I have not read the book, but the Alhambra must be on the list of
Things to do before you die. We arrived at 1pm, left at 8:30pm, returned for a night time visit at 10:00pm, and still did not see everything. I've studied the Alhambra from historic photos and maps as it served as inspiration for the Olmsted Brothers' (landscape architecture firm) original design for Balboa Park in San Diego. Maps and historic photos however never were spatially clear to me. The 13 hectare site (about 32 acres) was a small city of 2,000 people at its height. Originally a Moorish city, when Andalusia was conquered by the Christians, it became the seat of the Royal Court of Spain under Charles V. Charles continued to build onto the site with his palace.
When I return to California, I have decided to study Moorish water engineering as they really mastered how to carefully use water in the Mediterranean. They also perfected human scale design in a truly modernist way--especially for the 12th and 13th centuries. The stone designs are elaborately detailed, but the monochromatic color simplifies the architecture. Charles V's palace, on the other hand, seems overly heavy and out of scale compared to the rest of the site with its Italian influence.
The gardens or Generalife are also inspirational for design when I get home. My photos cannot show how beautiful this place really is....but I will include some. The audioguide included snippets of Washington Irving narrating his book. Though it was late when we got home--midnight or so--I picked up the book again and kept reading as it was addicting to hear his eloquent discussion of a place I had seen that day.
When I return to California, I have decided to study Moorish water engineering as they really mastered how to carefully use water in the Mediterranean. They also perfected human scale design in a truly modernist way--especially for the 12th and 13th centuries. The stone designs are elaborately detailed, but the monochromatic color simplifies the architecture. Charles V's palace, on the other hand, seems overly heavy and out of scale compared to the rest of the site with its Italian influence.
The gardens or Generalife are also inspirational for design when I get home. My photos cannot show how beautiful this place really is....but I will include some. The audioguide included snippets of Washington Irving narrating his book. Though it was late when we got home--midnight or so--I picked up the book again and kept reading as it was addicting to hear his eloquent discussion of a place I had seen that day.
No comments:
Post a Comment