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EMILIO AMBASZ The Museum of Modern Art, New York November 23, 2005–March 6, 2006 |
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SKIRA presents EMILIO AMBASZ –Casa de Retiro Espiritual, a book published on the occasion of the exhibition In Depth: The House of Spiritual Retreat by Emilio Ambasz, an exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art, New York dedicated to La Casa de Retiro Espiritual a private residence, designed by Emilio Ambasz.
The Museum of Modern Art, New York, presents In Depth: The House of Spiritual Retreat by Emilio Ambasz, also known as La Casa de Retiro Espiritual, an exhibition that focuses on a house designed by the Argentine architect Emilio Ambasz on a site approximately 25 miles (40Km) north of Seville, Spain. The house is surrounded by the splendors of the Spanish countryside , perched on a low peak in the lush, green Sierra Morena mountains overlooking a man-made lake and a vast 1,000 Has estate where olive trees, evergreen oaks, and wild flowers grow and fighting bulls, horses and wild boar roam. Its rural setting provides a dramatic contrast to its stark ascetic look. The house is represented in the exhibition with 21 large-scale photographs by Michele Alassio (10 in sepia, and 11 in color) along with two site models, 5 original drawings, and a sweeping aerial video, also by Alassio. In Depth is on view from November 23, 2005 through March 26, 2006, in the Philip Johnson Architecture and Design Galleries on the third floor. It is organized by Tina di Carlo, Assistant Curator, Department of Architecture and Design, and is part of an ongoing series of architectural exhibitions that focus on single contemporary works of local and international interest. SKIRA has published a monograph dedicated to the house on the occasion of the exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, entitled Emilio Ambasz – Casa de Retiro Espiritual, with photography by Michele Alassio, and an essay by Peter Buchanan.
COMMENTARY The legendary Casa de Retiro Espiritual (called by The Museum of Modern Art, New York: The House of Spiritual Retreat) can now be visited. Designed in 1975, this house, that has been thought to be for some, a minimalist idea, and for others a deconstructionist fable, is, instead, an unclassifiable statement about architectural essentials. With this project Ambasz sought to go back to the origins of architecture. In one of his writings Ambasz stated "The only thing to stand was the façade, which would be like a mask–a surrogate for architecture. You might say that by this device I rhetorically sought to re-examine architecture as a culturally-conditioned process and return to the primeval notion of the abode.” Emblematic of his oeuvre, this house resumes Ambasz' search for "an architectural vocabulary outside the canonical tradition of architecture.” Expanding on his intents he stated "It is an architecture that is both here and not here. With it I hope to place the user in a new state of existence, a celebration of human majesty, thought, and sensation. Though apparently quite new, there are devices–both primitive and ancient–permeating this design.” The result is a building that seems to stand for the essence of architecture. Presented in 1975, using drawings and model photography on account of contractual restrictions, this project has won innumerable architectural awards, among these Progressive Architecture First Award and an AIA award (see attached list). It foretold of Ambasz' pioneering work seeking to reconcile architecture with nature. Faithful to his conviction that "a building should return to the community in the form of garden, accessible to the community, all the land the building has covered,” Ambasz’ “green buildings,” integrating garden and building into one inseparable entity, have been the precursors of a whole movement towards an energy efficient architecture. But what engages the mind in Ambasz' work is the fact that it reflects his deep seated conviction that "architecture is an act of the imagination. I believe that the real task of architecture begins once functional and behavioral needs have been satisfied. It is not hunger, but love and fear, and sometimes wonder, which make us create. The architect’s cultural and social context changes constantly but his task, I believe, remains always the same: to give poetic form to pragmatic needs.” Over the years Ambasz' work has been the subject of many articles and books. Two new books have appeared in 2004 dedicated to his work; "Analyzing Ambasz,” edited by Michel Sorkin, Monacelli Press; and Emilio Ambasz: Una Arcadia Tecnologica, by Fulvio Irace, SKIRA/Rizzoli. His work has been the subject of two one-man exhibitions in 1989: at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, curated by Stuart Wrede, and at The Museum of Contemporary Arts, San Diego, curated by Shigeru Ban, that later traveled throughout the USA and then to Japan, Mexico, and Italy. The recipient of very important awards in architecture and industrial design (see attached list), Mr. Ambasz has been for 25 years the Chief Design Consultant of Cummins Engine Corporation, and is now engaged in the construction of a 600 bed hospital as well as a separate Advanced Ophthalmologic Research Laboratory, both in Venice-Mestre. A 1,500,000 sq ft (150.000 sq. mts) residential and hotel settlement in Puglia, Italy he designed is now nearing completion, and two large residential settlements he conceived have been approved for construction, one in Rimini-Bellaria and the other in Frossinone, both in Italy. SKIRA has published a monograph dedicated to the house in English and Spanish entitled Emilio Ambasz – Casa de Retiro Espiritual, on the occasion of the exhibition In Depth-The House of Spiritual Retreat at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, with photography by Michele Alassio, and an essay by Peter Buchanan; 30 x 31 cm, color and sepia photography.
For further information and digitally supported photo material, please contact: SUMMARY DESCRIPTION
Casa de Retiro Espiritual
Situated on a promontory overlooking a lake, the house appears like a very strong hieratic, only after the road's last turn. Once a treeless prominence, the house's surrounding site has become populated with olive trees. Two tall, rough stucco white walls meet at a right angle, creating an envelope for the house, and defining its entrance. From this entrance, auditorium like steps of increasingly greater width lead down to an open-air square patio onto which the house opens. The walls outside meeting edge is oriented towards the North, so that its balcony is shaded, and the light entering the house is one moderated by the sunlight reflection on the walls' inner sides. The walls' orientation shelters the house from Northern winds. The house is centered around the formal square patio, onto which all rooms open, in the Arabic-Andalusian tradition. This formal square patio is an outdoor extension of the living spaces since full walls of glass stack away to allow free movement from the outdoors to the indoors. An ambulatory, so oriented as to be always in shade, defines the patio's two other sides, and serves as the transition between the house and patio. The interior of the house consists, simply, of a large continuous space, defined on one side by long sinuous walls, with different areas defined by smooth cavities excavated into the floor and echoed by the ceiling above. The perimeter walls are washed by the soft diffuse light descending from the skylights. All practical needs and services (kitchen, baths, storage, etc.) are satisfied by diverse containers placed adjacent to the living room. One rests and sleeps either in the living areas or in the quiescent alcoves enclosed within the sidewalls. The informal curvilinear second patio insures cross-ventilation and allows for a more direct and informal access to the outside. The balcony–another feature reminiscent of Andalusian architecture and a remarkable example of regional craftsmanship composed of over 3,000 pieces–provides a stirring view of the lake and the surrounding landscape. The ensemble of the house and its balcony, although not by conscious intention, recall the once ever present Andalusian observation towers (atalaya) used to observe the movements of Moorish troops and pirates. To accede to the balcony, two cantilevered metal stairways are provided, so designed that one invites to ascend, the other favors the descent. Water cascades within the handrails excavated, as deep grooves, on the high walls. The water, rushing down, generates at the bottom of the stairs and at the central semi-circular fountain that collects it, a great amount of sound. As the visitor ascends to the balcony, where the water originates, the sound becomes quieter until it seems to become liquid silence. The house was built in the open, and then earth was collected against its walls to create an all enveloping berm, insulating the house. The building technique, as practiced by local builders, is of concrete and bricks: concrete floor and wall slabs resting on beds of cast sand; a liner of fiberglass, fused at the seams, is wrapped entirely around the buried surfaces. Insulated double walls and slender columns support a concrete roof vaulted in several places to help define living areas. To keep the house cool in the hot-dry climate of Southern Spain, it is insulated by covering its roof with earth; this keeps it naturally cool in the hot, southern climate. Furthermore, it integrates the roof onto the surrounding greenery. TECHNICAL DATA SHEET Casa de Retiro Espiritual
Designed by Emilio Ambasz Design Date 1975 Architect of Record (Associate Architect) Felipe Palomino Gonzalez Model #1 Nelusco Salvarani Photographer Michele Alassio Websites www.casaderetiroespiritual.com A third site that can be consulted is that of the photographer, Michele Alassio, and once opened, clicking on “Switch for English Version”: www.michelealassio.com Publication SKIRA has published a monograph in English and Spanish dedicated to the house on the occasion of the exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, entitled Emilio Ambasz – Casa de Retiro Espiritual, with photography by Michele Alassio, and an essay by Peter Buchanan; 30cm x 31cm, 176 pages, 83 color and sepia photos. Distributed by SKIRA and Thames & Hudson in Europe, and by Rizzoli in North America |
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