exploring the feature is precisely one of the reasons why interior, you'll discover the unusual the Mansilla + Tuñón Architectural Study floor layout, based on the geometrical was awarded the prestigious Mies van der form of Roman mosaics with a combi- Rohe Prize in 2007. What is most extraor- nation of squares and rhombuses. dinary is how they selected the colours: by L For more information go to digitising an image from one of the stained- www.musac.es glass windows in the Cathedral of León. 8 30 WORKS OF CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE THAT YOU REALLY SHOULDN'T MISS MUSEUM OF HUMAN EVOLUTION, BURGOS In the province of Burgos, you'll find the Sierra de Atapuerca mountains, where one of the world's most important ar- chaeological sites was discovered. The Museum of Human Evolution (MEH), designed by the Spanish sculptor and artist Juan Navarro Baldeweg, was built in the city of Burgos for the pur- pose of displaying and explaining some of the remains relating to the origin of Photo: David Herraez/123rf.com David Photo: humankind found there. a MUSEUM OF HUMAN EVOLUTION It is best to visit the site first and then BURGOS the museum. Then you'll see that the exterior of the buildings within the walls enable you to remain in connec- complex was inspired directly by the tion with the exterior. You'll be surprised mountain landscape, with indigenous by the enormous, open and luminous vegetation distributed in terraces going space in this great light box which has down to the Arlanzón River. spectacular volume and luminosity. As you enter the main building you get L For further information go to a feeling of continuity, since the glass www.museoevolucionhumana.com ARQUA, CARTAGENA The new headquarters of the National low which hang the iron structures of two Sub-Aquatic Archaeological Museum great sea vessels, one Greek and the oth- (ARQUA) is an invitation to become er medieval. submerged in the depths of the sea along a ramp which descends into its interior. Here you'll discover Spain's rich The advanced design of the museum, by Underwater Archaeological Heritage. the National Architecture Prize-winner Above the surface the museum consists Guillermo Vázquez Consuegra, warranted of two buildings, one long and opaque and the other uneven, angular and more its exhibition in the MOMA in New York. transparent. Together they make a sort of square over the port of Cartagena, a beautiful public venue for exhibitions and L For further information go to outdoor activities. One of the highlights www.mecd.gob.es/mnarqua of your visit will be the huge skylight be- 9 CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE IN SPAIN CULTURAL VENUES CAIXAFORUM, MADRID This original exhibition centre designed an unusual metallic polygonal staircase by the Swiss architects Herzog & De leading up to a spacious lobby with ac- Meuron stands in the Paseo del Prado, cess to the different spaces.