This article explores the relationship between architecture and the automobile based on the literature and urban theory of the second half of the 20th century. In April 1957, Jack Kerouac spent 20 days writing relentlessly about a trio of travelers hitchhiking across the United States aboard Cadillacs, Chevys and trucks. Inspired by his own travels, Kerouac wrote On the Road … [Read more...]
Revisions of the modern kitchen. Italian radical design and German good design
In the last blog article, we examined the emergence of the modern kitchen. In the seventies and eighties, two cultural events contributed to the current understanding of the cooking space. We address them in the following post: kitchen as possibility and the kitchen for cooking. During the first half of the 20th century, the fundamental concepts of modern domestic space … [Read more...]
Designing the modern kitchen. The transformation of the kitchen in the 20th century
The kitchen is one of the most complex spaces in the house. Heart and machine of the house, it has been the testing space of modernity and a reflection of consumer society, in the form of appliances, utensils, colours and shapes. It has also been a mirror of the daily habits and cultural patterns. This article travels along two important moments in the history of the modern … [Read more...]
The Museum, Heritage and territorial identity II. The Museum of Modern Art
Between Spain and Kuwait. The influence of Modernity The idea of a museum of modern art in 20th-century Spain, and the possibility of an equally modern architecture to house it, was a project that was advanced and frustrated, time after time, until the arrival of the current democratic period. The institution of the Museum of Modern Art in Spain dates back to 1894, as shown … [Read more...]
The Museum, Heritage and territorial identity I. Kuwait National Museum
Between Spain and Kuwait. The influence of Modernity Kuwait's independence from Great Britain in 1961 meant imagining a new idea of State, one of a modern country. This was reflected in Kuwait's new architecture and urbanism, as well as in the construction of an official memory of its land and society. An important element conceived for this purpose was the Kuwait National … [Read more...]
Architecture Atlas. The greenhouse: architecture and desire
A greenhouse is one of the most striking elements in a garden. During the 19th century they became very fashionable: wealthy households were keen to incorporate one of them into their architecture. Maybe this is because greenhouses represent more than anything else the idea of architecture as a space of desire. They are also an architecture inevitably linked to European … [Read more...]
Life as architectural performance
Architecture atlas. The Eames: choreographing domestic life The designer couple Ray y Charles Eames lived in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, in a small, sunny home made of steel and glass and surrounded by trees. The iconic example of Modern domestic architecture, today considered a landmark of Los Angeles, began in the early 1940s. At that time, the couple of designers had … [Read more...]
Swimming pools. A private splash
A few weeks ago we wrote about Art Deco swimming pools, built in the 30s and 40s, now we write about modern and postmodern pools that took the good feeling of going swimming to the garden of single-family houses. Photograph of a swimming pool in Beverly Hills taken by Joe Scherschel for LIFE magazine in 1960. In 1960, LIFE magazine sent Joe Scherschel to photograph … [Read more...]
El Camino de Santiago and AGi architects’ project for the conservation of Furelos Bridge on the French Way (Camino Francés)
During the turbulent Middle Ages, the discovery of some funerary remains in Galicia gave birth to a unique element of medieval culture, the Camino de Santiago (Way of Saint James). This pilgrimage route generated a connection between the north of the Iberian Peninsula and Europe, at a time of territorial conflict with the Mozarabic people. The Camino was formed by several … [Read more...]
Do you want to swim or not? Seven Art Deco swimming pools
Nightswimming, remembering that night September's coming soon I'm pining for the moon The lyrics of the 1992 song Nightswimming, by the American music band REM, say that swimming is better on a quiet night. They evoke an unforgettable bath once the sun has set. They make us imagine the sensation of going into the water, the image of the clothes forgotten close to the pool, … [Read more...]