MIES - Galician Architecture

As I was recently notified of the difference between the Spanish language (an all-too lazy hasty generalization on my part) and Galician (the exotic language used in Eisenmann's short video), I thought a trip down the rabbit hole might be just the thing to fix the gaffe. What exactly is Galician architecture? I wondered. It just so happens, it's quite unique.

Castroduoro Castle

Church of San Juan of Portomarin

While Santiago de Compostela's famously ornate design is also considered one of the hallmarks in Galician Architecture, these two examples - one a church, the other a castle - showcase more restrained attempts at construction. And still, while de Compostela's ostentatiousness is unmistakable, to a learned eye, these latter two designs of Castroduoro Castle and the Church of San Juan of Portomarin are both more radical and historically significant given their placement and timing during construction.

Why is that? Well, for one, look at the whitish limestone in the Church of San Juan. For a Romanesque arch to be built in Galicia is truly strange. And moreover, the continual usage of Romanesque elements - archivolts, rose windows, carved capitals and fairly staid facades - is also not very indicative of most Spanish fortress-temples (which both these buildings act as). But when the arch is highlighted and when the windows are doubled up (as in the Doges Palace in Venice), one becomes aware that the Romanesque elements are embedded, to a large extent, under the guise of Gothic design. And given the history, that shouldn't be too much of a surprise, but the outcome - which remains singular and much more expressive than the English subjugation of Romanesque to Gothic - is frankly awe-inspiring. In both buildings, the massiveness feels rich with detail and the proportions exacting.

And yet, neither of these buildings give away their interiors easily. Like a good song or a perfect painting (and given the interplay between styles), the initial estimation/anticipation and the actual experience are two quite different things. To a large extent, this exemplifies the skill of the Galician stoneworkers and their abilities to sell simplicity in complex ways. Simply put, the Galicians were master artisans and there is no denying it.

As one last note of interest, I highly recommend The Need for a Decaying Past: An Archaeology of Oblivion in Contemporary Galicia by Alfredo Gonzalez-Ruibal. While the two examples described above do a better job elucidating the past, Gonzalez-Ruibal does the modern world of Galicia a great favor by detailing its own current challenges. Of significance, Gonzalez-Ruibal notes that while the vernacular design is very rich for Galicians, most Galicians view the past antagonistically and have gone to great strides to break away from their roots. His conclusion, on whether the breaking of tradition is a good thing, is enlightening for not just Galicia, but for all of Spanish Architecture. As a quick read, it's well worth it.

And so, this little tour down the rabbit hole ends. It's been a pleasure to jump into it. Galicia, it seems, as with other regions in Spain, ended up crafting a design all its own. With hope, Eisenmann's finished design will, to a great extent, elucidate this to those who visit the Cidade de Cultura di Galicia.