IAR-Paloma Fedriani

“LA MURALLA ROJA ” (1973)

La Muralla Roja by Ricardo Bofill is placed at the edge of a cliff in La Manzanera, Calpe .

The inspiration for this to be placed there was to create a vacation town different to what we are used to see , the idea of an “urbanized garden ” , and at the same time mantain the unity of the whole and the harmony of the landscape using materials such as stone walls and colors such as red or see blue .

It is my favourite of his projects because I found it so different to what we are used to see nowadays .

It is a set of buildings inspired on the mediterranean arabic culture , in the shape of a cross that integrates different volumes , shades that go from red to pink and from blue to violet and creates a contrast with the landscape .

It’s organization evokes the aesthetics of architecture , developing in a very innovative way the division between public and private .

It’s stairs, patios and bridges that cross the interior space and give acces to the 50 apartments simulate labyrinths , tradicional in the Arab architecture .

Three aspects that have caught my attention especially :

The optical effect of amplitude thanks to the use of color. The exterior surfaces are painted in various shades of red, accentuating the contrast with the landscape. The patios and stairs in shades of blue , like the sky , the intensity of colors related to light … generate this illusion of larger spaces.
It’s inspiration in the arabic culture and how it is shown in the whole building (with stairs, patios and bridges that cross the interior space and simulate labyrinths ).
Where it is placed because who would have thought that a building with this shape and that causes so much contrast with its surroundings could give a “new life” to this cliff .

*Curiosities :

It has appeared as a stage in numerous advertising campaigns for brands such as Zara home, Delpozo, El Corte Inglés or Paco Martínez. The last one was the Springfiel clothing brand campaign, in the summer of 2021
The sets of the serie “The Squid Game ” were insipired in this building .
It is the most instagrammed building in Spain

BIBLIOGRAPHY

https://www.archdaily.mx/mx/02-148686/clasicos-de-arquitectura-la-muralla-roja-ricardo-bofill

https://www.urbipedia.org/hoja/La_Muralla_Roja