CORDOBA
I drove to Cordoba yesterday afternoon and spent an eventful 24 hours exploring the city. Most of the museums were closed when I arrived so I bought a ticket to an evening Flamenco concert to pass the time. The show was tucked away in a little courtyard and incorporated the full triumvirate of Flamenco style: guitar, song, and dance.
I have heard that Flamenco can be very good or very bad. This was definitely the former. Half the performers on stage had won national awards and they proved it to us over the course of two hours.
In the morning I went directly to La Mezquita – the architectural crown jewel of Cordoba. The building is both a both a Mosque and a Cathedral; it tells the story of duelling Islamic and Christian traditions throughout southern Spain.
In the oldest section of the Mosque, many of the building materials were collected from Roman ruins and re-used. In this respect, the Mesquita feels like an archaeological exhibit of various classical styles.
The Islamic-inspired patterns in the Mezquita and throughout Cordoba are beautiful. Strict geometric designs even appear in the town Synagogue where they form the Jewish Star of David.
Cordoba’s newest buildings have interesting patterns of their own. This image shows the perforated metal skin of a new five star hotel. The circular metal holes vary in diameter across the facade, allowing different amounts of light into each room. The rusty metal has a pretty cool effect. I hear that rust is the next big thing in Modern Architecture.
August 20th, 2008 at 12:27
Your comment about rust and trends in architecture made me smile and chuckle. That concept could be taken in various directions. My question would be how an engineer/contractor might figure out just the balance between the esthetics of the rust and the deterioration of materials inherent in the oxidation. I like the way it looks, but does it shorten the life of the structure?
It’s amazing how all those old Greek and Roman materials and construction techniques provided so much of a resource to later builders. I wonder what we are in the process of leaving behind for people 500 years or so in the future?
Ciao,
Mary Cae
August 22nd, 2008 at 07:04
Mary Cae
You bring up a great point about the life cycle of buildings. In this case, they probably used COR-TEN steel which is intended to weather. The initial layer of rust protects the rest of the metal from any further corrosion. This process is a little tricky to calibrate, but avoids the need for repeated paint jobs.
I’m not sure what we are leaving for the future. The majority of modern building materials are rated for only 20 years (at most 60). The history of the Cordoba Mosque is a great example of renovation, expansion, and re-use. There is a lot we can learn from it.
regards,
Tim
November 6th, 2009 at 13:33
The Islamic prayer hall photo is amazing
September 1st, 2010 at 02:34
Considering they used Roman remains to make up some of the new architecture is simply amazing!