His most iconic work of his? The Red Wall of Calpe
Ricardo Bofill he is the famous artificer of the red wall of ** Calpe **, one of the most photographed corners of our geography. But his contribution to the world of architecture is much more than that iconic pastel colored building. Despite he was expelled from the Barcelona School of Architecture for political reasons, he managed to fulfill his dream and graduate in Geneva.
At an early age he began to take on major architectural projects. In fact, such was Bofill's prodigy that when his classmates were still working on their final year projects, he was already designing housing to solve the problem of the suburbs in the cities.
The residential complex La Manzanera, in Calpe
From its neo-Moorish beginnings to its neoclassical phase, passing through its avant-garde and most recent stage, the Gestalt publishing house has collected in a wonderful manual entitled Ricardo Bofill Visions of Architecture the trajectory of the renowned postmodernist architect. The book will be published this year, in honor of his 80th birthday: March 7 in Europe and May 8 internationally.
In 1963 Bofill decided to create his Architecture Workshop , counting on a young multidisciplinary team that would allow him to perfectly master the art of designing and constructing buildings: engineers, urban planners, sociologists, writers, film directors and philosophers.
The office, based in Barcelona , has been dedicated to urban design, architecture, park and garden design and interior design for 40 years.
Furthermore, in 1978 he decided to open ** a second architecture studio in Paris ** due to numerous commissions in different French cities. There he dedicated himself to creating houses with a clear influence of the Gallic monumental architecture , What Le Palais d'Abraxas .
Did you know that the W hotel in Barcelona is the work of Bofill?
Bofill's work is not only marked by the culture and architecture of the past , but it is also a clear reflection of his interest in new trends. If there is something that defines the architect, it is his involvement of him in social movements of his time.
Bofill social housing in Dakar (Senegal)
As for his influences, during his early years, the artist wanted to recover the essence of traditional Catalan architecture. Later, he began to focus on the urban planning issues at the local level , using a methodology to manage space based on pure geometry, being Walden 7 a clear example.
“Our geometry integrates more complex generative figures and numbers. Between these, the golden number, that he preoccupied classical architects above all else: arrange the world according to the proportions of the human body ”, explains Bofill in his reflection on architectural composition.
"The famous drawing of Leonardo da Vinci , which shows the study of the proportions of the human body reveals the laws also used in the construction of churches or cities of the time”, he adds.
Acknowledgments of Bofill's excellent work are abundant. His awards include, among others, Creu de Sant Jordi -awarded by the Generalitat de Catalunya in 1973- and the Vittorio De Sica prize for architecture (2009), the last one he has received.
Walden 7, one of its great challenges
In turn, he can also boast the following titles: in 1985 he was elected an honorary member of the American Institute of Architects, ** is Doctor Honoris Causa by the University of Metz, France ** ** (1995) **; and Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, of the Ministry of Culture of France (1988).
His interest in urban problems in developing countries has taken him to destinations such as Algeria , where he left his seal in the form of social housing , culminating his work with the construction of the Agricultural Village Houari Boumédienne in the southeast of the country.
Palace of Congresses of Madrid
The Place de l'Europe in Luxembourg ; the extension of the Castellana in Madrid ; the Central Artery in Boston ; airport terminal 1 Barcelona ; cultural, sports and commercial facilities in Europe, the United States and Asia; social housing buildings in Dakar, Stockholm , ** Beijing ** ** or Paris ** ; office towers in USA , French Spain…
From the luminosity of the Mediterranean to tokyo , going by warsaw . Bofill understands neither limits nor frontiers, and these are just some of the works that prove it. Shall we find out the rest?
*** These are the most spectacular works of Ricardo Bofill **
Architecture lover, this is the book you were waiting for