"I want to achieve the impossible." Bofill
He was one of the world's most renowned contemporary architects. Ricardo Bofill has passed away at the age of 82. This is an opportunity to pay tribute to the Barcelona native, born in 1939, considered one of the
leading figures in postmodern architecture.
Ricardo Bofill revolutionized 20th-century architecture with his groundbreaking visions. From utopian and futuristic social housing projects to high-tech modernism that made extensive use of glass and steel, and including postmodern classicism, the architect's resolute approach was always ambitious.
Bofill's workshop, the Taller de Arquitectura, has proven to be a vibrant incubator of creative rebellion for over five decades. Today, Bofill's buildings, such as Walden 7, Kafka's Castle, and La Muralla Roja, are integral to popular culture, and his innovative ideas about communal living spaces and alternative lifestyles are once again thrust into the spotlight.
A tribute in 3 exceptional buildings:
• Xanadù
This stunning building, whose name refers to the residence of Charles Foster Kane (the famous Citizen Kane of the Orson Welles film), is a project carried out on the Peñón de Ifach (rocky peak overlooking the town of Calp), in 1971, by the entire studio of Ricardo Bofill.
A complex of 18 private apartments on the seafront, just a few meters from the Muralla Roja, it is characterized by its lichen-green color, its projecting geometric forms, and the shape of its windows, some arched, some circular. While the building's irregularity gives it a distinctly modern appearance, its terracotta-colored roofs are reminiscent of the Spanish countryside dwellings found nearby.
• The muralla roja (Calp, Alicante)
Located on a mountain nearly 330 meters high, the Muralla Roja is a complex of 50 apartments painted in pink, ochre, sky blue and indigo, contrasting with the surrounding landscape of the Costa Blanca.
The origin of this project, completed in 1973, lies in Bofill's profound attraction to the architecture of the Mediterranean region and, in particular, to Moorish-style architecture. Indeed, the main cities of North Africa are endowed with kasbahs, urban complexes composed of defensive walls on the outside and narrow streets on the inside.
In reference to this style, Bofill surrounds his buildings with ramparts and draws inspiration from the winding aspect of the alleyways, which separate
superimposed and adjoining dwellings.
You have the opportunity to experience Bofill by renting an apartment in the Muralla Roja complex.
• Architecture Workshop
Eucalyptus, palm trees, olive trees, mimosa trees… In the heart of this idyllic landscape La Fábrica is nestled there , a former cement factory located in the suburbs of Barcelona. This curious, concrete building, composed of semicircular arches and cylindrical shapes, is probably Bofill's most personal project.
Indeed, it was in 1973 that he established the Taller de Architectura studio there. to bring together architects, economists, critics and poets who assist him in his work. Yet, this place with its paradisiacal appearance was not always so: the effort made by Ricardo Bofill to revive this abandoned Catalan industrial ruin from the 1920s, while preserving its architectural structure, was a challenge.
Today, it houses not only Ricardo Bofill's studio, but also a private residence and exhibition spaces.
Ricardo Bofill and I share common values:
• Bofill is an avant-garde artist who revolutionized the codes of architecture with his groundbreaking visions.
Neko Neko is revolutionizing traditional leather goods codes to create a new vision and culture around fashion.
• His workshop has proven to be a vibrant incubator of creative rebellion. Neko Neko is a multidisciplinary group of people who disseminate art and culture through fashion.
Like Bofill, we believe in creativity and its power to shape a better world!
Credits: Numero magazine / Ricardo Bofill - visions of architecture - Epa editions
