Mario Romañach: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Mario Romañach Edificio de Guillermo Alonso, 1950.jpg|thumb|left|Mario Romañach_Edificio de Guillermo Alonso, 1950]] |
[[File:Mario Romañach Edificio de Guillermo Alonso, 1950.jpg|thumb|left|Mario Romañach_Edificio de Guillermo Alonso, 1950]] |
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Among these works include the apartment building of Guillermo Alonso who made with Silverio Bosh, 1950, located in 8 between 5ta. and 7th avenues, Miramar. It is formed by two rationalist blocks around large green spaces, which act as a kind of inner courtyard. Also stands out the apartment building of Evangelina Aristigueta de Vidaña for its formal simplicity and its strong Cuban identity, given in a series of details such as the use of traditional materials of the country's architecture, presence of lattices and stained glass windows, is found in the corner of 7th And 60, in Miramar, Playa.<ref name=Romañach/> |
Among these works include the apartment building of Guillermo Alonso who made with Silverio Bosh, 1950, located in 8 between 5ta. and 7th avenues, Miramar. It is formed by two rationalist blocks around large green spaces, which act as a kind of inner courtyard. Also stands out the apartment building of Evangelina Aristigueta de Vidaña for its formal simplicity and its strong Cuban identity, given in a series of details such as the use of traditional materials of the country's architecture, presence of lattices and stained glass windows, is found in the corner of 7th And 60, in Miramar, Playa.<ref name=Romañach/> |
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Finally, we should also mention the apartment building of The Goods and Bonds Investment Co., built between 1956-1958 and located in C between 29 and Zapata, El Vedado. It is a work of great secrecy, of a fairly simple formality and its compositional richness is given by the movement of a module in its façade. Inside you can see Romañach's interest in Japanese culture in details such as stair rails. |
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In addition to all these projects, the architect Mario Romañach collaborated under the auspices of the Minister of Public Works, Nicolás Arroyo, and the National Planning Board of Cuba between 1955 and 1958, in the development of a Pilot Plan for Havana, hired by Town Planning Associates, a consulting firm in New York, led by the Catalan architect Joseph Lluis Sert, and its partners Paul Lester Wiener and Paul Schulz, with the intention of adequately guiding the development of the continuous and accelerated growth of the city of Havana during the next decade. Within this plan include the project of Romañach, Gabriela Menéndez and Joseph Lluis Sert for the new Presidential Palace, which would be located near the Castle of San Carlos de La Cabaña and the Castle of the Three Kings of El Morro, a work not it came to be executed. |
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After 1959 he moved to the United States, where he was a professor at the universities of Harvard, Cornell and Pennsylvania. In the 70s he played a key role in the initial moments of the Architecture Career at the Simón Bolívar University in Caracas, where he participated in its conceptualization, definition and orientation. |
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In 1979, he was appointed member of the National Academy of Design of the United States of America. |
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Mario Romañach knew how to take creative advantage of the traditional solutions of our architecture and incorporate it in a process of accelerated synthesis, but very judicious, the lessons of the great masters of Western modernism and traditional Japanese architecture, creating a modern and regionalist language at the same weather. For this reason he is considered the most imaginative and transgressive Cuban architect of the 50s and one of the best of all time. |
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At the end of his production in Cuba, Romañach had reached very high levels of formal elaboration in his very own language that was already departing from modernity. With this, he anticipated the contradictions that led to confront Latin American architecture with the ascetic rationalism of the European modern movement. He died in the United States on March 8, 1984. |
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==Obituary== |
==Obituary== |
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The New York Times. MARCH 11, 1984: |
The New York Times. MARCH 11, 1984: |
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Revision as of 20:43, 27 December 2018
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2018) |
Mario Romañach | |
|---|---|
 Mario Romañach | |
| Born | 1917 |
| Died | 1984 Philadelphia |
| Nationality | Cuban |
| Alma mater | University of Havana |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Children | 1 |
| Buildings | Casa de Jose Noval Cueto, 1949.[1] |
Mario Romañach (1917-1984) was a modernist Cuban architect.
Biography
He finished his higher studies at the University of Havana and, along with Max Borges, Frank Martinez, Nicolás Quintana, Ricardo Porro, Antonio Quintana and Emilio del Junco, was one of the student architects who participated in the "Burning of Vignola" event. They sought to rebel against the education system in force until then in Cuba. The event took place in the courtyard of the then School of Architecture of the University of Havana in 1944, when a group of students and recent graduates burned several copies of the Practical Elemental Treaty of Architecture or Study of the Five Orders of Vignola (1507-1573), exponent of the teaching of classical architecture. From this date, Mario Romañach began his career as one of the most outstanding professionals of modern architecture in Cuba.[1]
In 1944 he worked with the architects Pedro Martínez Inclán and Antonio Quintana in the Residencial Obrero de Luyanó neighborhood, located in an area south of Havana Bay. The project was project was an exercise of modern architecture. It had 1,500 homes, eight apartment complexes in four-story buildings and all complementary services: markets, schools, sports fields and parks.[1]
In 1949 he won with Bosco Bosio, with whom Bosh and Romañach, the Gold Medal of the National College of Architects for the house of José Noval Cueto, from 1949, located at 17A between 174 and 190, Cubanacán, co-directed the firm at that time.[2] This residence is, perhaps, one of the main exponents of Cuban architecture of all times and the best example of rationalism in Cuba; Romañach achieved an excellent adaptation of this style with the elements of the Cuban tradition. The work is a large elongated prism (the typical white box) to which a portion is subtracted, which creates a kind of "inner courtyard", like the Cuban colonial abode. The volumes separated by this "patio" are joined by two spectacular galleries that connect them. It complies with the rationalist dictates to the letter: free floor, continuous windows, free facade, etc. The house is not only exceptional for its extraordinary visual values, but also for its amazing adaptation to the Cuban tropical climate.[1]
Mario Romañach maintained as a fundamental element the adaptation of the rationalist construction to the tropical environment, with the use of the brise spleil of Le Corbusier. In the search for a regional architecture, in this period a dialectical dialogue was developed between the formal solutions of modern construction and the vernacular solutions offered by the Cuban colonial dwelling.[1]
Notable projects
It is interesting to note the influence of Japanese architecture, a culture for which he had a special predilection in works such as the house of Rufino Álvarez, built in 1957 and located in 214 between 13 and 15, Siboney, Playa, or in the house of Ana Carolina Font, 1956, built in 216 A between 7th. A and 9th., Siboney, Beach. In both, this influence is evident in the horizontality, the adaptation and respect for the surrounding nature, the arrangement of its roofs and the expression of the structure; In addition, the use of wood in details such as railings, lattices. These two houses are the best works of Romañach for their excellent formal composition and spatiality, as well as an exquisite handling of details. The architect's concern for climate adaptation is evident.
Among other residences in Havana with similar characteristics is the one of Manuel Saavedra, of 1951, located in 5th. Corner Avenida 82, Miramar, and Evangelina Aristigueta de Vidaña, 1953, located at 146 between 23 and 25, Cubanacán.
His works are framed in two fundamental variants: residences and multi-functional buildings for private companies and apartments.
Among the buildings built in Havana can be noted: Peletería "California", built in 1951 and arranged in Galiano between San José and Barcelona, with a sober style in its facade, with a pleasant interior for the client with ample functional spaces; the apartment of Josefina Odoardo from 1953, located in 7th. Between 62 and 66, Miramar, in which the use of ceramic lattices, outdoor staircases and roofless terraces prevail, the latter with rectangular wooden rails; the one of Oswaldo Pardo, of 1954, located in 98 between 5ta. F and 7th., Miramar, which highlights the vertical shape on the outside conformed by entrances and projections in which the Miami wooden windows protrude, the built-in brick closet, which is used on all the walls of the building, and the side terraces with rectangular wooden rails. Its interior is simple, with few walls so that ventilation is not hindered.
Among these works include the apartment building of Guillermo Alonso who made with Silverio Bosh, 1950, located in 8 between 5ta. and 7th avenues, Miramar. It is formed by two rationalist blocks around large green spaces, which act as a kind of inner courtyard. Also stands out the apartment building of Evangelina Aristigueta de Vidaña for its formal simplicity and its strong Cuban identity, given in a series of details such as the use of traditional materials of the country's architecture, presence of lattices and stained glass windows, is found in the corner of 7th And 60, in Miramar, Playa.[1]
Finally, we should also mention the apartment building of The Goods and Bonds Investment Co., built between 1956-1958 and located in C between 29 and Zapata, El Vedado. It is a work of great secrecy, of a fairly simple formality and its compositional richness is given by the movement of a module in its façade. Inside you can see Romañach's interest in Japanese culture in details such as stair rails.
In addition to all these projects, the architect Mario Romañach collaborated under the auspices of the Minister of Public Works, Nicolás Arroyo, and the National Planning Board of Cuba between 1955 and 1958, in the development of a Pilot Plan for Havana, hired by Town Planning Associates, a consulting firm in New York, led by the Catalan architect Joseph Lluis Sert, and its partners Paul Lester Wiener and Paul Schulz, with the intention of adequately guiding the development of the continuous and accelerated growth of the city of Havana during the next decade. Within this plan include the project of Romañach, Gabriela Menéndez and Joseph Lluis Sert for the new Presidential Palace, which would be located near the Castle of San Carlos de La Cabaña and the Castle of the Three Kings of El Morro, a work not it came to be executed.
After 1959 he moved to the United States, where he was a professor at the universities of Harvard, Cornell and Pennsylvania. In the 70s he played a key role in the initial moments of the Architecture Career at the Simón Bolívar University in Caracas, where he participated in its conceptualization, definition and orientation.
In 1979, he was appointed member of the National Academy of Design of the United States of America.
Mario Romañach knew how to take creative advantage of the traditional solutions of our architecture and incorporate it in a process of accelerated synthesis, but very judicious, the lessons of the great masters of Western modernism and traditional Japanese architecture, creating a modern and regionalist language at the same weather. For this reason he is considered the most imaginative and transgressive Cuban architect of the 50s and one of the best of all time.
At the end of his production in Cuba, Romañach had reached very high levels of formal elaboration in his very own language that was already departing from modernity. With this, he anticipated the contradictions that led to confront Latin American architecture with the ascetic rationalism of the European modern movement. He died in the United States on March 8, 1984.
Obituary
The New York Times. MARCH 11, 1984:
Mario Romanach, 66; Architect and Planner
Mario J. Romanach, a professor of architecture at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Fine Arts, best known for his work in Cuba, died Thursday in Philadelphia of a heart ailment. He was 66 years old.
Mr. Romanach, chairman of the university's department of architecture from 1971 to 1974, was a fellow of the American Institute of Architects and a member of the National Academy of Design.
His work in community planning in Havana built Mr. Romanach's reputation. He left Cuba in 1959 to teach architecture at Harvard University. He later formed an architectural firm, Romanach Partnership, with his daughter Maria Cristina Romanach.
He is survived by his wife, Josefa, another daughter, Josephine Alger, and a granddaughter. A memorial service will be held March 23 at the University of Pennsylvania.[3]
References
- ^ a b c d e "Mario Romañach". Retrieved 2018-12-27.
- ^ "Casa de José Noval Cueto". Retrieved 2018-12-27.
- ^ "Mario Romanach, 66; Architect and Planner". Retrieved 2018-12-27.
Gallery
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Mario Romañach_Edifico de Evangelina Aristigueta. 1956
External Links
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