Architecture Archives

November 25, 2014

UNE Sevilla students visit the CAAC

CAAC is the acronym for Andalusian Contemporary Arts Center or Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo. The Center is located at the Monasterio de la Cartuja (the Carthusian Monastery) which was founded in the year 1400.

When some monasteries were sold in mid-19th century, Charles Pickman, an English businessman, purchased the Cartuja and converted it into an internationally renowned pottery factory. When Seville was chosen to hold the Universal Exhibition of 1992, the Monastery was restored for use as a cultural center.

Check out the website more more information about the center!

Published by Rubén Díaz

Tags: Architecture, Arts, Cultural Visits, Education

March 18, 2014

Kansas City’s Giralda

Sevilla's most well-known symbol is the Giralda. It is a former Muslim minaret that was later adapted to Christian culture by making it a bell tower as part of the Cathedral. What people do not usually know is that many towers around the world have been inspired by the Giralda's architecture. Especially in the US: the second Madison Square Garden in New York City, the clock tower of the Ferry Building in San Francisco, and the Terminal Tower in Cleveland are all examples.

A replica of the Giralda exists in the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City (Missouri)! A real estate developer traveled to Europe in 1922 and visited Sevilla. He was charmed by the tower, and decided to build one in Country Club Plaza. This is the origin of why Sevilla and Kansas City have been twin cities since 1969.

Published by Rubén Díaz

Tags: Architecture

March 10, 2014

Barcelona and the Chocolate Factory

In Spain, kings, queens and clergymen were originally the only people who delighted in the cacau beverage when it arrived from the Americas from 1492. Later it was prescribed to people to recover from illness.

Soon after its arrival, Barcelona became an important center for the production and consumption of chocolate. Have you seen the amazing Casa Amatller in Passeig de Gracia? Yes, that beautiful Modernista House next to Gaudi's Casa Batllò. It belonged to the owners of Xocolates Amatller, open since 1797! Their posters and advertisements became an icon for the Art Nouveau movement.

Nowadays, you can taste a warm cup of chocolate caliente con churros handmade in Carrer Petritxol, where new generations continue to carry on this chocolate loving tradition.

Published by Alicia Castillo

Tags: Architecture