''Xanadu'' is an iconic complex of 17 apartments in
Calp
Calpe () or Calp () is a coastal municipality located in the ''comarca'' of Marina Alta, in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of and a population density of . The city lies at the foo ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. It was designed by
Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura
Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura (RBTA) is a architecture firm that was founded in 1963 by Ricardo Bofill, initially as Taller de Arquitectura ("Architecture Workshop" in Spanish). It is headquartered in Sant Just Desvern near Barcelona, in ...
and completed in 1968. It has been ranked among "Ricardo Bofill's 10 Most Iconic Works".
The building is intended to create "a garden city in space", with its vertical shape echoing the nearby
Penyal d'Ifac rock formation. It was inspired by the Utopian practice of
Archigram
Archigram was an avant-garde architectural group formed in the 1960s that was neofuturistic, anti-heroic and pro-consumerist, drawing inspiration from technology in order to create a new reality that was solely expressed through hypothetical ...
and its "plug-in city" concept of modular megastructures.
Location
The Xanadu building is located in the urbanization of
Manzanera Calpe
Calpe () or Calp () is a coastal municipality located in the ''comarca'' of Marina Alta, in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of and a population density of . The city lies at the fo ...
, Spain. It neighbors two other of Ricardo Bofill's structures: The
Muralla Roja and the Social Club of the Manzanera. Xanadu is built over the coastal cliff of Calpe facing the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...
.
Origin of Name
The name Xanadu references the Chinese summer city of
Kublai Kan and its emperor. The history of the name is commonly interpreted to set a tone of mystery and wealth to the apartment building.
[García Hernández, P. (2013). La agregación modular como mecanismo proyectual residencial en España: el Taller de Arquitectura (Doctoral dissertation, Universitat Ramon Llull).]
Architectural Elements
This exotic structure is 2300 square meters, and is built around its core staircase. Following the vertical shape modules are attached to each level of the structure.
Due to its square modular base several gaps are created around the building. Some of these are used as terraces, however many are useless as they are not accessible from the interior.
The exterior of the building is painted a dark green color with oxidized tones to give a more organic look and associate it further with the
Penyal d'Ifac or its surrounding environment.
Tourist Attraction
The Xanadu building is categorized as a tourist attraction of east coast Spain. It is available to rent on a nightly basis and to walk along its exterior.
See also
*
La Muralla Roja
La Muralla Roja () is a postmodern apartment complex in Manzanera, Calpe, Spain. It is designed by Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill for the client Palomar S.A. in 1968 and fully constructed by 1973. It has been ranked among "Ricardo Bofill's 10 ...
*
Walden 7
Walden 7 is an apartment building designed by Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura and located in Sant Just Desvern near Barcelona, in Catalonia, Spain. It was built in 1975.
Name
The name of the building is inspired by B. F. Skinner's novel, ...
*
Les Espaces d'Abraxas
Les Espaces d’Abraxas is a high-density housing complex in Noisy-le-Grand, approximately from Paris. The building was designed by architect Ricardo Bofill and his architecture practice Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura (RBTA) in 1978 on beh ...
*
List of works by Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura
Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura is an architecture firm based in Barcelona. Many of its works have acquired iconic status. Completed buildings are listed in chronological order of completion, and unbuilt projects or urban master plans by dat ...
Notes
1971 establishments in Spain
Ricardo Bofill buildings
Buildings and structures in the Province of Alicante
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