City of Culture of Galicia

City of Culture of Galicia

Library and Archive of Galicia.

City of Culture of Galicia (Galician: Cidade da Cultura de Galicia) is a complex of cultural buildings in Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, Galicia, Spain, designed by architect Peter Eisenman and office. The buildings are an extreme challenge to construct as the design of them makes them look like rolling hills with high degree contours. Nearly every window of the thousands that are part of the external façade has its own custom shape.^[1] It is set to be complete in 2012, taking 10 years to complete.

In February 1999 the Parliament of Galicia held an international design competition for a cultural center on Mount Gaiás. The entrants were Ricardo Bofill, Manuel Gallego Jorreto, Annette Gigon and Mike Guyer, Steven Holl, Rem Koolhaas, Daniel Libeskind, Juan Navarro Baldeweg, Jean Nouvel, Dominique Perrault, Cesar Portela, Santiago Calatrava, who later withdrew his proposal, and Eisenman, whose proposal was selected for both conceptual uniqueness and exceptional harmony with the place.

The concept of the project is a new peak on Monte Gaiás, made up of a stony crust reminiscent of an archaeological site divided by natural breaks that resemble scallops, the traditional symbol of Compostela.

The building site has also become the base for the development of a public transparency urban experiment by the Spanish architect and artist Andrés Jaque. With Jaque's 12 Actions to Make the Cidade da Cultura Transparent, the building site was equipped with devices that make the political implications and ecological extension of the construction works understandable for the general public.

References

• Codex: The City of Culture of Galicia. Eisenman Architects. Monacelli Press 2005.

1. ^ Build It Bigger, Discovery Channel. 2007

External links

• Official project webpage
• Architect's webpage
• Xunta de Galicia webpage

Coordinates: 42°52′13″N 8°31′32″W / 42.870162°N 8.52567°W / 42.870162; -8.52567