CORREOS Y TELEGRAFOS (NAVASCUES) Parte3

123
PALENCIA
E
l. EI)I I'IClO DE CoRREOS DE P:llcncia,
en
proyectado
1916 y construido e n 1921 , es, Lino de los
más representativos d e los que se hicieron en la
primera é poca de las Casas-Correo. Con anterioridad a este edificio que hoy ocupa una manzana cntCr.I, los servicios de Correos y Telégrafos
estaban repartidos e n sendos inmuebles en [as
calles d el Cubo y de San Francisco. A panir de
aquella fecha se unirían en el monumental edifi cio hislOricista que tr.IZÓ Jacobo Homero
Fernández, arqui[('"Cl o municipal y diocesano d e
Valladolid, después de un reñido concurso al
que tam!.>i(:1l se presentaron José Avclino Díaz,
Joaquín Muro, Luis Ferrero y Antonio Alcaide.
Las nOlables fachadas mezclan la pi(.-d ra y el
ladrillo bajo un alero de madcm , guarneciendo
su:. huccos con buenos hierros al 11I0do es/xlI/ol,
es decir, d arquitecto utilizó con destreza los
materia les tradicionales que le asegu~l h:ln, inici:llrllenlc, un cilido y cromático resultado.
Estilistic;ul1(:!nte el edificio po ne de m:lOinesto
aquel renacimiento esp:uiol que, desde que vistió el pabellón de Espa li a en la Exposición
Univers,al de París de 1900, se convirtió en la
salida nacionalista de nucstm arquitcctunI , muy
apta pa~1 los edificios oficiales, cuarteles, cte.,
no faltando l<11npoco e n C¡¡s;.IS de rellla y palaceles unifamiliares.
Este estilo neopl:u,e resco aprovechó, e n efecto,
element os que procc.-xlen de aquel repertorio
renacentista , siempre sometidos a un proceso de
adaptáción, como enlonces se decía. Así se
entienden mejor los motivos platerescos que
e ncontramos t:101O en el cxterior como en el original vestíbulo pClblico. En eslC, como s i se tratara de un patio renacentisl:! del primer tercio
del siglo XVI, org:mizó las dos ahur:ls (."()n
columnas sob re cuyo capitel corren zapatas muy
próximas e nt re sí y ric:'lmente ornament:ldas con
relieves, en la línca de cosas que el autor conocía y, muy probablemente, vio en el claustro del
convento de las Dueñas de Sa bmanca.
124
125
126
127
VITORIA - GASTEIZ
OBRE LA CAI.U~ DE POSTAS E inmedia ta a la Plai'~1
S
Nueva, frente al edificio del Ba nco de
Esp:ul:l, eslo es, en un lugar privilegiado de
VilOria - Gasteiz entre el casco antiguo y el
Ensanche, se constru yó el edificio de Correos y
T elégrafos, siguiendo el proy<.'Cto de Luis Díaz
T olosa na y Fmncisco Javier Ferrero. Al p rimero
se deben también otras obm5 en la ciudad , corno
la Escu ela de Anes y Oficios; sin emhargo, ninguna de e llas acus a de forma tan abien;l el
carácter regionalista como el edificio de Correos.
Aquí , como en Olros muchos
Ayuntamiento ced ió los terrenos en
afto siguiente DÍ3.z Tolos•.lIl:"! ya tenb
el proyecto, si bien nún se retrasaría
casos, el
1915 y al
preparado
unos anos
el comienzo de [as obr.ls que duraron desde
1921 a 1927.
l:J Etch,lCb principal se compone de dos torres
de flanqueo y un c uerpo cemral de menor altura. Este es de una gr.:m sencillez, con tres plant;:¡s de muy diferente formulación e n sus huecos
pero todo de gr:ln limpiez;1 y planitud, como
anticipando un cieno racion;llismo, siendo de
deslacar por la belleza de su tratamiemo, los dos
escudos de Correos y Telégrafos, que tienen un
aire An l)éco.
En abierto contraste con este núcleo central de
la composición se lev¡mtan , entre airosas y pesadas, dos torres gemelas, disponiendo todos sus
hu(.'{.:os de un modo simétrico respecto al eje
cent"ral de la fa chada. Se Iral3 de dos imágcne:>
regionalistas de lo que ~ e ntendía en ese
momentO por arqu itectura vasca , si bien todos
s us elementos están rccl:lbor.:lClos, pesando mfls
la intención q ue la hiSloricidad de sus elementos. En el fondo se tr.:l\a de tópicos mezclados de
modo libre como es el pórtico bajo, el n Ido aparejo del paramento, el gr.:m vuelo de los aleros y
los rem:l1es puntiformes por encima de los tejados que responden al refllerl.O de los esquinazos. Pero ni el diseño, ni la proporción, ni la
combinación de t()(los estos elementos responden a modelos reales sino a lo q ue se llamaba
estilo regiol/alista. Al arquitl:cto Díaz Tolosana
gustaba ¡lbrir e n s us edificios, am plios arcos de
medio punto, guarnecidos con hierros de tr:ldición castellana y renacentista, con los que tamb ién p rotege otmoS parles d el edificio.
128
129
130
13 1
MADRID.
ESCUELA DE CORREOS
Y TELÉGRAFOS
E m.
N
MA[)RII,"'O n"I<lIIO Dt: Sabmanc.l se lev:m -
16, haci:! 1945, el l.'t!¡f1cio de la Escucb de
Ingl.:nicros de Telecomunicació n que hoy, en
cohcrcnci:l con su ¡nid:11 destino, da c;lb id ~1 :l la
Esc uc!;1 de COrrt..'O.'i y Telégrafos. 1...:.1 fachad:¡, d e
seis altll r:.ls , resulta algo anodina pero. al tiempo, muy car,:lCh.:rístic:¡ de aqud hc rrcri:ln ismo
.m i gell(:ris que Glractcrizó la arquitectu ra oficial
de los años 40. P il:lst ~IS, rrontone~ y los tópicos
n.:m:llcs de esferas LJtili:wdos por Herrera y su s
seguidores, sometidO todo:1 un o rden compositivo que revela un clasicism o demcnt:l l, fUl.:fon
fó rmulas muy socorrid:IS en aquel período.
I~n
el interior, sus distin!:IS plantas distribuyen
el :lubrio, biblioteca y dcm:1.S servicias propios
cI(; un centro docente quc, a tr.wés del tiempo y
en gr:.ldos distintos, ha sido el escenario por el
que oblig:1d:UllCnlC han p;L"ado desde ingenieros
de tck.'COl1llll1iclción y profes iona!t..>s de CoTTL'OS
y Telégr.lfos hasta r:.ldioalkionados.
132
133
LEÓN
ON MO'llVO DE I.A Ih :Al. O~DEN d e
C
\908,
po r
la
que se convocaba un concurso para b
adquisición por panc del ES1;ldo tic sobres o
edificios en los que instalar de manem d igna los
servicios de Correos y Telégmfos, León no pudo
hacer p roposición alguna por no contar con
inmuebles ni solares dispo nibles. Sin embargo, si
flrmó un convenio con el Minislt!rio de Gobernación, tal y como 10 habían hecho Barcelona y
Valencia , de [al mod o que el Ayuntamiento leo-
nés se encargab:. de adquirir un sob .. adccu;.do
y con el visto b ueno de la D irecc ión Gencr'..ll d e
Correos, así corno de construir a su costa el
nuevo edificio, al tiempo q ue el Estado se comprometía a abonar al Ayuntamiento q uince :tnU:lHelades de 36.000 pesetas cad:. una .
Con este s istema de fina nciación se pu::;ieron
en ma rc h:1 las obras siguie ndo el pmyecto del
arquitecto mad rileño Manuel de C:írdenas, titulado en la Escuela de t-.bdrid e n 1900, pero que
residió en l.eÓn hasta 1920 C0 l11 0 arqu itecto
municipal , pmvincia l y diocesano. El solar sobre
el que se levamó el inte resante edificio de
Corn."Qs es el p rimero de la plaza de la Gnedr.il,
mir..mdo desde su torr!!;!da es<¡ui na la im¡xmenle mole de la caledrnl en b que Cárdenas Irabajó también haciendo algunas restaur.lciones. El
proyecto estaba ad judicado ('n 191 4 y c uatro
~I ños después el edificio se encontraba totahncnle terminado. Es, por lo tanto, uno de los más
:iIltiguos de nucstro país.
Al propio tiempo, la ciudad de León tiene uno
de los más modernos edificios de Comunicaciones esparloles, el que e n 1980 proyectó el arquitecto Alejandro de la Sota, con b cobboración
de C::lrlOS Sidro, arquitecto de Com.':os. Esta obm,
concebida desde la I~rspectiva mis actual , es
una de las más s ignificativas de la arquitectura
esparlob de la segunda mit:ld del s iglo X'X, en la
que de la Sota hizo realidad :Iquel la expresión
n:lcida e n el seno dd Movimiento Moderno, de
que un cubo funcione. Esto es, incorporar la
pura geometría II un sistema funcio n:.1 sin dejar
de ser a bstr:acción. Así sucede e n l.cón , donde
cabe ver sus pálidas y terS:IS fac hadas que esconden un luminoso interior recorrido por ligeras
cscaler.:ls, de atirantadas defensas, mostradores
que emanan dd mísmo planteamiento purísl:l,
aunque ayudándose de unas lámparas cuyo
diseño, en cambio, nos remite lE William Morris.
134
---
135
136
137
OSORNO (PALENCIA)
C
UANDO
M ,\[)QZ
Df.sCRIIlE
EN
SU
conocido
Dicci o l /(uio (1849) la villa de Osorno, en la
provinci:! de P:llencia , dice de eH:l que contaba
con "ciento ochenta y nueve casas, la ma yor
parte d e tierra y un s610 piso a excepción d e
treinta que tienen dos", aiiadicndo que la
"correspo ndencia se recibe por valija particular
que cond uce el correo d e Sa ntander", pues no
en vano su ca lle principal coincidía con J:.¡ carretC~1
que unía Pale ncia con Santa nde r.
L::I situación es hoy muy otr:l y los servicios d e
Correos ocupan , cómodamente, un:1 de aquellas
casas de dos pisos y de piedra. Esta nos hace
record ar el car.J.cler de la villa como cabeza d el
condado de Osorno que , como tal , d'lta de
mediados del siglo XV, teniendo rebcioncs fami liares con los senoríos de Vil b lcázar de Sirga y
Aguijar de Cam poo. De todo e llo, a modo de
histórico res ume n, dan cuenta los blasones de la
actu:¡l Casa d e Correos, en espedal el fo rmidable escudo de la esquina, sostenido por dos [cones, cu yo mo numental desa rrollo tiene una eS<"--::Ila s uperior a la del dieciochesco palado.
138
,
"
.
-
.n
-•
•
J
•
139
SEGOVIA
la del
Doctor Laguna se enc u entra la Casa de
Correos. Crecida toda esla zona de la ciudad
conoció a fines del siglo XIX y comienzos del XX
E
N LA PLAZA OH SAN FACUNDO 001'1 vuelta
;J
una imlx>rtante rt:forma, llevad;. a Clbo por el
arquitecto municipal Joaquín Odriozola, a quien
se debe la cntmda rápid:1 hacia la Pb ",..:! l\'Iayor
po r b cH i le d e San Agustín. El lo afectó a una de
b t; m ás vicjas p:l rroqulas intramuros de la ciudad , la d e san Facundo, que fue d erribada para
h:;¡o,;r b pla Z;1 q ue hoy lleva su nombre, en Lino
de cuyos costados se le\'::II1I:1 e l edificio de
Correos, y fij ar nuevas anchuras y alineaciones.
En 1908 se hizo, para la sede de Scgovia. una
prime ra estimación presu p uestaria de 155.000
pesetas, canlicb d que no va rió en los años siguientes, debié ndose ;tdjud icar b obra e n aquellos términos, d espués de definir la parcela , o.:n
1922. El edilicio fu e construid o en 1932-1934 de
acuerdo con un proyecto mu}' elementa l , cuyas
fach:l(bs quiercn conectar con la ;Irquitcctufa de
la ciudad a Ir.1vés de un reticular esgrafiado dc
relativa fo nuna .
140
14 1
142
143
SANTANDER
L
A CASA 1)11 CoII.II.F.OS
y
TEl~:G II.AI'OS de
Santander
se e ncucnlr:.1 en una de las zonas m5.s emblcm átic.IS de la dudad. 13as la ña observar Ir! ampli-
IlId de los grandes cs¡xlcios ahiertos que la rodc.....
a n así corno b s ingularidad de los edificios
inmedia tos, tales como 1:. p ropia catedral o d
Banco de España, panl medir una vez más el
empeño lanto d el Ayu ntamiento como dd
ESI!ldo por hacer de estos t."dificios verdaderas
e mlrJ.jadas dd nuevO mundo de las comuniC!c iones.
El proyc."Cto que se llevó a cabo está firma do
(Xlr Fcrnándcz Quimanil b y Sccu ndino ZU;IZO
Ugatdc, dos jóvenes arquitectos de la Escuela de
M:ldrid que formaron un t:'indcm dI.:: gran importancia
y éx ito e n c uantos <.:oncursos se celebra-
ron e n estos :ulos, has ta la muerte del primero.
La Casa de Com.:.'Os saJltandcrina rue uno de
ellos, compili~ndo con los demás arquitectos
que se presentaron ent re los q ue se encontraban
algunos de los más s i gni fk~lti"os representantes
del regional is mo mOlllañés como Ja vier
Gonz.,lez de Hianc ho, que s i bien pasó la prime .....! fase de anteproyectos no obtuvo el premio
final. E.s te fuc par..! Fern~índt:l. Quintanil b y
Secundino Zual.o que, pamdójicamentc, utilizaron aq uc llru; elementos propios de la :Irq uilcct llra regionalista rnontai'lesa aunque dos iricados
pnldenh::mentc y bien incorporados a una
expresión de inequívoc.l m<xlernidad.
Así, el regionalismo se resume en el carácter
pi ntores<.:o que tiene el conjunto dd cdiricio :11
contar con una torre poligonal dom inante y Otra
más baja, que rompen la rígida s imet rb visla en
Otros proyectos contemporáneos. Fuer..¡ de los
vuelos de las cubiertas y de alglm otro detalle, el
fCSto responde a una ar<lu itectur..1 que buSCo' un
compromiso entre la tradició n y la modernidad ,
muy bien resuelto por los arquitec tos. Los volúmenes, el pónico colurnn:lrio, la diversidad en
t:unai'lo y forma de los huccos, el color y dibujo
del piso allo en el que se incorpor..1 el reloj, etcélera, revelan un buen modo de entender la filosofía de los nuevos c...--d¡fícios de Correos en s u
e tapa inici:d , llegando a ser el de Santander, que
data de 19 15. uno d e los más signifkativos.
144
-----
••
145
SANTA ÚRSULA <TENERIFE)
OBRE LA ,\ N"n GUA CARlu, rntA que une La Laguna
S
con La OrOI:1\':I , en b zona non e de la isla de
Tencrifo.:, se crlcuenlr;¡ el pequeño pueblo d e
Santa Úrsub. Este, desde 1996, c uenta con una
d e !as más rccit:nlcS Oncin:ls Técn icas. eSlo es.
una unidad de relXIl1Q concebida a escala con
las neccskb dcs de la población. Se trata de un
eelifido en d :lve con temporánea, en el que el
conjunto del p royecto, debido;¡ Enrique Solana
d e Quesad:l , los detalles, así corno el tr.llamicn10 de los materiales, ceden a las modas más
gcncmlizadas que carJ.Clerizan el llamado diseño
r11()(k!rno.
146
147
• 11
•
113 (O
ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS
For Al ejand ro Hidalgo d e Caviedes
149
PRESENTATlON
By Jose J({/II/ Óll Esfume/as lIer/lftlldez
A
cSlhellc mallt!~ are m u cll too ortcn consid cred
;1..,
IlIcrely circum.,t:lnt ial , nol. rcally import3m
.r1..:..,>pt..--<-1S. But ac'>thctic and .symbolic ch:menlS exaclly define Ibe !lean of 1arge institutions. '11111'1 b
I be <.-:I!'oC of Ihe huildinw~ of Ihe POst ami Tdcgr::lph hi:-,Iork hcri tage, 'J11Cy rcnt.."C1 Ihe importancc of
COlllmuniL,,;uions in Spain, l he i mportancc lhey h:!d ane! :-.till havt.', lhe tI!'s :md down:> :lnd changcl'l
cxpcricnccd, :1:' \Vell ;u, Ihe :tCslhc tic l a:.les , hal have dcvclopcd in our country, w hefe l he post buildings \Vere one of Ihe symhols o f rnodcrnity in lhe various slagcs o f Span b h contempora ry hi ..lory.
In Ihe rich CSlal e or Ihe Sp:lnish M:Li l, jls archilC."CIUr:.1 palrimony is par::ullOU nl. NOI 10 forgcl l he
apIle tclcgraph \owers (now sli ll fOLmd dbpersoo lhroughoul lhe Sp:mish geogr..phy), and Ihe remai n1>
of :'Iaging posl... , Ihe b;.ckground uf Ihe !:Irse, o r at lime .. 1>mall, building... in d lies and vill:lge:., devO{L,<I 10 lile Post :and Tdcgraph scrvicc in our L'Ounlry.
r)c,"pill? Ihe varicly o f lypc amlljtylc and the diffcrcnl pcriO(b in whkh they were buill , Ihc POl>I
O fl"icc.... have comlllon fcalures. Mo...1 are loc.lted in prominent site:. in Ihe main IOWns. ·11'i.... was
cmphaljiscd in Ihe la!'>1 deelldes o fthe 19th century, when lhe l iber..l State bunched lhe con.~tnlClio n uf
brge POljl ami Telegraph building".
'111c i r monulllcnlalily w as inlended 10 Ix: a ¡cstilllon y of Ihe cffidency of these 1).'1sic scl'vicc .... , hOlh
for Ihe oper.uion of Ihe Stalc and Ihe conven ic nec of sociCl y. '111(: I'OSI :lIld Tdegr.lph M.!rviCCt> :m,!
always linked lo the idea of p rogrc:.s :md modernity, si nec lhe advanec o f com municalionl> i.... one of
Ihe o ul.... tanding achicvements of conl empor:u y age, somelh ing Ihat is jUljt a .. \<:;Ilid today w ilh Ihe explosion of lhe new ~com municalions rcvol ution ~.
Somc of these buildings had so magnit1cenl archilcclu re lh;ll ¡hey lx:c:ulH:: known as pabce .... , bUl
lhis was nOI incompat ible wilh functionalily. Inck'Cd, w¡¡ h largc Cnlr.lIlces capable for vchicle:-. Oorries.
ami even tr .. in~, enlert.'(1 directly 10 Ihe l owt:rs, Spt;-'cblly d esigne<! 10 rL'Cc1ve an enorm ou .... numher of
c;lhlt.:~). lbe eXlerio r of Ihe build ings po!'>:>C!5SCS lhe lleSlhelic-funclio nal duality lh:1I si ngubrbes tht:
IX)!'>lal amI Iclegr::lph !lrchilecture.
111l! building... contain inside a numlx:r o f csscnlial arcas to make work Ihe l:irge comllnm ÍL';.ll ions
~y~le m s of the ma¡1 :llld Ihe lcle~r::lph : cenlr::d sortin g ha ll:-., o r lx/lile l'()Qm~', lhe loading Ix:rths, telegr.lph Ir.msmission «x>m:;, letter-C:l rrier rooms, mail -Ixlxes. urgenl dispal ch , cenlral lIdmini:-.lralion, as
wdl as :In endlcl'>S numlx:r of departl11enL'l devol ed 10 Ihe \'arious scrvices,
A .. idc from lheSt! rooms, lO which Ihe posl~ll ami tdegr..ph employec.. gi\'e Jife, Ihere are o lhers
wherc lhe leading actor i.... lhe puhlic, the end uscr of our M.!rviccs. 11lt.'Sc :-.paCt::., true <:entre.'> of sociahil ily. go from Ihe f:l(,.';.ld e, .-.ometimes wilh an arc;.de o r brgc C:lnopy 10 prolL'CI Ihe m;lilboxe:-.. 10 I he
l ypiL';.1I m ai n ImlL.. Wilh rows of windows for Ihe differcnt scrviccs.
Tlle need 10 pre~crve lhe historie nlenlü ry involves r(.'(;alling these ae~l helic asp<.'Cts in phu:cs lhal
conlinue Ix:rforming Ihe fll netion for wllich ¡hey w c re c re:Hed : 10 p«)vide :In essen\ial st:rviccs lO Ihc
citizen....
INTRODUCTION
hC h islory o f Sp anish Mail C".1 n be \v rittcn from diffcrenl poims uf v icw. From Ihe classical standIx>inl , il i5 COIllIllOIl 10 dcscrHx: lhe o¡x:r.llion and adminislr:.ttio n o f Ihe scrviccs. Thus, in ch ronologieal arder, \Ve sh all S{."C fi rs\ how lhe Itoyal Mail was opcra\t.x! d llriog Ihe Middlc Ages, I hen ho w lhe
m:l i l scrvicc \Vas m:ldc a concc ssio n 10 pri vatc partics L1nder de Austrias', :lIld finall y, Ihe Stalc look
over Ihe ma i] administr.ttiu n sincc 17 20 in Ihe times o f lhe Borbo ncs l unlil uLlr days. BuL, rc garding
l h \..! archit,cclu ral SCCI1Cly whc rc Ihemail scrvice occ u rs, a ¡ioe can be [r:Leed dividíog 1\V0 quite distinct
periads. Th t.! (¡rsl Ix:ing lhe lime when suc h servic.:es w e re sel up, al bes! , in buildin~s o wnc d b y others or inadcqualc for Ihe purposc. An ¡he second ami very differc nl period , from 1900 o nward:;, charaCl eri S(.-d b y :m end C:tvour 10 dc:;ign buildings appropri:llc for ¡he spccific fun ction ¡hey were l O fulfil .
111 is bSI pcri CKI is l he o nc w e wish 10 comment in lhese p:lgCS, so as lO eSI:lbl isll a prelimin:l ry bal ance, bUI nOI :111 invenlory o r :t ca talogue, w ilh lhe desire 10 aw ak en lhe memory o f an e xciling idea:
10 build Post O ffices in I he main Spanish cities. 111is w as d one fo llowing a sl r.:ltegic plan which , i n
short time :lIld \Vilh very lim ih. :d resourccs, provid(.--d lhe Spanish socic ty u f Ihe 20t h cenl ury \Vith :In
esscntia l scrvicc w ithi n ;¡ propcr archilC<..."1.1Ir:11 fram ework Ih:1I \Vcnl heyond the mere 1lct..,,1s o f buildi ngs.
In fad , after :111 ca rr y long period o f couriers, royal o r privale mcsscngers, l rol e,":)", like I he c igh ty
Ihe King of Ar.:lgón ])on P(..-dro I he Ccrcmo niollS had fo r Ihe ro)'".!1 corr(."Spo nden<."C, o f 1ll1lIel (.."Crs w il h
postal fu nctions, :IS Ihe tl fk·e n Ihe Un iversilY o f Salam:mCI h:ld 10 COllllll ll nic lle Ihe st uden ls and Iheir
fam ilics, afler S<..'Cing l he im lx utant o ffiC(.-"S crcaK--d l o m:magc I he corrcspo ndencc, like I he Lo rd of I he
M:lils in the court of me Catholic Sovcrcigns, L1.c.., \Ve note thal archilt..'CtUfC was abscllI i n l his scrviee,
since :111 W:lS ccnlr<:..-d i n indiv iduals, o f who m Ihe Part ida..:," f(." lu ired Ihey sh all be ~JoyllJ mul J.mowl -
T
edgl..'CIble lUId 1/01 gn..'í..'lly ".
In l hc l imes w hen lhe mail w as o per.:lled as a conccssion to p riv:ue enterpri.scs, as was done from
l he 16th cCntury. fir-.I in f:l vour u f FranciSL'O Ta xis, who in 1500 irnplelllenlcd in Spain Ihe system :lnd
orga ni s~lli on of Ihe m:l i l he operalcd in Gennany, to lhe b SI ('ul1ceSsio n:l ry o f Ihis m o nopoly, Juan
Fr:1l1cisco Goycneche ( 17 17), we c¡¡nnOI spe ak cilher of a building. spccifiC:llly iderllific d w ilh lhe m:lil
service. O nl y i n a laler phase, Ih:\1 is, fmm lhe Hegublio ns o f 1720 and IheMail O rdinancc o f 1743,
lhe nc(..'(1 w as SI...."Cn Ihm Ihe ¡na;] shall avail ilsdf of ils o wn fa cililies. ahhough fo r a lo ng l imc previo usly ex isting butTOw ed buildings w eTe uscd . This OCCUTT(.' (I in Tokoo. where i n Ihe limes o f Carlos
11[ Ihe Roya l M all was sel u p in lhe o ld MinI , w hich i n lurn was :1 h:lIldsollle "l'olcdan lo rd r ab ee built
circa 1500.
'rhe exccp lion is l he POSI Ilo usc in r-.1:idrid, a cil y w here CamlxlIn anes h:ld already int roduce.-d sorne
im p rovcmen ts, slIch as I he appo imlllelll o f Iwelve poslmen for lhe loc"":11 sclv ice in 1756 . BUI lhere were
olher even more i m porta nI <IL-cisio ns. O ne \Vas 10 commissio n arch iwct Ven l u r::! Hodríguez 10 design
I he fir-.I POSI Ilou:.c i n Spa in . lle \Vo rk ed in :1 d esign fo r a monumental build ing i n Puert:l d el Sol\ ¡¡nd
dcvelo pe.-d Ihe d elai ls o f Ihe layoul of c:lCh o ffice :m d facil ily. llut :Ifter Ihe d eath o f Fem :m do IV :md
lhc enl hronelllent o f Carlos lll , he W:IS n:plae<..-d i n Ihe job b y Jaq ues Marquel , Ihe aul ho r of lile noble
prescnl building, as Frc nch i n !'-il yle as Frcm:h \V".JS his crea¡or.
\'Vh :!l i.s nOle\Vort hy is l hal Ihe Ihrcc large\." pu rsut".-d w ilh Ihe <."Onslnl<.1.ion of POS( IIOl/$CS in lhe fi rst
half of l he 18t h cClllu ry . \Vere :u:.:c omplishcd i n Ihis M ad r id's POSI Ilousc, namcly: a p rivilege.'(1 urban
loan io n , :l bu ilding or lllollLullenlal conccptio n and :In architCCl u re o f emblem:l\ic n:l\UfC.. In ¡his
rcs¡x..'Ct, a coherent relal ionship c m I~ read il y cstablished l:>cl ween Ihe PO:.t Ilousc in Puerta dd Sol
:lnd I he Palacio de Com unicacio nes in PI;l 7.<I de CilX!les, as lhe taller also c njoys :1 cenlral local io n , iLS
arch itCCllI rc :lIlswers 10 a mOllulllenl:¡[ seale - nOl in v:lin iL.. nallle is /)(.t!ac(J r:.llher than b OllSl!-- and
its tooks, likewise, eml:xxty:1I1 emb lemalic image o f lhe cil y . Thal i:. l o sa y, w h ;!1 is fir:'lly perceived is
Ihese three commo n c lemenls, :md o nly :lrter lhe rclali ve differences are oh servL-d, Ih:ll ¡s, dirfcrenccs
of pcri CKI, in ;¡eslhelics, in fun<.. "1.io n:l lily, malerials, el c.. [n o lher words, heyond space and lime, Illere
153
Mar/dd
was Ihe sa me will in one and Ihe ulher: to makc:I Post building Ih:1I would come int o Ilistory :IS a rival
or Ihe tr:.ldilional rc1igiou~ and civil monumenl:d archil eclun.:.
This carly 20th century dcsire [O initiate :1 long policy of pol>I omcc building conslnlction, makcs il
inevitahle \O lmderline Ihe impo nance of Madrid 's P:lbcio de COl11uni(.":.lcioncs. al> a Oagl>hip of a highIy ambitio lls c nde;lVo ur :11 n:llion:l l selle. since ils dCl>ign ;tnd ini!ial conl>lnlction !>Ieps took place prior
10 Ihe appointment in 1908 of Emilio Onuño y Ik:ne as Oin:'''Cl or Gener:.11 o f Ihe Post, as will be S(:en
below.
It shou ld ~tlmce 10 rec:lll , brieOy, lhal ancr some initial allempL'i ami Ihe commis..~ion uf :1 Ccnlr..11
Post I IOllse 10 archilccl Lorenzo AI"arez Capra ( 188 1). lhal :Ifter a coml>Clilion 10 dcsign a building for
Ibe Gencr:.il DireClor.:lle or the POSI . :¡w;lITkd in 1900 10 :m:hilecL.. Jo:¡quín S:¡ldaña ::md j esús Carr.:lsco,
and afler a second compelition calk'd on 20 Augu!'<l, 1904, wilh m;¡ny proposals presenh.:d, Ihe prize
\Venl 10 Ihe design signed by architects Anlonio Palacios :md Joaquín Olamendi. The deci.'iion W:lS omcblly announced on 23 january. 1905, lhe "" Ii nislry of Ihe Inlt:rior making ils own Ihe opi nion issucd
by the San Fernando A'-":.Idemy of Fi ne ArL'i.
This le,lrlled socit:IY judged very favoumbly Ihe dcsign submilled by Ihe Iben yOll ng architccts
Palacios and Ol:lrllendi. sl aling thal il was "Ihe producl of;¡ gení:il crc,ilion~. and rejccting Olher projcel.';, sw.::h a:> th:lt of ~l rchi tecl Lópcz Ulaneo :md cngineer Monlesinos, :Ind p:1l1icubrly lhe design h y
S:lld:lña and Carr:lsco, who ha"ing prescntcd il again , ~ had ¡Xl ...lponed lhe ~ Iv i ces 10 Ihe publico 10
which the building should be applil.-d . 10 Ihe facilities for :1 Dircc.:tor:t!C Gener.ll with lhe sighl on
1x.'Coming;¡ Min¡~.try in the fllILlfC~. To be fair. Ihe saTllC could he :.aid of Palacio'!i dcsign , 10 judge by
what \Ve can see loday. The works began in 1907. lh:1I is. one year after Ortuiio look OVer Ihe
Dircl.10r.lle Gener.:11 of Ihe ]>0:.1 , and lhe omcial opcning uf lhe building. i n 1919, wilh Ihe prescnce of
King Alfonso XIlI. was;¡ veritable political-cuhural event, as il Illeant much for tbe cou ntry, for Ihe cily.
for the ...1:IiI :md Tclegr.lph scrvices. for architL'Clllre, for lhe author:-. of Ihe building. for Ihe IXJlitiei:ms.
ami in Ihe long nlll, ;¡ fundamental clemenl 10 link Ihe p.1S1 :lIld Ihat pre:.cnl time , from many IXJims
o f view.
Frolll the ,lrchil(."CllIral "icwpoint. lhis building. still wailing fur the monograph ic sllldy il descrv(.'S.
was tO 1x.'COme a lenn of reference for ;\11 flllure Palaa.'S of Communications ,md Post and Telegr.:lph
Omee!> in Ollr <.:ounlry. bOl.h 10 borrow some fC:llurcs from iL.. coneepl -nOl from it:. shapcs---- :Ind to
Icarn Iha! lesson given by I>alacios :md O I:lIuendi on whal tht: Ch¡Ir:.IClcr of :m:hiK'Clure. conslnleti ve
exp re~.. ion ami the role plaYI,..--d by the orn:unenl , rcpre~n1 in :t building of this kind. For the fin>! time
;¡ Sp:lIlish Mail and Telcgr,¡ph huilding could look wilhout recling inferior Iho:,c o lher buildings crcel ed during Ihe 191h and ca rl y 20lh ccnluries in other European :md AmeriCIll~ clpit:lls, from Home.
Bnl!)sels :lnd I.ondon. 10 Washington , Lima ami Ilio de jan<.'iro. NOI 10 mention Ihe hreaklhrough mooernn es...; of Ihe interiors, where Ihe 'Hllhors did de:lr 10 cut lhroup:h space al certain heighls w ilh nying
lensors on sll..'c l catw:llks. Ihal eonfcr Ihe building :t ccrtain mec h ~lOislic or cxpressionisl factory brUlalily. In Ihis scnse. no OIht:r SUh!icqllc nt I)()st omcc building reaches Ihe epic Iones of Ihis one by
Palados and OlanH:!ndi.
BRlEF IUSTORY OF AN InEA: THE POST HOUSI'S
t\ !) poinled out e:irlier, Ihe series of POSI J-Iouscs Ih:1I in jusI a few years sprollled in Sp:mish ellies was
nOI slxlIllanL'Ous o r dlle 10 municipal inili:llivc. It was actually :t pan of Ihe political projt."C1 of lhe
Conscrv:lli"e Part y, which enginecr Ameli Onuño y l3cne (1862-1936) had joincd. H e was with no
doubt lhe m:m \Vho rt:volulioni.s<..--d Iht: communic:.llions world in ou r counlry. of whieh buildings were
unly a minor p:lrt. Onuño. who gr.:ldua[ed from lhe & hool of HO:ld Enginecrs o f Madrid, :lnd later
de\'oled himsclf to IC:lching as a ful1 professor of Ihat SCh(X11. rcpresenlcd Spain in Ihe Second
Inlern:uionat Navigation Congress in 1898, but S<Xln hc fell attr.:leled 10 politics and \\".lS ek"CtL-d a memIx:r of Parliaml!n1 rcprcsenting lhe province of Avi!:t. In 1907 he was Under.K--cret:lI)' of the Presidency
under Antonio Maui.l, and Ihe rollowing yC:lr he W:IS chargcd wilh Ihe DirL"CIOi.lle General of Ihe PO.<;I
:lIld Telegr:.lJ)h .
Although he (:ame 10 be Minis!t:r of Fomelltd in 1920, in lhe Clhi ncts of AlIendl:sal:tzar and Eduardo
DaIO, [he mos! not:lhle hcritagc or his prescnce in [he Pllblic aelminiSlr:.llion were Ihe inlrodllel io n of
improvements and innov;¡tions in IheMa il and Tclegraph service!), where aside frum a IXJlitician , he
showed his Civil Engineer condition . Of Ihose engineers lraincd in Ihe m odt:st T urco Sl r<..'Cl huilding.
w ho so much contrihult:d 10 Ihe modernisalion of Ihe cOlmt ry, whelher building IXJld and lX!allliflll
154
bridge.... , :IS his fellow· ....llIdcnl :lIld conlemporary Josf: Eugenio Itiher:.l , (Ir giving impulse 10 communicalions, a.... Onuño, whom \Ve are now commel1ling. Among!'il his improvemellls, we shall menlion
SOme a.... rc1cv:ml a.... Ihe mai lhoxcs mounlt..'d in lhe lI':.unways of major cilies, nr Ihe mail coach in atl
lrain..... where we . . liI1 remember having drop¡x.-'d a leller in Ihe lasl inSI:lIlt hefare Ihe Irain dcpanure in
Ihe nighl Irain, a.o; were Ihemail Ir:.lin per exccllem:e. Onllño p1:Kcd Iclephones in Ihe road rcpair sl:llion.... ;lb \Vell, in order lO hrc:lI. Ihe isolalion of many nnal cornc~ of Srain. lit' crealcd the I'oslal
S;¡\·ing.~ U:mk and rcfornu.'d Ihe <:urriculum of lhe Telegr.tph School . \Vilh a more rigoroll!'i and scientific o ri t:n l~l1ion . he Ojx:nL-d sc\'entccn Post affices in Madrid and len in Barcelona . he crcal<.--d the first
poslal p:lrccl bCrvice, :md fin:llIy, ht: dccid<.-d 10 build fifty five new 1'0.'1 :lIld Tclegr:.lph Officcs in all
provincia l Clpil:l b 3n other imponanl cilics.
By wh:1I h:l1; bt.:en menlioned, and il is only a sample. il c.m be M.-'Cn th:lI Ihis wab :t large sclle opero
:uion wilh :1 long M>Cial.polil i<.:al rcach. Only lhe pTO<.'L--dlJrc implemenlcd 10 bllild over fifty PoSI Offices
inspires rc . . peCl. and admir:llion, :md ¡here \Vas, la om o pinion. Ihe key of il... SUCCCSS. The mosl significanl e\'enIS, in chronolog1<.:al order, were as follows. Firslly, Ihe Royal Ord\.!r of 30 Decembcr, 1908,
under which the firsl loc:II and provincial boards \Verc est:lbl ished "lO do all pn:.:par:.uion \Vork r1eccss.1.ry ror Ihe proIXl. . (:d eon.. tl'llclion of Post ami Tekgraph Orrice bllilding." in rrovincbl capitals ami
rnajor eilies". Ju:m de la Cierva, fo,'linister of the Interior rrOlll 1907 lO 1909, sel OUI in seven poinls the
eOOllxlsilion and 1:lsk.., of s:l id Ixxl1'ds and fixcd a lime fr:.lme for thcir aClivily. Sll hsl~lI1li :l lIy, e,lch
province \Vas l O form a board formed by lhe Civi l Covernor as chairman, Ihe hc:tds of IheMail and
Telegr:lph scrvi<.:es, Ihe rn:I;or or Ihe city. lhe presidt:nt of Ihe Ch~Ullher of COllllllercc :me! Ihe provincial 'Irchil ecl. In lhe ab.'>Cncc of Ch:nnbcr o f Commerce in Ihe provincc. Ihe pre.... idelll o f Ihe Chambcr
of Agricultllre would be propos<.-d, and if no office of provincial :lrchilL,<:t exbled, Ihe municipal architecl could sil inSlead. as occurrcd, ¡x:r insl:lIlce, in Las Palmas and M:lhÓn. '111 ;" board had IWO momhs
lime 10 make a .s!lIdy of ....ilcs avaibblc 10 build Ihe Po:;1 Offices or the cxbling buildings Ihal could he
adaplL-d with Ihe rclcvam improvemenLS. 111e rcsult of Ihis first sludy was Ih:1I mOSI of Ihe desirable
plOl.... of I ~md Ix:longed 10 priv~lIe partics :md had 10 be prcviollsly lX>lIgln . Al Ihe same time, Ihe projl.'Cl co.,¡ wa .... being c.11clll:IIL'(I, :md 10 lhis c nd, il was requircd 10 hav\.! an idea of Ihe COSI of ¡he main
ílem ...., n:uucly. Pllrchase of land and oonstructio n.
In order 10 kno\\' Ihe amoum of the blldgcl appropri:llion nee<!L-d, a bidding \Vas calkd Ihal represenil> lhe S<.-'CQnd major administr:nivc step, its mlecn scctions summing up lhe spíril of Ortuño's pro¡oo. TI1C invitalion 10 bid. publishL-d hy Royal Order o n 30 Deccmlx:r of Ihe same year. 1908, conl emplaled "the acqui.-.ílion by the Slate of V:laml ploLS o r cxisling b uilding .... 10 Ix: demolished or refurbishcd 10 provide adL'(luale fa cilil ies for theMail and TeJcgmph scrvices. excepl in Madrid, \\'here such
building is now lInder conslnlclion , and Ihe ciliL'S o f Q l rt:lgena, Ferrol, Gijón , l':ls Palmas de Gr:.m
Canaria , Mahón. Iku:-, ami Vigo~. Tlle offers of Jand or buildings shall be submill L-d Ix:fore 30 Janllary,
\ 909.10 he cx~unined hy Ihe bO:lTds and then senl 10 the Minislry of Ihe ¡m erior for final evalll:tlion as
:1 whole.
After receiving a 10lal of 1\\'0 hllndred and sevenly offers from all fifty five d ties, l he prevailing crileria was Ih:1I it wa.' neceSS:lry 10 huild new buildings ralher Ihan m:lke liS of old {mes, "in or(lI::r 10 fil
lhe Spanish fXl:-,tal and Iclegmph services \Vilh l he dignilY, as is done :Ihmad. requirL'{l by :In impon:lIlt
br:.mch of Ihe public :-,ervicc". This is where Ihe definile Sl cp \\':IS taken . repre:-.cnIL-d by Ihe Repon th:1I
was lhe basis for Ihe Act of 14 june, 1909 wh ich in it.s Ihird chapl er on gener:ll guidelincs for ne\\' Mail
and Tclcgr:.lph buildings :lOd panicular aspecIs of lh\.! fulure designs, statcd: Mln lhe convi<:lion Ihat Ihe
rcfOnllS inlendl.-d 10 be implemenlcd in Ihe POSI and Tclegr:lph scrviccs rcquire adL'qu:l1e buildings for
Iheir pmper 0lx:r:.ll io n . buildings where :111 lhe post~1 1 :lIld Iclegr:.lph ní..'t.'(ls already cxisling, and OIhcrs
10 IX' crc;lled, could Ix: 1I111.-d. we h:lve sludied lhe beSI way 10 pro\'i<k: cach C-.lpil:11 cily in Spain wilh
ne\V Mail :lIld Tclegmph buildings, extending Ihis ma;or rcfo rm 10 certain o ther <:ilies which, owing lO
lheir gí..'Ogr:lphic location or :¡dminislr:.llivc or postal im¡x>rt:lIlce, also deservc 10 have sllch scrvices
inst:llk-d in SI:lle-(lWnl.'t.I bllildillgs.~
'l1,e other non-C:lpiwl cilies \Vcre Canagena. Ferro!. Gijón. Mahón, Iteu ..... , Vigo and L:IS Palmas. '111e
inilial global eSlill1ation of Ihe Jand :md constnldion C08tS \Vas over twenly IhrL't! million. Ihree hundrcd Ihou.... and pesetas, :10 amOllnl approvL'(1 by Ihe Cortes ( Parliamenl). 10 which Ihe rosl of subscquently induded huildings in Linares, Manresa :lIld Sa nli:lgo de Compo:-wb, had 10 be :Iddc.:d . The
facilities were lO Ix: Msolidly, prolx:rly :lIld cconomi<:ally buil!, in Ihe scnse of not eX lx:nding lIlorc
mOlley Ih:1Il nccessary, hUI nOI less Ih:1Il whal Ihe eSlim:llions al ll for. TITe buildings shall Ix: LTImrnenSllr:IlC lO Ihe respective cily size, and of conscienlious conslnJClion comhining Ihe condilions of
Ix:auty, comfon :1I1d hygiene I hal muSI be prescnl in any building, hut more so in Ihosc, like Ihis ones,
GijÓII
155
rcprescnting ,he characle r of:¡ puhlie service~. To Ihis cnd, puhlic compl'lition~ I'l1a ll be held amon,g~1
S¡x mish architccL'>, Ihe prizc for Ihe \Vinner bcing Ihe CXL-'ClIlion of Ihe <k'Sign.
By Ihen JlI ~ln (l.,' la Cierva \Vas no longcr Minlslcr of Ihe [nlerior; he wa!'> followl.."CI in Ihis pon folio
hy Segismundo Moret, Fernando Merino, Antonio Barroso ;¡nd Jos(: Sánchcz Guerra frorn 1909 10 1914,
hUI lInder :111 of Ihcm, Amcli Oltuño conlinucd bcing Director General of lh.... M:lil :md Tclegraph.
Thcsc are l he yC:lrs whefe Ihe first agrcclllcnts \Vere condude<! helwccn Ihat Din..'Clor:.HC General and
somc municipalilies lhal
dc~ircd
10
~peed
up Ihe \\orb, like Barcelona (1909), whcrcby lhey entcnc'<l
iota a financing systcm difTcrcnt from Olhcr ci'ic..... Thus, Barcelona. Ih:H offcred in Ihe bnd hid Ihe
plOl al begin of Vía 1....lyelana where lhe main PO~I Orrice ~Iands now, increasL",1 il~ offer by undertak·
ing also 10 build Ihe building aeeording 10 lhe design ~Ipproved by lhc Government, Ix-cause lhe dly
net..>ded MIO expeditc the sale of the remainin}.! plOlS in Ihe Gr::1tl Vía, alld lhe sl imul u :> Ihe constnlclio!l
of Ihe Post Office will cause 10 Ihe ereclion of OIht:r building.... in said avenue, with whieh lhe eily
Council wou ld gct compcn .... ation for Ihe effon~ ineurrL",1 in devcloping Ihe dly eXlension ¡lOd remedyíng unemploylllenl ~. The r:lcts thal lhe l3::I rcclona dly governmenl !'>uh~idised Ihe work!'> wilh two hun drro thOtls;.¡nd IX:SCt.'lS and Ih:!t Ihe Stale would Ill:lke fiftecn yearly paymcnlS lu Ihe dly, moved Ihe
Cabi nel 10 authorise Onuño, in his capacily as Director Gcner::d uf IheMail ami Tc1egraph, 10 sigll Ihe
agreelllenl with lJ~lrcc l ona slipulating lhese and olher adminiSlr:!live rnallers, in spi l e Ihal Ihe si x mil!ion peselas hudgcl was higher th~l1l Ihe ori}.!inal onc or four million, -"even hundrcd and sixty Ihousand
Ix:sctas. Other eities, as Valenci:1 (19 10), L<..-"Ón ( 1910), Po ntcvedr.! ( 19 11 ) :l1ld S~l1l Seh:!Sli:11l ( 1911) al:.o
offered v"rious manners of panicip:uion through agreemcnL<¡.
Wilh the cxperiencc gaimxl in tht.:se runnin~- in years, yel unly in Ihe adminbtr.:ui\'e arca, :l pan of
Ihe pron.'<IlIre \Vas moclificd from 19 13. Fi rstl y, Ihe Hoyal Dccrt.'C of 16 December, 19 13 con"ert<..--d the
provincial and local boards cre:lIed in 1908 into \'(fo rks I nspcction and Moniloring Boards. '111:11 is. :1
complex ~\nd cosll y proccss of design and conslnlclion of scver.:IJ tens u f buildings was bcing cnlel"cd
imo, while! at lhe same lime, il wa~ ncccs.s,ary to re fin e Ihe propcr control. The members of Ihe new
bO:lrds were praclically Ihe s:unc :IS in Ihe o ld o lles, bul the nUlllher of represcnl:llives was increaM:d
10 include Ddeg:lle of the Minblry of Public Fin:mce, a State Ad\'(x:ale and Ihe Chic( EnginL-er of Public
Works or Ihe provinCl~ , huI more nOlc\Vorthy was Ihe indusion of Ihe Dirc"Clor General or lheMail and
Te1egr::lph , or his deleg:nc, who could allcnd Ihe Illt:etings acting as ch:lirman of Ihe Uoard, aboYe Ihe
Civil Govcrnor, :lnd wilh ca:.t ing vote right. Ile re \Ve see lhe Onuño's intere~1 lO personally o\'ersce
sllch a sensitive progr::ull ll1e, :l!'> Ihis was lhe :tdd lest for Ihe m yri:1<1 of problems that cOll ld ¡Irist: from
Ihe complex sy:-.tcm of pand~, submittal of preliminary and final designs, revi:;ion :md sclcction, awarding Ihe <:u nlr.lct... ~l1ld supcrvbion and ~Iccept:lnee of Ihe \Vorks ---the latter aJway:. reservc",1 10 the
Din:.--clor Gen er.!1 of Ihe Mails and Tclegr.lph by dclegation of the Mini~ter of Ihe lnlerior- nol to menlion Ihe task ()f final demar<::'ltion orlhe plOts. A Iloyal Order of 31 I)L-ccmbcr. 1913, :!pprovcd Ihe new
boards :md eslablished a Iwenly-day period lo set up slIch boards, execpl for Madrid , Barcelona ,
Valen<:i~I , 1A..'Ón and I'onlevedra thal cnjoyed :t differen! regime.
Lasl ly, in Ihe ahbreviated version of l he process, lhe Budgel ACI fo r 1915 !llU.:-.I Ix: rlL'ces,';,arily menlioned. Pamgmph Ihree, anide eighK'Cnlh of Ihis :Ict, :lUlhorised Ihe ¡\'Iinisler of Ihe Interior 10 carry
Oul Ihe PoSI ¡¡nd Tdegr:l ph Offices \Vorks wilh :m inilial investment of fifleen mili ion pesetas. lO be
allOlled 10 each une of them in aCL'ordancc wilh lhe Hepon thal \Vas tll<' IXlsis fur lhe 1909 Act. Thal
",as the amounl lO build forty ninc POSI and Tclegr.!ph buildings, leaving :Iside ¡hose for I h e dlie:. that
h:ld a sepa mle agreemem with Ihe Stale. II was on ly left 10 d eterm ine Ihe plOIS, call the compctilions,
award Ihe contr::¡cIS amI begin Ihe const nlction . These were lhe lasks for Ihe following twenty years,
bul Ihe dictatorship of Primo de Ribem , tllC SL-cond HcplIbJic and Ihe Ci\'il \'('ar, callscd that some build·
ings cou ld not be completcd unlil de '40s.
A PLACE IN 'nlE CITY
One of the mast imponant malle ..s f~lCed by Ol1uño's p lan \Vas l o choosc:1 place in Ihe dty. From the
firsl bidding of tand in 1908, the Jocuion of Ihe ne\V buildings \Vas expres,,>ly staled as ~s hall be centr.ll, in a husiness are:! or w herc the popul:ltion !llaves !llore al)(}uI, where possible, free standi ng, siluated in a pb7-:1 or a !)rolld importanl slre!.!l , \Vil h c<!sy aecess to railw:ly slation~ :md hartx>urs
In
mher words, Ihe huildings h:!d 10 Ix.-come a pan of whal is c llk"<i Ihe eily centre, il could be lhe mosl
busy street. as in Ponle\'L-"(lra, near:1 major bank, as in Vitoria or M:íbg~l (Lhey are !leXI 10 lhe Bank of
Spain), dosc 10 the Cily lIall. as is Ihe case of Valencia, laking :Id\'an tage of Ihe grc'll hislorie !andft
•
156
rnarks, as in Avila amI León , whefe they Cace the cathedr..ll, in the Gra/1 Vía,,"', likc in Barcdon:1 and
Scvilk:, lInd in the mos! reprcsentative pl:li',as, as in Madrid Of 5:lI1t:1 Cruz de Tenerife.
For lhis feason lhal flrsl 1908 hidding of land was decbred void by lhe Royal Order of 13 Janu:uy,
1915, !xcause seven years had pr.Jctic:dly cbpscd from Ih:H inilial d ate unlillhe huelgel approprialion
was vOled, amI sincc thell rnany pieces of propcny had changed h ands, othr.:1'S had becn buih on, :lIld
the real eSlale price \Vas not Ihe same in 1915. These beIs C1 l1sed a ne\\' Hoyal Order 10 Ix: issued
(14.0t.t915) ca lling a new "bidding of I.!mply plots or buildings to lkmolish or ad:lpt"', indud ing lhe
lerms amI conelilions ami Ihe lisl of Ihe forty nine cilies induded in Ihe above menlioned I3udgel Acto
of 191 5.
This bidding produced Ihe majority of propenies occupi(.-'{I b y the fi rsl and second gener'..llions o f
Mail and Tdegr::lph buildings. Thesc siles nol :Ilways \\'efC dean lr:.lels. M::my h:leI all son 01' buildings, on OCeasion quile venerab!..:, Ihal h:ld 10 be demolished. This is lhe e,lSc 01' AVila , per instance,
wht:re Ihe present I'ost Officc sl :lIlds on Ihr.: site of lhe Bishop's Pabce o f lhe 161h century. In olher
CISCS lhey were bu ilt on lhe sile or no longer used publ ic buildings, :IS the old CUSlOm H ou.se of Vigo
and Santa Cnlz de Tenerifc. Othcr l imes \Vere lotally new plOLS origin:lled by an urhan reformo as in
Cordov:L When nOI in ¡he space fesulting frorn l he demolition of old d cfcncc baslions, as i.') lhe case
of Gerona, where Ihe building rises wherc and o ld r:.nnparts lower slood . In ils lurn , Sar::lgoss:l 's building rep]¡lccc! and old Ihealre, and so o n , we can see quire dilTerent silualions amongSI Ihe new buildings.
Since the !lew 1915 bidding also made rererence 10 reusable buildings, we sha ll say lhallherc \Vere
from old deconsecr.ued re!igious buildings, liko.! Ihe flrst Sevi l le b uilding on lhe old Auguslinian F:uher.s
mon:lstery, 10 others Ihal were earlier Schools of Ans ami Tr:.lcles, as happencd in 5an Sebastián.
Finally, therc \Vas I he clecidecl inlentiOn to have a wholc block ava ilablc.: so Ihe POSI O(fice c()uld
be fn.,'C standing wilh t'our free fa\Oades, both lO p rovic!c Ihe maximum natural lighl to lhe inlerior :lnd
10 place cilhcr in [he back Of Ihc sidc lhe d ock 10 10:ld :uld unload mail hags. This was ;Ichiev(;:d in
mosl c~lses, from the largc buildings of Barcelo na , to Ihe simplcr ones in Palencia or Fc rrol. Where Ihe
plol surface \Vas large and loc::llcd in :1 principal area of Ihe cilY, bUI nOI comprising a fu ll block, lhis
condilion had more \Veight lhan a full block d sewhcre. "111e iclea was 10 have a cornt:r lh:11 could be
charnfered :mel cnhancing lhis lurning poinl cha mcler \Vith a 10\Ver. The puhlic entrancc was Ihen
placcd on Ihe main strt.'C1 and Ihe vchicle ;leeess on Ihe side street, as C'.m Ix: seen in Cordova or Palma
de MajofC'..l, among ol her cilies, This comer building emphasis \Vas kepl in Ihe Posl and Telegraph
Offices buih in the '50s, of which a gooe! e.x ample is Ihe of Gr.m;lc!:l on Plaza de la Puena Rea l.
'1111..' mail movetTlent about the streels surrounding lhe POSI omec chang\:.!d our eily streel lIlaps, wilh
new names, such :IS calle del COrreo, pasaje del Correo, callejólI del Con'OO', elC, 13L11 in other C:I$l'S Ihe
name \Vas Ihere berore lh<: period w..: are discussing, relat i ng of Olher previously existi ng POSI Hous..:,
as lh\:.! POSt:IS SlrL'Cls in Madrid :lml Toledo, Ih:1I o riginated in [he 181h c<:nlury,
Al :lny rale, lhe lme rael is lhal Ihe rcl:uionshi p bdween POSl Office :Uld city is :1 ve!)' close one.
Evcn on occasions the I'osl Office building was crectcd fi rsl and lhe streel was o pen !:Iler, as occu rred
in Vigo, '111ese urban values had only loSI vigour in Ihe Ihird generalion or bllildings of the 'SOs :md
'90s, wht:rc :1 go<xl numlx:r or old POSI Offices \Vere renewed :md ne\V ones buih, from thal of León ,
to Ihe ol1e in Ciudad Real, and even, as in Ihe case of M:"il:lga, eemr.11 IOCltions were no more soughl
in fa vour of rnore dca r arcas in Ihe rnodcrn fabric of Ihe cily.
lt is a fael thal lhe lasl gcncr:.llion of poslal architeClu re :IS in other lypologies, is conccived rem oved
from Ihe urban fmmc and \Ve ca nnol hide th:1I this causes Sl rong dish:mnonies wilh the surroundings,
nOI always Ix:nc ficial fOf modern archito..."cl u rc. ll1is is lhe ch:lllenge and lhe danger o f excessive archiIcctur:ll abSlr:1Clion, oflen tending lO narcissislic reveries, forgelflll o( Ihe city :Ind lhe bndscape inlo
wh ich il is insened, withoul arguing now lhe t:viclenl qualily of the dcsign ilsclf. Old-time arch itccL.,;,
conversel}', Iried -may be some times w¡lh cxcess- to blend Iheir arehile<.1ure wilh , h<: gel/l ls loci, in
such wa y as 10 make Ihe building warlll ane! familiar 10 Ihe inhabilants of Ihe cily.
I~J/Ifef)l.'dra
THE COUNTENANCE OF ARCI-UTEcruRE
The analysis of Ihe Mail andTdegr:.lphbuildingsc:a rries:ldual considcr:.uion.ltis ncccss,ary 10 understand, o n lhe one ha nd , Ihe p rogr::unme 01' requ irerl1enls and lheír bYOUl, and on ¡he o ther hand , w h:1I
we h::lve called the COllnlenance of archileclure, thal is, ils expression , \Vhat is comlllonl y refcrred 10
as style, that is subjecl to fash ions and so, no mere Ihan lhe qualifler :u1ide o f :Irch il(;.'clure. Th ll~, we
157
Málagll
158
can Idl apan Ihe Pontevedr.l building as eCk!'Clic, Ihe Vilori:!-Gasl(:iz one :1.<; regi onalislic. and Ihe
Conmn:1 d esign as ra tionalisl ic. BUI lhis is jll:.1 Ihe en vclo¡x:, Ix'<."3Ust.-· lhe illner machinccy. Ihal is, Ihe
h:llI , ¡he cou ntcrs and H: lIcr windows, Ihe Iclcgraph roorn or lhe sorting room . are comrnon clements
to all 01' Ihcm and :ue lighlly connecled 10 Ihe fllllclion of Ihe buildi ng, its p llr posC, the services pnr
vide-xl. They :m:, in shOI1, lhe clcmcnts Ih:1I rnakc the building work as a postal machi ne. Th is is w h y
it scems right lo oSee how Ihe m .'Cds 01' a post office are initially dellncd , by rnakin g a schel11:II[c picture v"!lid fur all in generaL
All hough the cunditions for design compctitions say nOlhing, s¡¡ve exceptions, about Ihe d Cll1ea nour
of archilecture, Ihe gener::l l lerms of Ihe cornpctition c lllcd by Hoyal Order of 15 M:lrch, 19 15, is very
explicit about Ihe he:1I1 :md core o f Ihese building..¡. Indced, il len '"lO the good judgement of the
:Iulhors 10 ¡¡dopt the con sl rl.l cl ion melhod , style ~lI1d arrangcmenl Ihey Ihink I)<.:SI , being :dl owcd 10 use
the clemenls o f cOmlx)sition :lOd orn:l l11enl of their pre ference "'¡I h 10lal arti slic freedom . b UI it shall
be very dear that the condilions of proper layoul and cfficicnl serv ice are Ihe main objectives pursued
and shall n o t be sllcrificed 10 the monUlllcnl:11 aspcct. "
Some rccommendations, :tmongst the genero:.1 conditions, c m hdp 10 better unck:rSland Ihe cha ra cter of Ihe buildings thal r call of the firsl gencr::tlio n , thal is, befo re 1936,10 sep arate thclll from Ihe seco ne! gener::tlion, bu i ll lX!twecn 1940 ~lI1d 1975, :md the third and l:lsl from 197510 1997. 'rhe firsl o ne
are cloSC51 10 01' whal Ol1uno I houghl :1 Post Officc should be. Although we know thelll in short as
POSI Offices, Ibey conlained Ihe Idcgraph :"Incl tek:phone ~ Iv i ces 100. This dual funclion sccm 10 be
w h:1\ in m:m y CISCS dClermined Ihe symmelric layout o f Ihe building.<;, as CUI in two t;:qllal hah'es, so,
if they were foldcd :llong ils central line, Ihe lefl :lnd righl sides \ViII match . T his is Ihe case of Vitoria ,
Logroi'lo, <l nd m:my o thers. This nOl\Vithstanding, il o nly occu rs in Ihe oUL.¡ide, becau.se in Ihe interior, each service rcquirc vecy diffcrcnt spaccs.
From the geneml conditio ns sheet, I would like 10 sel out a particu larly inleresting o ne thal SUIllmarises the ch:mlcler :lIlcl ovcr::l ll image Ih:1I i¡ W:IS intended 10 inslill in Post Officcs. r :lI n spcaking of
Ihe indical ion 01" ¡he conslructio n m elhod , thal sh o u ld ""achievc the ma;>:iIllUIll SIXlciollsn ess, easc of
m Ol ion , clea r room and admission of abundanl lighl , Ihe latter obt:¡ined l hrough brge horizontal o penings, more in keeping with Ihe purpose of Ihe building Ih:lIl vertiGII ones, d evisin g Ihe interior partitions in wood or iron wilh glazed pands, :lIld easily disa~mb l ed so Ihe pOl.ential layout o f lhe arcas
can be conveniently re:lrranged according lo the sb:e and d eve10pm elll Ihe scrvices ma y require al any
givcn lime. When preparing these de~igns , it most be born in mind Ihal Ihese are build ings o f an publie llatufC wherc :lny profusion o f d ecor::l lion shall be avoided, combining si mplicity with I he eleg:lI1ee
of lines 10 aehieve Ihe good tasle Ihat musl preside over any work of archilecture.
This lasl inlention was superbly interprelLxl in Ihe Corunna building, one o f Ihe mosl nOlable p it.--ces
of Spanish r.:niona lism , which c1eanliness of volumcs and Sllrfaccs seem s l O cmlxxly like nu Olher lhe
spirit pllrsucd b y Onllño. I-Ie wOllld have likcd 100 10 sec Ihe build i ng designed b y Alejandro d e la
Sota fo r León. Nevenhc1ess,;ll the time Ihe compel ilions were hdd Ihe wish 10 incorporalc tht:
rcsources o f rcgion ali.sl arch itecturc carried more weighl, that is, 10 lakc features from lhe :lmple repcrIOcy o f fo l k and h iSl o ric arc hitecture 10 malch a given provincial or urban c n vironmenL T h is was o nly
natural bccallsc , looking al Ihe ci:ll es o f Ihe Hoyal Orders and Dccrces rc1aling tO Post Offices, we see
Ihey are coincidelll with olhcrs as significa nl as Ihe Royal Decree of 18 Decembcr, 1913 au thorising ¡he
c realio n of Provin ce Communities and wril ing releva nt Si al lites which , although affecli ng unly administrntive mattcrs, rcprcscnted the sl arting point of regional lIutonomy.
Al l he s:.lllle time, 191 5, lhe ye:tr where Ihe budgel 10 b uild Post and T c1cgr.:lph Offices \Vas
approved, is also I he ycar whcn Ihe rem:lrkable Sixlh Nal ional Con gress of ArchiteclS \Vas hcld in Sa n
ScbaSl iún. The rcgionalisl idcology \Vas born headed b y Aníbal A lvarez ¡¡nd Leonardo Rucabado. In
a d efensivc attitudc against l he inOucncc of forc ign archil eclu re, lhe Frc nch in particular, pOSlurcs were
held which S(:ope is sUll1 mariscd in Ihe ti tle of the cOllllllunicalion re:ld b y lhe arch ileCIS named above:
""Oriewafiol1sjor (he Rebirtb oj a Nario llalllrcbiWc/ure ". Some po i nts are Ihe source o f things S<..->(!Il in
lhe :Jrchilecture of l hose years in gener::!I ¡¡nd in posl al buildings in particu lar. One, fo r im,l:lI1ce, i n vites
~city councils o f provincial Glpilals lO follow lhe ex:tlll p le of thal o f Seville, I hal in order to p rom o te
regional style <:onstrucli o n has o pc ned a com p eti \ion wilh proper awards 10 bu ildings inspircd in the
lradi tional slyles o f lhe region "" O r another suggesling thal ~ d esign competitio ns initialed by Minislries,
Provi ncial Govcrnmcnts, Municipalitics and other public inslillll ions, india.lte preference for I hose
inspired in our nalional s lyles~.
Amongsl these !a tter, but nOI the leasl , was lhe Span ish [{enaissance slyle, the Plal eresque, "Iso
called "Monterrey" slyle, afler a Salamanca p:l lace ~looked al by U namuno '~ wilh patriolic emolion~
Ihal lenl ils name 10 a way of underslanding archileclural ornamenlalion amI furnilure tha! \Vas sarcasLically nickn:tmcd SpaJ/isb rem orse. When Carlos Galo \Van Ihe compeCilion for Iho.: POSI Office in
Burgos, ht.: \VrOle in his repon Ih:lt "Ihe design is inspi red in lhe Plaleresqul' and Sp:lIlish Renaissance
slyles, ada pled to \Vhal Ihe purpose of Ihe building demands, ils general Hnes follo\\'ing Ihose used in
m:tny 151h :md J61h cenlmy conslnlclions. o f which so many S;UllpleS :trI:: found in 1311rgos~. BUI Ihis
was nOI exac¡]y follo\\'ed in Ihe beaUliful building lhal W:1S ;lellla!!y huill :tS \Ve C;:l11 observe Io<l:ly.
This víew helps 10 beller uncl.::rstand Ihe Post OITices of Sa ragossa. ovr.::rtly in Mudéjar slyle, Ferrol,
\Vilh cle;lr region:disl inlention, and Palencia, where Ihe Pbteresque is ll~lnsp:m~nt. Those are Ihe years
when railway stal ions :mcl lelephone buildings try 10 fine! th:lI same local or regional sourcc. and :llso
Ihe years when polilics, lileratun.::, musie ancl painling exploit Ihe nalion;tlism-re,gionalism underlying
Ihal Silvr.::r Age o f Sp:mish culture.
Tlle p anellhat examined ami graded the prdimin:lry ;H1d IIn;1I designs and a\Varded Ihe prizes mUSI
have hecn a\V:tre of all Ihis si nce, in spile of lile conslrllctive simp licilY :md fun Clional ami adminislralive characler required for Ihe buildings, Ihe pand aCIU:llly yicldcd 10 \Vhal seemcd 10 plcast.: Ihe
Spanish sociely of lhe limes. The panel a\Varded lile region:llislll of Ihe Sant:mder building (19 16). Ihe
Ilisloricisl conccssions of Demelrio Hibcs in Caslelló n de 13 Plana (19 16). or Ihose of An:tsagasli in
M:íbga ([9[6). \X' ilhoUI dales, il would nOI be possible 10 undersland Ihe coh..:rence o f¡h ese buildings
in respeet of Ihc rcgionalisl m ovement , Ih:1I \Vas i)asL'<1 in inSlilulion:l1 buildings.
The panel Ihal aCled along lhis pericxl was ch:l i1"<.""(1 by Onuño as Di1"<."'Clor General of theMail and
Telegr.l ph. The Olher mcml~rs \Vere: twO senior officl.'rs o f Mail :md Tclegrapll appoinled by Ihe
Direclomle Gcner.lI, onr.:: arch iled and one cngin(.'Cr of Ihe same Dircclor..¡te Gencrnl, :m areh ited :md
le:lCher of Ihe & hool o f Archiledure of Madrid, :lppOintt:d by Ih;¡¡ &hool. o ne arch ilec..1 and fello\\' of Ihe
Roy:tl Ae:lclemy of Fine MIS, appoimed by Ihis inslillllion. l\\'O ;¡rchileclS propo$<..""(1 by Ihe CenlrJI Saciel)'
of ArchiledS, :md as secrelary, an officer o f Ihe satne Director.l\e General. \Vho !llay nOI spe:tk or "ott.'.
\Ve shall poi ni out. for gener'JI undersland ing purposcs. Ihat Ihe eonl eSla nlS knew Ihe programllle
condilions, wrin en by Ortuño ancl published on 12 June 19 15, dcfining I he inlernal poslal :md tek:gr.lph
configuralion Ihe bllildings \Vere sll p posed 10 have. \X'e will menlion here some of Ihe mosl relev:lnl
points Ih:]\ under no cirCUlllSl ance should be :tbsenl. Firstly, Ihe eletllems common 10 Ihemail ami
lelegmph serviccs, :lS a porter's ofllce, a large puh1ic hall wil h Ihe relevan! coun tcrs and windows (for
slamps, Idegrams, ele.), mltin :;t:l irway and a libr::lT)'. In Ihe specific mail arca. Ihe importan! piece \Vas
the brge cJa$Sification room. commonly c:dl baffle 1'00111, placed 1X:I\Vecn Ihe m ail boxes ;¡nd Ihr.:: dock
where lorríes u nload and pick up Ihemail bags 10 and from Ihe railway sl ation. Thc mail is sort ed in
I his Ixmle room, Ihal is :lIso eonnected 10 ¡he mail-carricf:') room , poSl e rCsla!1le and pOSI officc boxes,
these \Vilh (ll1IeriC{/1/ sZI'le pigcon holes. There \Vere olh .... r scrvices requiring thcir own sp:Ke, su ch as
money o rdcrs, Postal Savings Bank. Cusloms. idenlil)' c~rds, ele. The specifie lelegmph :Irea shall be
p rO\'ided wilh a largc Ir:lllsmin ing room "wil h amp.e and direcl lighting", :IS we1l as a repair sllop, a
room for Ihe cable dislribution rose, which enlry 10 Ihe building sha ll be llnderground, whencv .... r possibil' (in Ihe beginning Ihese were ovr.::rhead cables coming off Ihe lower Iha! c rowned Ihe bu ildings).
pub1ic Ielcpho nc eabin s (boolhs) area and a scp,mllC room from press telegrams, cqu iprnent testing
shop, and a b rge number of departments, cashiers, prívale o ffi ces and so o n. Lasl!Y, Ihe uppcr Ooor
was 10 have t\Vo hOllsi ng u n ilS for the Head o f I he PO:;I :md Ihe H ead of Ihe Telegraph, wil h ten rool11s
minimum eaeh, and IWO more fo r Ihe respective caretakers, Ihese \Vith only six rooms cach o
l.e6/1
THE CREA TORS OF 'fHE POST OFFICFS BUllDINGS
This general approach 10 Ihe POSI Office buildi ngs wou ld be incomplclc if sOll1elhing W3S no! saie!
aboul Iheir ::l fchilecls, as an epilogue, as il has u tmOSI imerest tO :Isccrtain Ihe youlhful cnlhusiaslll :mcl
professionalism shown in Ihe bce o flh is propasal by Ihe Governmenl. [ndeed. (rom Ihe firSI huge ~-bil
<lne! TelCgr::lph building. Ihe P:tlace of Comtllun ica tio ns in Madrid , a cr.::rt:l in freshness and zesl is pcr<-'cived in Ihe yOllnger general ions of archilecls, beginning wüh Ih:l\ Anl o nio Palacios \Vho \Van lhal
ardllOllS compclilion of 1904, only o ne yea r afto::r h is gra dualion . h \vas :lew ::l ll y his firsl importan!
undel1.aki ng, bUI if \Ve did nOI know il . \Ve \Vould Ihink il was Ihe work o f 11 more expcricnced archil ee!. as were olher unsllcccssflll part icipants in Ihe conlest. such as Carmsco. S;lldan:l. l 6pez Blanco
and o lhers.
The samc Ihing occllrred in Ihe firsl compelitions, w here \Ve II nd archilects like Zllazo :md
Fern{indez Quinlanil!a, gr.ldllaled in 1913, \Vinning Ihe conleSI for Ihe S;llllandcr POSI Ofllce in 1916,
159
Vi/ori{/
fl(1rcclOll(/
160
over Ihe proposals of local archilccl S, as Javier Gonzálcz de I ~illncho. o ldcr in age :lI1d \Vith prestige in
Ihe provincc. AJso Pedro Mugunlza 01a r10, Ihe same yea r he gr:ldu:III,c.-xI, 19 16, where 1ll0S[ of lhe C0111pCl.ilions \Verc held, was awarded Ihe POSI Qfficc of Murcia. [n [ 9 19, architccl Agustín Eyries, with only
Ihree years in Ihe profession, won lhe contesl for Ihe Ifuesea building, aml likc\Vise many Olhers. Sollll.'
eXlreml: sil ualio ns occlIfl'ed in lhis line, sllch as Th:H of M artin Corr:ll Aguirre andJosé Homero Soriano,
\Vho \Van Ihe conteSI fOf Ihe Ba(bjoz building 111(: s:lInl;! year Ihl.'y oblained Ihei r archilccl diplomas,
th:lI is, jusI afler compl(;!ting their final gr::ldualion (;!xcrcise, ¡hey wenl on 10 bcgin their profl:ssional
career Wilh a building for thl: Posl.
This youlhfulncs.s would explain in p:1I1 the faet ¡hat many enl ri es were signed by l,vO :lrchilecls, so
as la (1)' lO eomlx=ns:lle Ihe laek of eX Ix=rience by joining forces. So we have th(;! couples of P:lbciosOtamendi (r\'ladrid), Fernández Quin[anilla-Zuazo (Sanl:lI1der), l.u is Fcrrero-Jerónimo Arroyo
(Valladolid). I~i bes- Dicenla (Caslcllón), Corm l- Romcro (Ibd:ljoz), Gómez Homán y Vid al (C5diz),
Ferrcro-Díaz Tolosa na (Vitoria). Calx:llo-Garcí:! ¡\'l:irtíne% (Cuenca), Goday-Tom:s Grau ( Barce!on;I),
Dlá- Bona (Gerona), CIC. T hcse [C:Il11S o ft en wer<: formed by reason o f sehnol-lirne friendship nr farn ily l inks, as lhl: Guadalajara design, by ,-he brolhers tuis :md Joaquín Sáinz de los Terreros.
On Ihe other hand , many of Ihem p rescnted cntries 10 several conteSIS at Ihe same time , lrying 10
pass lhe ¡-wo compctilion sleps: p rclimin:11)' an d final designo This 18 Ih(;! case of Gal O Soldevilla, who
\Von bOlh Ponlevcdra and Burgos, whilsl Zuazo and Fcrnándcz Quint:milla werc awarded Santander
:mel BillxIO, o r Luis Ferrero Tomás, who c nlered ;¡]onc a design for Caslellón and logether w ilh s(:veral archilecls for Va lladolid ami Viloria. José Yarnoz losl Ihe Burgos <:om pctilion in 19 16 but four ycars
laler won in Salamanca, and conversely, Teodoro Anasagasti gOl lhe prizc for Málaga in 1916 and lh ree
years bler was dcfe~lIed in Vitoria.
This !:Irge nU1l1ber of archilccls and contcsts, Ihat were rn~I <lt: publ ic in lhl: Gazl:lte of Madrid , gcneraled an en ormous workload and bureaucracy, wilh deadlines, p rescnl:l\io ns, rcje<-1ions, dcsign rcvi sio ns rcquesled by the panel , Clc. Jus Ihink Ihal len prcliminary designs were enlered in the Burgos
compe[ilion, five in Palencia, four in Málaga. :In SO o n . ·J11is lX!rspeclive, we say, mUSI ha ve adviscd
Ihe DireClor..tl e General of POSI :md Tclegraph to relain a numbcr of archileclS 10 pul an end 10 lhe
com¡X:lilion syslem. I-Ierc Is where Ihe leam o f Joaquín Olamendi Machimbarrena and Luis Lozano
Losilla appean:.--d. Olamendi \Vorked wilh Palacios in Ihe design of the Central POSI Office in Madrid ,
w hile he was no yel a gmdualed arehil ecl, he oblainl:d Ihl.' degree in 1910 amI sen! an unsuccess ful
enlry 10 the Málaga com pelition (19 16) won by Anasagas[i. LO%:lno, \Vho gradu;ued in 19 18, also
cntered a d esign for M{¡laga :md did nOI win wilhcr. At any mtc, bOl h \Vl:re hired as assiSlant archilec!... by the Dircctor.lIe Gener..tl of the POSI, Lozano .. Iso joincd lhe Official Telegr.lph Corps, and
\Vorked emciently in a brge numher of projeels. lt should suffice lO mention :1 few of Ihe buildings
prcsemcd in Ihis Ixx>k lO have :In idea , nor only of Ihe quantil Y, but also lhe quality of Ihe \Vork done
by (hese IWO architects: G ijón (1927-50), Scvi lle 0927-30), Cordo"a (1931-34), Corunna (1931-34).
Santbgo 0934-47), Santa Cnl7. de Tenerife ( 1943-57) :lile! Gr.mad;) (1944-58>' As can be SL-cn by Ihe
dales, Otamendi ami Lozano drew a bridge lx=t\Vecn whal 1 eall first amI sccond gencr:uion of p ostal
buildings, separaled by Ihe Civi l \Xlar. \XIilh Ihl:Ír disappcar.:mec, endcd :llso lh:u lwin epoch, leaving
Ihe ficld open to you nger archileels. incrcasingly more dislaneed from Ihe pionecr spiril lead by Ame!i
Ortuño.
Finally, lct us say Ihat if 10 the panel members, where \Ve find Lalll lx:rcz, Bellido, Luquc, Cabello,
Vega y March, Ik pullés, J3ucn:lvenlU m J3assagoda, Auguslo Fonl , :111 eminCnl archi tccts of lhe lalc 19t h
century and carly dccades of Ihe 20lh century, \Ve add the tens of archilCCts Ih~lt p:111icip~ilCd in ¡he
com l)(:li[ions without winn i ng, in spile of lX!ing vel)' notable arehitccIs, such as !luig y Ca(bfalch in
Barcelona , and Ebdio [';Ifedo in I-Iu esca, we run into :1 rcally long lisl of architecIs ami archileclllr.:ll
slyles, all drawn and descrving being built, wllieh coukl be, al somc lime, su fficient sl imulus 10 under1~l ke a longer rcaching slud y of the highly nOtable ;Irchitectur:ll patrirnony of Ihe Post :lnd Tek:gr.l ph in
Spain . In effcct, n Olwilhslanding Iheir SI:I1 US in the property regislry, our country owns a posl :1I building heirloolll tha[ rep resents a page as brill ianl as unknown of Ollr hisl ory, the gatlwfS, m:my essences
of Ihe eultur::d gener.:uio n s of Ihe '98 to Ihe '27.
REFERENCFS
núm - \(). h:lk· \ aria,> \'1.'0...... )
y OlrO:-' ;llltOfC'" - el .tl.
C:n:í 1ogo .. CII,t!01-\Ue
15 de clH:ro uc 1919 .. 15 J:lnu:try, 19 19
Sevilla· Sc\i1Ic
TRA.l'l¡"SLATOR'S NOTES
11,lh...hurg drna"'l}" i ... I.:ommnnl}" refl.·rrcd 10 in Sp:tin ,t ... lhc Au.,tri:t:. .
norbom: ..., plur:tl of Borhón , i:. lhc dyn;"'I)' known in Engli ... h hy il.,> Frl.'IKh tUl1\l.' of Ik)urbon.
li"Q/(! ': I1lcan.., in Catalan Hhe \\ ho Iml'> H, :1:' in Engl¡"'h Htmtler
Pm1idas i ... ,t eompibtion of C.t ...lili:tn .md Leoncsc law ... ordCfl.-d by King Alfo!l'o() X Ihe \,\.¡<,(.. and
(.·omplell..'d in 126').
The 1110 :-.1 popular pl,lZ;t of old ,\burid.
Anll."riCI in Spain Illcan,> Ihe emire comincm from AIa.,>k;1 10 Tio.:rr:1 dd Fuq;~o.
Thi ... ¡..,tlll." ¡\ l ini..,II'Y of Infr:t ... tnIClure,>. Public Works. ctc. Agricultul·C \\;('" Ihen incJu<.kd. hUI no\\' il
b a :.epar:l1e ,\lini....ll")'.
¡\ Gral/ \ ·íl/, or Granel ¡\ "cml c, ¡... a fealUre of Ihe modcrn :->ection.... of many Slxmi ... h cilics.
Calle - :.lrCCI: /.)(1:;0)(>" JXh..... I~l.·\V;¡y: .. Ca/ll'iúlI - :tlley.
¡\'I igud de lln:tlllu no \\ :1:-> :t Ij;¡:.<.¡uc, ;¡ di-;tingu¡..,hed \\'riler ,md philo:.oplwr, Ikelo!" of I hl.' Uni\ cr:.il)'
of Salamanca .
·nlC
H
..
1"
16 1
MADRID
The N:uional POSI AdminiSIr::nion h:\d IwO buildings in M adrid that c une to be emblema tic of the
cil)'. Frorn Ihe 18th cen tuly the 111;¡in Post Officc
W:IS loc:i1ed in Puelta del Sol, in wh:u \Vas Ihen
ca11cd Casa dI:." Correos (Mail I-Iouse), now Ihe
omc\:: of the I'resident of the Autonomous Madrid
Governmenl. From the early 20l h century, the
cen tral POSt Office is in Ihe Pabcl.! of
Communications in Pbza de la Cibeles Ohe hub
of Madrid), preselllly belonging 10 the General
Secrelari:ll of Com munications 10 providc in its
central hall all sOr! of post:11 :lIld tekgraph s<::rvices. Architect Ventur::\ Itodríguez begun \\'ork
011 the firsl building in 1756, bul was replaced
four ye:\r5 latcr by thé French llrchitect Ja ime
Marquet, who fi n ished the building as it sta nds in
lhe prcsent time. Themail service anel adminis\I':Jtion in Ihe capital dty revolved :¡boUI ¡his
building, togelher wilh Ihe aeljllcenl Casa ele
Postas, linked 10 :!II the Spanish provinces by Ihe
Iclegraph since 1848.
Prompted by Ihe limilalions of Ihese buildings, Ihe Government decide<! 10 ca]] ~\ c ompel ilion for a new building. The design by Antonio
Palacios and Juli~n Olamendi \Von the comesl
(1905). being the site Ihe S:1n Juan Gardens, Ihe
J:¡st remnanl of the Buen Retiro. The final design
\Vas compleK-d in 1904. making Ihis building the
firSI I'OSI Officc of Ihe 20lh c<;:ntury, thm \Vas to
be followed by al! the others. The conSlnlclion
began in 1907 and o n 14 March , 1919. the b u ilding was solemnly open in Ihe prcsence of Ihe
King and Queen.
Professor C h uec~1 Goilia. \Vho knows the
building \Vell , as his father did Ihe C:llcu btions
for Ihe ~teel structure of Ihe lelegr::lph l ower in ils
cenl re, accuralel y defined Ih is building saying
that it looks "monumental, conceived as a pan of
the cit}'. Ihe Ooor plan being a compromise
be twcen symmel ri cal solulio ns and fre(.-dom of
layout.. The cenlral hall is a true urban p b7.a
pen etrated Ihrough arch es ... Ihe interior p):¡n is
open, dominaled b y a cross-shaped hall reaching
Ihe entire height of the building in the dOtllcd
central hall. On Ihe Ir..msept sils Ihe d oek l ower
as the bnlern tower of a r-,'Iedieval cathedral. .. "
This gave re:tSQn 10 the popular nickname o f Our
L:.tdy of lhe Pos!. Aside from Ihese m o re or less
:mecdolic aspt!cts. Ihe building breath es modernily and constnlclivc innov:llion in its exposed
fivc ted .slee! stru cture, and in delails relating il 10
the Vicnnese archilec[ure of those times. T he
sculplllral mOlifs by Angel Garda are highly
beauliful.
From 1980 10 1992 some reforms have been
carried o u t by Ihe Head of Ihe Archilectu ral
162
Scction . Anlonio de Sab-Nav:llTO y Revener. \Vho
also \Vas in charge of remodelling the buildings
of Seville (1990). Cordo\':! (981) , Gijón (1996)
and Gr:anada (1980).
COR UNNA ( A CORUÑA)
Amollgst Ihe sllrprising images thal can be found
in the old POSI Offices, the Con.mna ones presenls an e.x p ressivc r.:l\ionalisl :md fUllction:d
acccnl. In slead of searching for loe:ll colour in
Ihe drawer of regioll:llislic reSOurces, :lS \Vas
habilually done. Con.mna offcrs :1 ncw version.
Ihe re.-.lllt of :1 design produccd by Joaquín
Olamendi an cJ I.uis 1.07.:1110, arch ilcclS of the
Directol':Jle Gener::¡] of Ihe POSI, wha completed
Ihe plan sholtly befare 193 1, as Ihe building was
conslruded bel ween Ih:1I year and 1934.
¡\n impressive eXlerior dresses a stccl Stn.IClure. prob:!bly Ihe first eVt.:r c rectt'd in Corunn:1.
resling on wooclt:n pilcs drivcn into Ihe s:lIld. ;¡ S
Ihe soil, nexl 10 Ihe ocean, is a difficull one. lt
sits between the D:í rsen a (inner harbour) ancllhe
old Muelle de Hierro (iron dock). not 100 far
fr0111 tlll.' sile occupied earlier by I he POSI scrvices. in MontolO streel near Plaza de Marb Pita.
The n<;:w building. w ith :11·chitecl Antonio
Tenreiro Rodríguez in chargc of managing Ihe
wor ks. was conslructed in Ihe shon Alcalde
Manuel Cas~s strcel, be tween Marina :md Alférez
Provisional streels. In ils truly superb aspecl,
much of Anlonio Tenreiro·s talent is round. such
as Ihe exquisilc formal purily of the volumes,
:dl h ol1gh the creative trealment of su rfa ces
:IIII11CIS ('ven morC: Ihey for111 projecli ng planes
of highly slricl geomcl ry. :1S can be seen in ol her
buildings slill cxislin g in Ihe dI}'. designed by
Ihis Corunna architecl graduated frOI11 the ¡VI:!(lrid
School of Architectu re in 1919, :md the besl interpreter of r.:ilionalism in Con.l!ln::l.
T he interior, rcformcd in 1980, Slill shows
many dewils in Ihe 1\11 D¿co manner, :lS lhe
stain-gbss roof thal provicJes lighl 10 the rnain
hall.
In one word, an archileclUral je,veJ of
Span ish mtion:¡lislll.
V1GO
Berore Ihe presenl locmion , Ihe postal services
occu pied other buildings. never Iheir o\\'n. in
Príncipe and Vel~zquez Moreno streels. These
prec:1rious f:lci1ilics moved Ihe Yigo Cil)' COll ncil
10 consider a Ile\\' building when the ·19 15 Royal
Decree was publish ed. This Decrc.--e created Ihe
plan 10 buile! forty nine Post Offices in an eqllal
nUlllber of Spanish cilies, inclllding Vigo. The
amount allol\ed 10 Yigo was considerably higher
thall o lher Galician cil ies. such as Corun na amI
Ouren.sc (Ponlevedr::! had a just finisht..·d building). Ihis highcr budget W:lS juslific:d by Ihe need
10 scrvicc Ibe German and Brili.sh cables.
The plol o f Ihe old Cusloms \Vas not irnmedi:I\ ely avaibble. ¡hus del:iying ¡he c!esign compelilion Ihal \Vas nOl published until 19 20. The
panel chose ¡he enlry hy Ihe Vigo :u·chilecl
Manuel GÓ111ez It01ll:11l. gr.:tcluated in M:!drid in
1917. allhough he had been pr:Jclising ;¡rchilecItlre for some lime befare. :md so Ihis is not :\
work o f :in c:tger beginncr. bul the resuh of
lInhurried m:i1uril}'. as clearl}' shown by Ihe
building archilt.!cll1rc. The conslruction was nOI
approved until 1924. and contraclor Vicenle
Calderón wenl :thead \Vilh the works ri ghl away.
Afler lhe access through 111\.! new Reconquista
Slreel \Vas resolved. the building \Vas finaJly in
service by l\'I:lrch 1930. It also has a fronl tO
Sanliago str<:el and the enlry is placed in Ilw
chamfcrcd comer with : \ 11 allic and lhe COlllrl10n
dock in ::111 post:ll buildings.
The novelty in
rcspecl of other buildings of Ihal lime is that Ihe
archilccl did nOI lake recourse 10 historie or
regionalistic expressions, nOI even 10 Ibe eas)'
eclectic l:mguage, but ralh er showed a decidcd
\ViII to place ¡he buildi ng in Ihe moc!ernilY
daimcd by the funclion il was calleel 10 perform.
So, the architecture is sober and b:\re and his
main concern was lo open brge windows in Ihe
fas;ades Ihrough which the metal Slructu re is visible from Ihe outside.
ZARAGOZA (SARAGOSSA)
After bei ng placed in :1 modesl house in Refugio
street, corner 10 San Jorge slreel , not far from Ihe
important I)on Jaime Slreel thal culs through the
historie core of Ihe cit)', Ihe POSI service was
moved to Paseo de la Independencia, built on
the plol o f I he old Pign:i1c][i Theatre, next 10 Ihe
famOllS Sanl,l Eng rada Church. Antonio Hubio y
Manín, grad uated from the Madrid School of
Archilectu re in 1909, complete<! Ihe design in
1918.
This is one of Ihe clcaresl examples of Nco~
r,.·l udéjar archilecl urt! , ::111 epigone of hiSloricism
where , togelher with elcmems of obvious
Moorish inspiral ion. such :lS Ihe rhombi or se/JI.m
formed by illlercrossing arches. we see half-cirde
b:l lconies :l11d windows Ihal llave nothing to do
wilh slIch mOlifs or with Ihe alfiz fmming ¡he
tllain door. The emire conSlrUClion presenls :_
brge brick mass, lightened by sorne coloured lile
louches, w here a lim id conlraSI of masses is
observed in the caves ancl crenelbtions intending to evoke Medieval memories. T he ground
k·H.:1 ¡.., re~I\'l_"(1 with porchl."~. the :':II11e as 311
huilding .. in thb Paseo de b Independencia. set
fOl1h \\ ilh force by Iht! rep<:lition of half-circle
archl."~. :L .., in the rt!st of Ihe fa~:adc. for which Ihe
aUlhor of the T erucl P()~ I Omec b ft!membered.
T he huildir,g was upcned in 1926 and Ihe inlerior n.'fllfhi~hl."d in 1982.
VALENCIA
Aftef the Barrio de Pl."'><....ldon.::. (Fbhl.:rmen
Borough) wa:. remoddled. :md eOl11 lxoling wilh
Ihe Cil)' Hall on Pl:lza de Ca:-.telar - no", P:IÍ">
Valenciano-- thl.: p o:.tal bui lding \Va:. buill
belwL·o.:n 1915 and 1922. 'J1,l." de:-.ign \\':1"; Ihe
winner of a publie contesl hdd in [915 which
pand \Vas formed by arehilecI:. t ui:- I..andecho,
Vi<:t'nlL' Hodríglll:z. Fr.tl,cbco Alrnen:lr. Federico
Ayrnamí .tnd Francisco ~ I Or:.I, then lhree bst
n:uncd imolved in Ihl.: lame con"lf"\Iction projects
undcrt;lken by the dly of V:llend:1 in thl.: Ilrsl
qual1er of Ihe 20th cemury.
11,i., ¡ur)' gr.tnted the a"ard 10 Ihe yOll11g
Ar:lgone.,e architCCI i\liguc1 1\:1\·:lrro P..... re z, who
fir,,1 :Lth:nded tlle Barcelona Sellool, huI complcl ed hi:-. Mudies in Ihe ArchileclufL' 5(·hool of
l\ l adrid, ",hefe he gradual t:d in 1911. The Cornl.:f
stone \\a., bid wilh a grcal civil-rdigioll!'> ecremony,on 11 NO\'cmbcr, 1915. Thc \\'orks proceeded .,10\\ Iy :lnd \\ere fini.,hed 00 31
De(·ember. 1922, 111e omdal dedi<:;Ltion. on 1'-1
~Ia}". 1923, \\'a.-. allendl.:d h}' Kit1~ Alfonso XIII.
111e eXlerna1 a:.¡x.--a. b magnifieent. within tht:
edectic architectur.ll bngllage then in vogue,
wilh :-pcdal :lItention 10 Ihe clolllo.:-sll:llx:d 001:1mo.:nl .., ('f()wning tht: fapele o.:nel:-, :1 ... wdl :L!'> Ihe
nH:t;¡J lurr\:!\ for Ihl.: le1cgraph, no\\' d i"appeared.
:11 which fool \Vas the :l1\\'ay!'> pro.!M.!1l1 dock. Th ....
ar(hitcct, in hb repon . I.:x plained Ihe :-Iyle he
cho'oC for Ihl." huilding !'>ayiog thal il bdonged 10
a ~uoi\ef'>:11 :'1}'le of moderni:-ed Ikn:li ..sanec .. :
ft'pre!,>(:llling a ~,., vl."ril;lbll.: rt:\i\,1I of cbs...ic
.,Iyll..·... . ~
It aCIll:llly ol"X'y., 10 a frL'C-:lI1d-l."3S)'
compo.. ilion combinmg da ..... ic elemenb, !'>lIch a:-.
Ihl.: lonic (·olonnade of Ihe main fa("ade, ",i[h o[ h er-. of \'ague l:rench origin, huI alt 1xorfectly inll..'g l~lIed.
The same occur!'> in the imerior l¡¡rge
oval-:-.h:t¡"X: hall, whert: :m irol1"'Ofk roof and
excdJent !'>I:tin ~bss by .\ l:tumeje:lI1. creal """, an
:1I11ple and luminOll') :-.p:lce, \\ hich monumental
feding b enh:lI1cLxI hy Ihl.: 1ll:lrble columns ... urrmmding lhe hall. TIl<.· sCulplllre gTOup!'> o f lhe
faudt:. reprt.~ntíng Ihe five conlinenl:-. ,tnd allegorie., of:l .. hip :lI1d a locomoli\ c \\ere excculed
by Carlo:- Palao :tnd \'iClor 1lino.
MAlAGA
Thc Po.'>1 b identifictl in ~ I :'ilag:t b) 1\\"0 \ery differen! building!'>. On olle h:md. Ihe P:IM;!O del
1':1I"<j 1l0.: !'>ilt!, d:ning from Ihe fir!'>1 gener:llion o f
pO:-I:t1 huilding.'>. slill remain." and on the olher
h:II1c1, Ihc d l y is proud uf posse~.,illg (JI1C of Ihe
1110:-1 nuxJern Post Offiee huildi ngs in u ur cou n Iry. T he hhlory of Ihe Post in ¡\ I:'tlaga Ix:~ins \\'ith
the office th:lt exislLxI in :11' old building bcing
Iho.: nonh side of Ihe c:nhedr:t1. nHJ\ed in 1923 to
a ne\\ building. This \\,a., Ihe re.,ult of a 1916
COll1 lxotition wun by Te<xloro An:I ..:tga"li )' Alg:ín.
;ln :lrchiIL't-1 gr..ldu:ltctl from IllI..' School of ~[:¡drid
in 1906. The consl nlClion contr:lCI \\"a., :t\\"ar<k-d
in 191- :Lnd :-.ix ye3 r:-. 1:II<::r the building \Ya.'> clt:;diC:lled. Ahhough Ihe building b no lon\:!r u:-.o.:d as
a 1'0:-1 uffiel.:. il kccps al! [he feature!'> 0 1' Ihe pioneer !'>piL"it Ih:1I dfUVI..· Ihi .., lirsl go.:ner:n ion of
po:.tal buildings, ",here archileclur..11 hi .. turic :md
regionalht Irends timL'(1 Iheir fa(;:¡de~ and details,
'111i .. huilding. loc:ned in a prhilegL'(1 site
1"X'[\\"ccll the CU.'>lOms Il ouS\:! :md Ihe U:mk of
Sp:Lin, (JI' the ...'lme side of Ihe .,lfL'Cl :1:-' Ihe TO\\"1l
11:111. wa., ah:tndonL--d :tnd Ihe 1'0:.1 Offiee moved
to a no.:\\" 1\\cI\'e-:-torcy building on A\eni(b de
Andalucía, w h ich architeetllr:t1 image ha., nOlhing
10 d o wilh hi..,lory or Ihe area. tht: .,ame a:. Ihe
:-.t:1"\'ict:s pro\'ickd then ha\ l' Hule in comlllon
with tho:.e o ffl."red loday in lhi:. Olllllllllnications
:lnd 1)0.,1:11 S:l\-ings B::tnk Building, do.:.,ignl"Cl by
archilecb l.uÍ.'> Gon7..:ílez CntZ and Juan Salaben
S.mcho ( 198()). 1'\\"o diffcrenl period... t\\O diffe!"l.:nt ;lfchitecb, From:t gener..t1 ])lil1lh r:tÍ'>cs the
main Im\'l'r \\ilh lIniform fene.,tr:l\ion whieh.
l"X'hind prt:fah concrele unit:., hide., Ihe :.lccI con.:
(Jf il... stnlC!u rc. The w h iteno.:.,... nf il.., g('->Qmetry
Ihe deo.:p :-ea hlue of i\ 1:'il:tg:t :-ky, log\:!lher wilh
c:tre flllly Ihouglll out :.h:ldc." make il a Ifuly
lIn iqllo.: building.
AVlLA
Thc plot adjacent 10 thl' \\'al1., of the demolbhcd
;lk:l /.ar in A\ila \\a.'> initially planned for the ne\\"
PO:-.I :In<l Tclegr..lph b uilding. Architecl!'> ,\ liguel
de lo~ S:lnlo.~ and Jos':' Marí:t Le(!L,.,ma devo.:lopt:d
in 1930 :1 very interc:-lin~ de.,ign for Ih:1I sit e.
They arlk"u b led Ihe :;Iony ma.,!'> :tnd lile !'>ohl'rly
lurfl..·h.:d bearing of Ihe huildioj.: corner.,. all very
conlained. \\"ilh :-;ome hi:.lorici.,1 l'oncl.:., .. ions.
.. uch a., Ihe Illoulding around Ihe don~atL'<:1 \'OU.'>'>(li" of Ihe main entr:mce.
It dap!'>L'<:1 '>()me time bdore "I;lrting tht: con..Inlction, hut io tt diffel"l..'nt .. ilo.:, ;11-;0 hi~hly
ml.:anin!-:ful. :... \\"a .. lhe I:md 1..·;lr1io.:r occupied by
Ihe Bbhop·., Pabee, c!on:llo.:d by Iho.: ~ I inbtry of
the Interior in 1932. Thb wa .. I:l ..~e propcrty,
loetlly kno\\ n :IS Ihc Qld Pal:tce or Pa lacIO' of Ihe
1:30)' Kin!-:. on ",hil'h a l (Í{h cenl ury ponal ami a
comer windo\\' rcmained uf [he ruined building.
A portion \\'as .scgrl'g:lIed 10 h uild. hetwcen 19'18
and 1955 Ihe prcscnl PO!'>I and Tde~raph Qffiec.
Tht: old dc~ign \Vas diS<::lrded al1d a n e\\' one
cummb!'>iol1ed 10 Luis L07.:lno Lo..,ill:l. :trch itt!ct of
Ihe Di rl'clOl~tlc General o f Ilu: 1'0:-1 and
Tckgr:lph :lI1d allthor of otller building., huilt in
Ihu..o.: ycar.. a:- Ihe o ne in S:mla Cnt/. de To.:nl'fifc.
Lozan() deart:d Ihe :-.ile for the ne\\ building,
hUI he u:-L--'(I Mlme of the Renab....:mce palacIO' a~h­
lar:. :md lllaint:linL'<i Ihe h:me[some comer windo\\ ero\\ nl..·d by Ih\:! bi.-.hop·.'> :lrn¡.,. hUI pl:lCo.:d il
higher than \\ h:1\ it origin:llly \\'a~. in Ihe angle of
T()~I:Ldo :-.tl"eet and Ihe CatllL'dr:tl Pl:tza.
Thl."
cOlllpO.~ilion u f Ihe fa~~ad(: and openin¡..t.. i!'> !":.Ilhe!"
dull, in :-pile of the effort.~ made by Ihe designer
10 fil :t m onument:11 emr:tnco.:, Tile imention wa!'>
10 make it luok like Ihe numher of be:luliflll
doorw:!):- o.:xi.,ling wilhin Ihe dI)' \\:111.,. BU! thl.:
n..:..uh \\a., onJy half-\\'a)' :md the hi.,toricbl gc:-turc a failure, il.... weaknc.,!'> made more c\'idenl
by Ihe proxirnily of Ihl." C:ll hcdr:11 :md the VCI:Ld:L
paLlel'.
CruDAD RODRIGO
Themail .,I.:rvict: occupie!'> .. i11ce 19'11 :111 ole!
p:lbce, une of Ihe 111:111)' l'xbling in Ihe noble
dI). TI,i:. b tlll..' \':ízqucz p:llace dalL'(1 in Ihe
cad)' 161h cl.:ntllry. It ¡., a Ren;¡i,-~ancL' hOll.,e
\\'ilh :111 e.'iClItchL'On. slill .,ho\\ing Gothk" remini.,cence:-. :1 ... C:H1 be "el.:n in Ihe mOlllded door
fr:ulle ancl in Ihe main b:lkon)', bOlh i n a r:m::
cnrno.:r :-.olution.
The p!"esent :t:-.pt!cl of the building. thOllj.:h, is
due 10:10 im pon:llll rcform madl' i n 1923 hy the
rna.~ler huilder ~ b nud Ga rda FerrI.:Ím ret'linl.:d
h)' tilo.: th \:!1l ownl.:r" of the huilding. Don ~ I anucl
S:'inchcj'·Arjona y \'eJaseo. \\'ho \\"a., the mayor of
the lown. and ()oi'l:1 Mari:1 Bernaldo d~ Quir6:. y
Bu ..ti1lo, \\hv inhahilL'(l Ihe pabce until 1929,
AlthollAh Ihe I.:xlerior .trchi(ecturl' i .. ..oher
:md monoIOIlOLl". the interior .. 110,,!'> :1 fir"l da:-:eolour vilalil)' owing 10 Ihe pre~o.:nee of SI..·\'i1l i:LI1
lile :-heh'c!'> :md dado..,. In be!, (he !'e\ilh:: CCr:lI11ic faclol)' Viud a de Tova Vill:llb:1 provi(k el in
192j Ihe \\all-co\'ering m:neri:11. who.:rl..· blamic
in"pired pattt:rn~ are COlllhinL'(1 \\ith GOI h k :md
l:ul..'-ll1exk·rni-.¡ic molif~. :111 \\ ilh in :tn L'Cll'Clic
conce,,1 of .. hape and eolour. \lo.:XI to .,im])ly
ornamental .,hape:-.. pictorial '>('cnes of hunting
:tnd Don Quixol<" are indud(.--'(J, \\-ilh Ihe ho.:r:lldic
;lccompanim(.·nt of thc o\\ner.,· .. CO:l\'o of Mms.
1r1 on o f Ihe coffercd cciling., one <.~ 1l1 read Ibe!'>l."
1110110.,: "Alifes fJlIl! Dios ji/era Dios J' 10.\' /x'úascos
163
pcilll,\CfJ3, 10..\ Q/lilTÍs C'rllll Q/lir6s J' los l'elasco
I (.Jascos ", :1'.. \, •.,11 a.. I)"s!Jllés di' Dios. la casa de
QfliI'ÓS'~
O" lkfon: (iud
\\J"
Gol.! ¡md Ihe 1lX'k.. Ilx·k .... Ihe Quirú...
\H.·n..· Qllillh .md Ihe \eb'>l'o
(i(xl. Ihe h()u't'" 01 QuirÓ'>
\d;I-'(:o~ ..mO
aflt'"r
SEVU.LE
In an ah.... o lulcJy preeminenl pbct.'.:t.s i ... Ihb :>C<.'lion of Ih....· pre ...elll Con.slilulioll A\'elluc. in fronl
of Ihe calhedr.11 ami I he UJl/ja (dcaring hOll ........,).
no\\ Archi\e ... of Ihe Indie." a ,>pectacubr building \\,1' crcl"ll..'d 1X:1\\L!l..'n 1927 :lIld 1930. Ih:ll
look Iht· 1'....-la)' from Ihl..' old OIlC hou¡.;ing Ihe PO:;I
sl..'l'\'k ....· in San Aca,io 'Irel..'l. Thí:. W:I.s :111 int ..... re,ling 171 h ct·nlul'Y AlIglhline frbr... mona.slely
de..,e<:r:.lh.!d during Ihl..' May of Jo.scph 1 BOllap:lrle
in Sc\ilk amI h:ld h:ld .......·\(:r:d USl..':-' during Ihl..'
19th cenlul)'. induding Ih:1\ of main Pusl 3ml
1'clcgr:lph Oflke. 011 ,he occa..,ion of a ,isil of
Alfon,o XII I lO Ih:ll 1X::luliful building. :m:hilecl
Lui.... 1\I:lrí:l CIIx:ll0 1..::¡piL""(Ir.t W;L') commi, ...ioned
in 1911 to rduhi!i\;LIe il. whkh he did in an
l:xemplary manner :lnd lotal re.,pt'cl for ¡he old
:lrehiteelur:LI pieee.
liut tlt\.· dt)' ".h then preparing th(;' grcat
Ibcro-AmericlIl E..xhibition (1929) and thb aUllO.,phen: prompted to mm'e 1111.' Ptht OOlce to a fir.1
da ..... .,ile in Ihe m()~¡ reprcsl... nt:llh ....· mea of th<.·
dly. Ihl,:' old Atrolí de la Sal. that Ihe ¡\\unicip:llit)'
don:lled to the ~lin¡,lry of the Inl(;'rior (() build
the ne'" cenlr::11 p()~t OmCl:. The design wa.,
made, once a~:lin, by Joaquín Olamendi amI I.uh
Loza no. Aiving Ihe building:1 B:lroque-like cha l':let....·r. blll with m:Lny highly imere ...ling An Dél.'o
moulding'. dC::lail, :md orn:um:nh. The :Ixi.s of
Ihe 111:111' faClde eamc out Illonument:d amI speclaeular. '0 Ih:ll fur ~onlt' une llnawan.::. cOllld pass
;h ;1 \\ork of long pa':>':>ed lime.s. p:lrticubrly h)
Ihe \\ ay Ihl..' lriple enlr::lnee wa, Ireatl..'d or by Ihe
GIl"\'in~ nI' Ihe formi<bblc ",,,,clltchc::on placed on
IOp of il.
'01 le.,:- .,urpri ... ing b the huge t"o-.store)
high <:emr::LI hall. \\ ilh ardu:... on colllmn:-. whert·
1r::ldilioLl ami m(x!crniIY Jin.. logclher in an
adrnir::Lhlc \\ a)' and crC:llc :1 ,p:lci:¡] sequence
re:dly plea ...am :md llneX¡>t.'<.1ed . A COrlltT ...Iair\\a)' a... in a doi'ler link~ Ihe'>C l\\"O m.ain Ic\eb.
Durin¡..: Ihe rehahilit:llioLl works CLrriL"d OUI
Ix:tw\.'"Cn 19HB and 1992, Ihe large .stain gla.,s roof
of Ihe lull \\;\, pUl hac k again :md a grt'":1I can..
wa ... pLln:d in rel"\)\ering Ihe bl..':lutiful nllmlx:r of
grilb Ih:1I ell1lx:llisll\.'"(1 Ihe building in il:-. inilbl
period .
16-1
LOG ROÑO
11\e l.ogrono Po... t Offic....· an,\\er.. 10 a rigorouslr
h.d:IIK....·d ,tnd 'YlIlmclrit'al composition. ils "'Irle
cxpre",!'>(..·d in '\.·o-Banxlue lerm.,. But Ihh historkal COIl<.'e.,.,ion aOe<.·" onl}" Ih\.· ...kin of Ihe
bllildin¡..:. \\ here the moukling' and \\indo" trimming rqlCal thc ornamental ... Iu~¡"'hne ........ of olher
B:lroquL! "ork" 'e\ enhdc........ , beyond Ihb Tlusk
undcrlic .. a \\..:tt bid out architecLlIrc with eert;lin
..... pir::l1ion... to modern fllnclionalily. eman:Lting
hOlh fmm Iht· original de,ign and Ihe later eon,¡nl<.'lion m.Ln,L~eruenl ,
'\1ü... le:"\.. u." lO ...urnmarbc Ihe ,lrelchL-d Oln
COn.,lrllCl ion proec,¡.,. beginning with Ihe demolilion in 191M 01" th\.· ~,111 Agu,>,fn cOIwcm church.
Ihal g:IVt' name 10 Ih<.· plaza \\ here the pre:-enl
Post and Tcle~mph huilding ri.~c.,. By then Ihe
eorupclilion was .dready opcn irwiting Spanish
arc hitL'CtS 10 ,uhmit preliminal)' <.k·,i¡..:ns. Tht'
entr}" hy Cayo Ikd6n Tapir :lI\d Ibbcl Pérez
\ 'aldé:-- \\ ,L'" dl<N.·n 10 pa ....s lo Ihe' .sccond ph:""......
Ikdún \\3' .In ;¡rehiten ... ¡nee 191/ and ]:¡ter
IX:GLme full profe .....or 01' C:L1elllll~ in Ihe $<.·hool
of An: hilL'Cture of \1.ldrid. But it ...e ....·llb th:lI lhi'>
fin~d pha'o(..· of the compclilíon \\':" dt-cI:lrL-d ,"oid,
I\nr "¡I}·. Il1is dc,ign mtht han.· Ix:en left al Ihe
1110.,1 .,uil;lhle, a.... il \\ as e\ ....·ntually execuled by
thl' Rioja ¡¡rehill.'<.·\ Ag;lpito dd V:lile. gmdu:l1t'd
from the \Iadrid School in 1922 and ;11\ :Ls....cx:i:Lte
of C:.lyO Ikdún in hi, \1:ldrid offiee hetWt"'eLl 1922
and 192 t. Th ....·n dd \¡¡Ik- mO\ed 10 Logmño and
\\":1' eOTlHni,... i<lnl.·d to carry out the works of the
P(ht Qmce in 1<)2"', which he did lIntil thcir dedicllion in 1932,
Likc m;tn}' Other huilding:-- 01" Ihe ~:une gener:I\ion, thí:. of I.ogroi'lo (x·cupil..'.s a whole hlock.
Ihu:- :lIIO\\ing 10 div\.'r:-.ify the aeee.ssc.s. Ihe puhlie entram:e on th..: m:lin I"acade :lI\d Ih....· baek one
rOL' \·chicle... ancl Inading d<)(."ks. with emplo)'ee:-.
entr:mn.:'" on Ihe ... idl..' ~lrcel',
G RANADA
Thlo' l1r..t mail and Idegraph hou.se., \Verc in
Rl're... Católi<.'{).s "'In:et. in :1 plol Ihat disaplx:arl'd
"I\\.'n th ... halx:1 la Cllólica Plaza "as open,
·n\c ...e \,,-·re tlw )ear.. 01' a ch::ep urhan refonn thal
affe<.·led tlw \¡¡uhing o\'l,;r Ibe Darro ri\er.
\1:1l1iglU Bai,1 ..tr\.'"(:t .md Pm::!1;\ Ikal Plaza , ",here
Ihe ne\\ l'o~1 omc....· \\ a.. 10 Ix: huil!. 11 ... 1 :Uld~ in
a ~h:lrp <.·orn ....·r of the pbza cre;lIed "'hen Ihe
;11\::1 \\ ,h r\.·llloddled ( 19 11 l. t\rchilect.s Joaquín
Olamendi :md Lui... Lozano I..o.silla made Ihe
de,ign for Ih ....· huilding in 19 ¡] and the "'ork ...
\\"ere C;lrrk'd out from 1911. The conslruCl ion
'-;0011 r:1Il ¡nto rOllndation p1'oh1cm<¡ due lO Ihe
:-:lnd.. 01' Ihe l):lITO ri\'er Ih:11 run .... Ihrough Ihe :--ilt:
in ib \\:I) 10 111\.'cl Ihl.· Genil. :1l1d lhi.s dclayed fur
...c\er:11 }l..',u... th:11 fir..1 and c .........·ntial '\.age. Once
'01\1:0 Ihe prob1cnh. Ihlo' huildin!-( W:h uedicaled
un 13 Jun....·. 19SH.
Th\.· thr.....e b<':;ldc ... of the huilding ar....· Ir..:at ....'<.1
in the lypiC~¡1 d".sit· ...1)1<: of "pani ... h Pllhlic archi"-'eture in the '~,. I kre il i ... ha-.cd on pila,!e,...,
rlo',ting cm ;LIl impun;mt plinth crowned hy :m
attil.', in k ....'\.·ping \\ith Ihe cnlcl . discipline<!
lo'xprc., ... ion of tht· irbtitutional building~ of Ihal
time. 1'he u:>\'" of ... IOrllo' in ... harp-edged :hhlar,
:md rnouldings contrihull.·" 10 the monum... nlal
C h :LL~ l cler of the building. íb m:Lin f:K::lde empha.,i ... ed hy other 11\.:1' ....e' :110p in 111<...'" .s:Hlllo' "'ay Iht·.,....·
arcllitecb h;¡d don....' in olhlo'r po,lal huilding... of
Ih:1I rx:riod.
GE RONA ( GLRONA)
\X' h(x:\,cr ... trol\.. by \\"luI i., no\\ Ihe Gr.m Vi;¡
,Jaime l. "iIl hardl y 1>lhpcCI the :I\cnul..' i., \aid
o\'er Ihe I~ L lllpan Ih"l in medie,";ll til11\:.·') prote<.·ted Ihe \!creadal hOfOlIgh on Ihe other h:mk or
Ihe rin:r Onar. In one cnd 01' the :I\enulo', ne"r
Indqx:ndencc Sqllare and \\ith it ... b;LCk 10 Ihl'
rher, on th ....· ... ite 111:11 one ....· W:l':> the Figuem];¡
Bul"ark ... t,1I1<b the impo..,in¡..: Po..,t ;md Tl.·l ...gr:Lph
Qffiee
If \\e did not kn()\\ th(;' funnion of Ihe build+
ing \\lo' w(luld ¡hink it \\a.~ allothc:r in~lilutinn .
.,ince it look ... more lik<...· a DijJ/lttlci6n (provincial
go,"crnm\.·nt) or a O>url hou.,e. and dep:uh fmm
Ihe l"ommon ... I}'k· of PO,¡ Offke..., \\ith lo'\ ....·n ,1
dOll\\.'"(1 fa(":a de thal recalb :11\ a.stronomy ob~el"\:l1(1)'. Indeed. Ihe nobilit y of the huilding. it.s ",dI
h:lbneed 111:'" o n an irr<"glllar sh:lped plol. Ihe
sillcerily of exprc.,.,ion 01' Ihe Lll:lleri:d,. tlw
<.·olollr derÍ\cd from tht· cOl11hin;uinn 01' grey
1\ lontjuieh .stone wilh r ....·ddish brick. Ihe colllmn
fr::1I11ing of the cenlral haleon)'. the- e.sculcheon:--.
reHef~ and :-t:Hue... , rl\:Lke Ihis one of Ihe m01>(
nouhk' building... in Ihe dI). c\cn il bck~ Ihc
¡\lidd1c Agt: IXl tina or other dt) hOlLse~,
Thi~ POsl Omec ,,¡¡, included in Ihc city li ....1
of thlo' fir .... t 19 1:; p);¡n for po.,lal corl'>tnlction:--. :In
inilíal hudg\.'1 01' 29.\.'50 ¡:x::--eta, h;l\'ing heen
as..... ign\.-d to il The \\ork, mu ...l ha\ ... Ix.-tn undert:lken "el)' "'oon :Iftl·r. a, the)' ,,"ere finished b}
1920, Th\.' de.,igncr., wer....· th\.· Cat,Lbn,., Enriqulo'
Cal :í y Cat;1 ;lnd Eu.,d)io Bona Puig. gr:ldllaled
from the B:Lrcclon,1 S<..'hool of Architcl"tlIre in
1903 and I<)IS. rt:sJX.'<.1Í\·dy. who \\"orkt:d in 'llch
"'¡gnificanl hlli1din~, :1'" Ihe National Pal:lC<o" in
\loT\ljuich. ror ti\\.· 1929 Exhihilion. :¡nd the
Pedr:IIIx:., 1':1 1:1<:\.'. hOlh in Iltrc....·lona.
Arnong:--I olh..:r inl ....·rc'ting a'peets of thlo'
Gerona ]lo.,1 Ome\.·. de .......·f\c I\lenlion th\:.· reHef:-.
figures :md Olher slaluary delll\..'OIS dlK' 10 Ihe
not:lble snllplor Federico Marés, who inlerpreh:d
lile allegorics ;\nd ~ymbols in lile pure:.1 cbs:-.ic
and Medilen'anean Imdilion.
DONOSTI (SAN
S EBASTIlu~)
The 1\\"0 imponant building~ u~cd by Ihe ("enl!";ll
po:.tal scrvke of Ihis eil)' \Vere nOI initi:tlly <:onceived for Ihis purpose.
AClUally. bolh were
hefore Ihe munici¡xd School 01' Ans and Tradcs.
The firsl one \\':IS Ihe building Ihis School had in
Andía Slrecl corner 10 Garillay, in Ihl:: back oflhL'
Dipulación Provincial p.LIaCC Ihal prl::sides de
Pina de Guipüzcoo. in the he:lI1. of Ihe firsl
exlcnsion sector. Jos~ de: Goicoa \Va:. Ihe ,ll'ChileCI for ¡he School :tnd Ihe ael:lpl::l\ion \Va::. Glrril.:d OUI by ::Irchilecl l{amón Alela)'. 11 \Vas no
d oubl a belO\'ed building for Ihose of us \Vilo
knt:\V il before il \Vas dcmolishcd 10 unify Ihe
fronls of Ihe block. Thl:: "'Iyk: was ecJcclic, amI ;¡
good one, with a noble .~Ionc f::¡~ade ;\nd COI11bined order colunl11S running in its cntire ht:ight.
bUI il resullcd lOO ... mall ;md inadequatl' fro Ihe
funchon il perfonned unlil 1965.
In Ihis ye;¡r the pOSI \\'as moved, by:l whim
of de~tiny. lo Iho.: second Al1S and Trade::. School
building, in ¡¡ privilcged :11"e:l of Ihe d !y. al Ihe
b¡¡ck of Ihe Good Shepherd Calhedral amI Illaking a pair \\,¡Ih Ihe Provincial !-ligh SchooJ. Ihal
c101ied the plaza on ils soulh side. Thl' building.
although Ir::msformed 10 convert inlo posl:!1 fa cililie<; Ihe dr;¡wing, industrial mech:tni(·s. conslruclion malerial s. garmenl manufacture. horticullurl.:.
Cle.. c1ass rooms. lme! the museut11 :md libr::lry.
el e .. conserves inlacl il~ magnificent o.:xlerior.
Thc Hulhor of Ihe desig11 \V:I::' Ihe San
Sebastián :lrchÍlect Domingo Aguirrehengo:l,
gradu:ned in 190 1, \Vho \Von Ihe C0111pClilio11
o rg:l1lised by Ihe: munidp;11il)' in 1905 fOI" Ihe
I1e:W School nf A11.:; amI Tr::!(les. The comer sl onc
\Va ... set on 22 Janll:lIy, 1907 :lnd on 4 OCl oher.
1909, Ihe buildin,g W:LS considcred finished.
The fa~adcs, covered wilh local :.:lndSIOne
frOI11 Ihe 19uddo quarries. sho\\' :ln edecticism
m::lrked \\'ilh note:. fmm the ViennCbe SeCession.
o\\"ing [O Iheir venicllily. hUI Ihey coh:lbil wilh
elements of c1ear ltali:m hl)urce. as is Iho.: handsome relicf Frieze in vitrified ct!ramics. modcl1t:d
by Ihe expen hands of Daniel Zuloag:1 in his
shop of San .Juan in Segovi:!.
ZAFRA.
I n Z:lfr::1. 13ad:ljo% province, l he :.ervices of ¡\ !:til.
Tckgr:lph and POMa) S:lVing1i Bank are ioined in
:1 buildin~ tha!. although buih in the 'SO:.. :.cem~
to n.:l;lin Ihl:: former criteria thal guided Ihl.: con:-;truc(Íon of pOSI officl':-; b cfore 1936. WI.:' an:'
spc:lking of the Ixdanced \Vay lO arrango.:: Ihe
building :ll"Ound an axi~ 01' ::.-ymlllo.::lry, \\'ilh perfeclly compen:-':Iled mas:.es. bOlh in pbn :m deval ion. A f¡ vc-arch ponico opo.:ns in (he centre of
tlle main f:u;ade providing access of Ihe public 10
Ihc interior.
The buil ding. d esigned in 195- :ln<llocaled in
Plaza de Esp:ui:1 on municipal 1:lIld don:lIed 10
lile SI:lIC (1955), h:lS :111 aspcct of :ln 'lbsoIUle.
elemental cliscrelion.
The conSll1.Jclion COSI
amounled Illen 10 Iillk~ more Ih:ln fivt.: mili ion
pesCt:ls, :md Ihe :.ervi cL':' :md offices lllovt!d Ibcn:'
from ilb former borrowed location on 30
Novt.:mbcr. 1960.
CIUDAD REAL
This is Ihe youngesl of the Post ,md Tc1cgmph
building1i inc1l1c1ed hcre. blli1t in La ¡\bncha capit:tI dI}' in lhe cad}' ·90s, afler lile design 01' :trehile<:t Albeno Barbcrá plata:-; ( 1989). In the outside, brick and ::.tone pUl a plea!'ant nOle of
colour nn the elc:!r fa(,:ade:. "'¡Ih relicular ",ood\\'ork in Ihe windows. in kecping ",il h Ihe ll1{xl
lIlar intention Ihal overl:tys all pbnc:. and masse:.
of Ihe building. Tlle prcsence of brge vertical
....pan:. of variou¡., I1cighls anu proportions is vcr)'
ch:lr::lcterislic of lho:.e yt:ar:.:. as ",eH as Ihe ;unple
]¡nld~ Ih;ll Sll ppOrt noth¡ng. bur are lIseful 10 provicie conlinuity lO adjacent volu111es, so conIribuling 10 ;l ceJ1a in :-;¡;¡ge setting of :lrchileclurc
ilself. as if Ihey \\'crl.: thl':l\re nies.
Allhough Ihe building consisls of b:lscmenl
and six :-.lOric::.. nothing allow~ 10 rclld Ihis from
Ihe ou¡:;ic!t:, :1:' the br;:Ldc b conceivL'd as ;¡ sin gle, indepcndent elt..'menl Ihal does not renect
Ihe dif fen.'nl leve].." Some feature::.- of lhe Ciudad
Rc:d dcsign are somcwhal peculiar \Vhell
¡malysed from :¡ hi:>loric vic\\'poinl. for cX:lInple
Ihe carpa rk in Ihe b:ISclllcnt. Thi¡:; \\'a:. cxpressly
forb¡dd<:n in tlll.' firsl pO:.1 offices. as the vibrJlion
ofthe mOlors di::.lurbed Ihe lelegr::lph equipnll:nt.
[n [um, Ihe building beh:lviour n.'garding sclvicing the public i::. rcsolved :b usual: a Iarge hall
arOllnd which the enlirc building re\'olves, Ihi:.
one co\'ero.::d by ;¡ gbs~ cciling providing light.
A:. in Lhe old times. one finds Ihere Ihe more frcquentl y uso.:d COllnler~, :lIld Ihe ::.Iairway le~ldi ng
10 tl1e office:. in Ihe upper O(X}f:>.
SANTA CRU Z DE TENERU:E
After Ihe old Custom IloL1se \\":1:. demo!i~hcd in
19"13, and to c'ontrihllle 10 Ihe mOllulllCm:tI Ch:ll':lcter Ihal \\'a::.- lo he dcvdoped :11'ou nd Iht: l'la za
de 1:"p:1lia. formc<.l on Ihe silc 01' Ihe disaplX':lrcd
Ca:>!le of San Crislóbal. Ihe POSI and Tclcgraph
Office \Vas blli1t on a 1"101 Ihal Ihis Ilmc was nol
elonalcd by Ihe ¡\ltl11icip::llil)'. bul by Ihe C:lbildo
Insular (Jsbnd Guvernm enl) inslc:ld.
The archilecl \\;IS ¡he ;" ladrileni:!n Luis Lozano
Soldevilla. :¡ Illelllber of Ihe DireClor::lle General
of lile POSI amI aUlhor or olhcr POSI Offict:::.. sllch
as Ihose of A\'ila <lnd Gr.anada. Thc :lLllhor [ried
lo eslablish in Santa Cnl% de Tenerife :1 form:tl
rcblion¡:;hip wilh Ihe t:difices sUlTounding his.
the Cabildo In:.ubr, by architecI José Enrique
;" Iarrero Regalado. who had 111:1de pr('\'i()u,~ly a
dcsign for :L Post Office comm issioned by Ihe
l~land Governmenl. and o lhl.:r major buildings.
slIcl1 ns 11ll.' H Olel OrotaV:l, the Círculo Mo.:>rc:111I il.
Ihe Casino, etc. Lozano recurred to a b:lSic dassicislll ancl. in lile grollnd Ooor, 10 Ihe S:lIne
Gr::lnaJill:t Sl o ne: Ihat can be seen in the conliguOllS buildings thal sil with cena in aUll10rity along
Ihe sea-fronl promenadc.
Lozano's design \Vas daled in 19-'3 and 11lJ"{~e
yt::lr:<i lalcr IllL' \\"ork.s \VefC in full coursc. Tbe}'
\\"ere finishl::d in 1957 lInder Ihe dircction of
arc.:hilecl T omás t. l:ich:ldo. intcrvcning :dso
Enrique fhl11lL'u de Arma~ in Ih(.· lasl ~Iagc.
The five-::.-lorL·y building wilh a grc:H ct"ntr:tl
hall fo r Ihe public ha::. a rcinforccd concrelc
::.-11l.1Clllre.
The f:t<,:ade:. :11"1.: covercd wilb Iht:
ahovc 1l1t:nlioned Gr.IIl:1dilJ:¡ Slone, fmm Ihe
:.oulh of Ihe is1:tnd. :md :Irtifici:!l Slone. T he bct
lh:u Ihe building 1::lkes up :1 full b lock allo\\'s 10
org:lnbl.: 11lc access separatcly,
The public
enlr:111('e is on Ihe fronl fa~;¡de. the enll")' for Ihe
employees and Ihe hou::.ing unils ror ::'Ol11e oft1cel":> is on 13r::1\'0 ¡\[uril lo and Gem:r:¡1 GUli0rrez
Slrl::eb, and Ihl.: lo:¡ding d(}("k i:. IOC:llc d in Ihe
back :ll1ey. propcrly n:l1lled P:l:<i;¡je: de Correo~
( PO::.I p:¡ssageway).
LAS PAUtAS D E GRAJ·: CANARIA
On Priml::ro de ;"1:1yo Avcllue of L:L~ Palma:; in
Gra nel Canary island, .sland::.- one of lhe mosl
char..lcleristic 1J o::.t Office 01' Ihe ·6Os. one of Ihe
fir::.l thal hroke \\ ill1 b0 111 Ihe moclc! 01' Ir::1dilion:11 and 111:11 01' public archilectllrc lben in vo,gue.
Indeed. architecI Luis G;\mir buih, IX:lwcen 1960
and 1962. Ihis Canari:!n POsI Officc ll."ing :¡ h:Jre
functiollalbm in it1> .slruclural grid. m:lybe
inspi re<:1 in some Ilalian ralion;¡listic model:<i.
TERUEI.
The Com!llunic:llion.s P:llace, :-;0 \\'a." Ihis .,;implc
building Lhcn c:¡lk'd. \Va::. built on Ihe land \\ here
Ihe city Ihe::l1re :<[ood, ~()me\\' h:u wilhdr:'L\Y11 from
165
Ihe mO,,>1 :IClh'e p:lrt o f Iht.' cily, a.. \vas crili cised
i n ¡\!:lfch 1930 Ihe local magazine Esfam/xls
"/iun/el/ses \\hen i nforming alx)u\ il:-- dediC:.IIion:
~ h 1:-. a p il )' Iha\ Ihe dark place wherc Ihe il b
IOC::l1ed doc.. nOI pro"ide Ihe ~ph::ndoll r Ih1:-,
heauliful building o f nux lern Terud ju~tly
de~ene,>~. In Ih:1I d:III.'. IhOllgh Ihe lek'gr.:lph :-;('rvice arca \\,:1., ret 10 Ix: cornpk'(c{l.
The O....., dala \\ e ha"e al){)ut ,he conslruc.:lion
bcgin \\ ilh Ihe don:uion or th o.:: J;¡nd 10 Ihe Slale
hy Illt.' i'llunidp:llily in OClober 1915. 1110.:: dale of
¡he de~ign ¡~ lenl:Hin.:ly 1922. :md Ih,,-' :mlhor of
Ihe de~ign ma}' be Enrique Huhio. Thi~ de~ign,
in racI. ha:-. n.!:-.t.'mblance wilh other Tl.::ruel building:-. by Ih:lI :Irchilect, like Ihe Ca~ ino in Plaza de
San JU:1Il ( 1922).
In o lher \\'orcls, Ihe postal
building was sim i1:tr in mal eri:ll~ and forms 10
ol ho.::r cil y con ..,lruclion.... T hen: is common Ihe
hrickwurk :ti lirlle~ wilh in rubble :--tone frall1 e~,
and largl.:: :m:he:. in Iheir difTe fenl It.'\'c\:' , The
rnain fa (,.'adl.' 01' Ihe huilding. on Y:lgüe de Sala..,
slreet, ~h{)\\'s Ihc abilil}' of Ihe archilecl \Vho,
",ilh fc\\' malcrial n::-.ource:.. wa .. abll.:: 10 makc
Ihe lllosl of h rick. "ilhoul falling in Ihe Irile
regionalbrn 01' h¡"!orici~t wa)':-.. Each of ils three
noor:-. :m.: Ire:tled d ifferently. in sollle C:t'>t::.
ex pres:.i ng !he ex!r:ldo.s of the :ll'ches, m~lking
Ihelll nu .. h with Ihe f;¡(";Kle in OIhcr C:lSL'"S, :lnd
n:du<:Jng Ihe higher une.s Wilh rCSIX"(:1 of Ihe gener.ll plane. SOllle hrick p:meb in Ihe cornen. :md
:1 hrick band n mning Ihe l!nlire heighl of Ih(: four
f;¡~ lde.s. changing dircction al certain points. arc
Ihe only d l.'cor:lI i\ e freL-dtlm~ Ihal Ihb r.llionalisl
bui lding ;t11(),,:-. il:.df.
Thi:-. mainly funclional concept oflhe.! building
is :11 .." per(.'c1ved in il-,' interior bUI. although 10
lile eyc:. of !ht.' 19.10 u~crs st.'e111t.'d o f Ihe "rure.'>!
good ta .. lc and COI11 (O I1 ", w:t:-. Ihe objecl of a !olal
renmalion in 1992.
CORDOVA
The Posl Omce i .. no\\' in Cnlz Condt.' :.trcet.
madc in !hb ccntury lo CO/l n('(:t Ihe PI:tZ;t uf
Claudio i\ l:ircdo and Ronda de lo:. Tejares SlrL"C1.
impo.sing a " ide '>Ir:lighl :t\enue urban sollll ion
:11 Ihc cxp('n.se of de.slroying Ihe defence worb.
windi ng :llle)'s and hou.,e~ of Ihe i\1t.'die\'a l
hlamÍ(' pa:.1 of Ihb horollgh, The po:.tal :.cr" icc~
Ihal once \\el\,: in :1 bu ilding :11 Ihe 10\\ end of
Alllbm .. io ¡\lor:L!(' ....lrL"t'l , were moved 10 Ihe :o.ile
lhey occu p y no\\', i n Ih(' chamferl.'d corm:r of
Cnlz Conde ane! Romero Hoblt.-do :.trcels.
Thi., ¡., Ihe :-.:tme cond ition Ihal occllrred in
G r:.mada . The urban reforlll allr:lcled :'>ever:11
public M::rvice,s to Ih1:-. art.':l or Cordo\':1 lo be
in:.lalk'd in r,ew building... crecled on Ihe !:tnd
166
plol" ~ent.'r.lI L'(1 by :-.uch rcfonn, Fo r Ihis building. agaill Ihe ard¡ilecl" Joaquín Ol:lmendi :lnd
Lui .. I..()/..tno of Ihe Direclor.lle Gener:11 of Ihe
PU.s1 dCH:lo lx:d in 1930 a do.:::--ign o f \'c l)' st:\'ere
char.K1er .lIld solid :Irchileclurc. ",ilh Ihe public
ent r:HlCC o n Cnl/. Conde ~If('el \\hile "chicle..
r('al'hL-c! Ihe loacling dock:. Ihmugh Ihe brge arch
of ROlllero Ro hk'do .,trí...c l.
I:ERnOI.
The \ery aur.:¡cth·e PO:.I and Tí...'legr.lph b u ilding
in Ferrol lake., up (lIlí...' of Ihí.." mo.sl unique blocks
of Su:mce., A\enue - :11-.0 called Abmeda- in
Ihe ,Jo fre The:llfí..' e:-.pl:m :ld e. The designo by
:uí..'ll iwcl Agu:.líll Eyrit.'s, is dale.!d in 19 18. bullhc
OireClor:IlC Gener~ ¡[ 01' Commun icatio ns did nOI
nOlify Iht.' Ferrol Cily Counci l il~ :lpproval for Ihe
l'on.,lruc!ion of Ihe building unlil ¡\la y 1929, The
m:lI1d:uory local l n spt.'clio n and j\ lo nitori ng
Board wa:-. formed Ihl" following JUIlC, 10 dutifulIy meel í...'\ 'ct)' mon!h in Ihe To\\'n 11:111 to conlrol
!he con.sl nlClioll. Thl.' work., openl.'d 0 11 15 Jul}'.
1929. afler Ihl.' conlr.lct \\:1 .. :IW:lrdl-c! 10 Juan
Bouzón Figu(-'roa. for a 100al of 116,096 peM':la:-.
:md 61 cen!~ .
T he CQn.,l nlclion m:magl.'menl W:IS undcr
Pedrn \larii'lC) unlil hi., dcalh in 1931. when Ihe
l:t<;k p:b~-d lO Ihe h:lTld.. of anOlher grC'.l1
G:¡lician :lrchil('('1, S:lIll iago lky Pedreir.:l, who
cornpleled Ihe huilding in 193/. althollgh ¡he
fin :t1 ;ICCepl;IIlCI.' did nOI lake place unlil
Occemlx:r 1939, Thi., i":1I1 :m:ht.'lypal <;:II11ple 01'
Ihe habnct.'d la youl of PO:.I ancl Tde~r:lp h building:.. ; l ~ if Ih:1( ...)'mmell)· in Ihe arr:lI1gc t11l.'nl of
mas:-,e.,. opening:.. adornmenl:-. :Illd olher elemt.!nl~ forming Ihe IWo h:¡[\'e~, repr'\:."!)cllled Ilw
po:. t -ldegt~l ph duali!}',
From il ~ main fa,ade,
1\\'0 lowered hlock., emerge. in:-;ide \\'hich Ihl.'
:;t:li..... lO read1 tlw llppcr noor :lre placl.'d .
1'0I1ico..,. ()\'erhullH C( Jfl1Cr h:lkon i e~, broad e:l"es
and olher Sollllion ... taken or :lda pled from Ihe
Galici:m \'CrnaCULlr archileclure, a:. can be M.'en
in tlw silk' f:I(;:lde.,. m:lkl.' up one of U1t.' mml
i mercsting Po... 1 huilding.. of Ihl.' .,erics WL' :-.ilJ cal1
n:glonali .. m rt.'\ hal. althou~h il:' complclion \\';¡~
ddayed a.. .,.lid alxl\'e .
Il()NTEVI~ DRA
' l1 li~ i .. Iht.' fiN impon:tlll po.sl:ll building made in
Galicia. It .. Iand.s in Ihe comer o f wh:H \\ere Ihen
Ihe highlr .U1imaled hll~ine .. ~ .slreí..'I.., of Oliva :lI1d
Garda Comha . \ ery ne:lr of Plaza d e la
PI.'rt.'Hrin:1. Tho.:: building wa:; de~ign ed by :111
:l rchilecl from i'l lad rid. Cario:. GalO Soldev i1la.
gr:ldU:llt.'d in 1907, wllo had Ihe ([¡~Iw i ngs rcady
b y 10 Augll.,1 19 13 and :1\ Ihe .samc time \\':t~
preparing Ihe d e:.ign fo r Ihe Burgos Po.:,1 :Ind
TeleJ.!r:l ph amce, I le \\'a!'l able 10 1ll:lke Ihe 1ll0!)1
OUI of:1I1 irre¡..tubr .,haped plol. p 1:tcinJ.! Ihe main
l:ntr:lncl.' in Ihe í..'orller Ihal \\:1" m:l de inlo a
Ch:lTllrer. I Ie :'Cl.'m:; lo have doní..' an effon 10 lie
Ihe t.'xlerna l ;¡ " lx'Ct lo Ihc archite{'(urc 01' Galicia.
huI the í..:'clecl ki'>m \\'ith GOlhic r(':.onances USí...-'d
here h)' Ca ri o:. GalO dnc., nOI come OUI 100 [ocal.
althouJ.!h b jU,>lificd by c!imaclic cun:-.idemlion:;.
In Ihb re~pect, '>!>!HC p:tr:'lgr.:lph:. of Ihe archilecr~ repon It.':l\'e few dOllbl~ as 10 Galo':,> intenlion.,.
~As Ihe miny \\C:1Ihl.::r requires highly
slopcd r(x)f:-.. :lnd ¡., si milar to lh:1I of Fbnd,,-'r.;
ami Ihe enlin: nonhern Euro¡)C ~lrí..': 1. where pt.!r:.isten! r.:¡in:-., :.Irong \Vind:. ancl rrequent rog:'>
make ;t :I(l\i:;a11le 10 rcd ucl.:: Ihe o pening ~iz(':-.
and fadlilale waler run o lT from Ihe roofs. Ihe
alllhor Il,I~ found reason:l hle 10 find inspir:llion
in I he 1110...1 char:lclerislic buildings 01' those
rl.:gion:., w hich :.Iyle c;mnOI be absolulC[Y defin ed
;¡~ forcign. since !he be~1 con~tnJCli o ns of the
Flemi .. h Ikn ab~:ln cc \\'(,'re el rril,xl OUI during Ihe
Sp:1I1bh d orni nal ion. It b. therefore, a 1r.:It1!)itioll
.,Iyle IX:I\\t::cn Ihe GOlhic :md Ihe J{en:lissa nn.',
Ihi., 1a~1 dominalin~ Ihe arr.mgenlent and lile fir:;1
Ihe delai]." :111 adapIL'{1 10 Ihe modcrn net.'{b :lI1d
thü:.c of Ihe huilding, "ith a vcr)' ..oher orn:ll11el1l:lIion in"pirL-d in Ihe i\1iddle Age r.llionalbm.
",herí...' form i.s ;1 1\\ .Iy:' :1 col"'equ ~ncí..' of Ihe í..'onMntcth'e fllnc(io n ~.
'J11t.' works \\ere :1\\':lrdOO in 1915 10 Ihe
¡\ bdrid C()T1 t ~lí..'t o r C:índido C:ls:lld elrey. who
undcnook 10 c.l rt)' Ihclll OUI for 3 18,967 1)t:~l.::l a., .
The conMruction IX'J.!:ln in 19 1'5 :ITld wa:-. finished
in 191-:'.
G ijON
Among:.1 lile m:lI1)' building.., d e:.igned :md ex\..'clllt.'d by Joaquin Ot:l mcndi :lnd I.uis Lozano,
archiIL'{·I:. for Ihe Direclor:lle Gener:11 01' Ihe 1'0:.1,
\\e fi nd Ihe Gijón 1'0.. 1 Offií..·l.'. Allhough Gijón i~
nOI a provincial ca p ilal. \Vas indu{k'd in Ih('
nop[ Order u f 1908 :1 .. :ITl (·xccpl io n . logclhí...'r
wilh Can.lgena , \lahón. Heu:., Vigo :md La~
Palm:l').
'\'c\t.'nhclc..., Ihe building look ~omo.:: lime 10
he under \\ .1)', .. i nee Ihe design d:tle b 1927. l1w
\\ork.,. :I\\arded 10 contr.:IClor COll',latll ino
Cada\'ieeo ~1cnendcz. bcg:m (In 1 Junl.::. 192:8 :11
:l gcxKI¡XICI.' and \\L'rc finbhed on 13 ¡\ 1ay. 1930.
So. in 1"0 }'ea r ... a fine L-'difke \\':I~ L'rL'Cled in 6
dc t\go:.!O :.qU:lre, in Ihe ct.'ntre or Ihe cit)'. \Vi.:
Ond in Ihe huilding dCla il., of good la~le t.'xel·utL'{l in ')IOl1e. lendinJ.! 10 reca l1 some aspccls of
Tl1:tTlnt.'ri.-.1 :lrcllilccl ure. I n Ihe Pllhlic entrance 10
Ihe grcal hall. wilh plcntiful n:l\ur.ll lighl entt:ring
Ihrollgh Ihe gJ;¡zcd roof. \vc admirc Ihe marhlc
Meps and lhe forgcd iron p:mle. The esculcheon
on lhe d(X)f\\ay. 0[1(;: of Ihc f1nesl 11l3de lh o~e
ycars, h;¡~ fortllnalcly nOI been :dler<:d or
removed.
An in-d<:plh interior rehabililalion was ('arried
Out in 199{), reinforcing the SlruClure and changing Ihe old spacc layoul 10 adapl 10 11lL' ne\\'
rcqllirt-'nlenlS of Ihe cOlllmunicalions services.
PAMPLONA
Although il is \cxby asphyxialed by high-rise nal
bui1ding~. lhe PO.sI ami Tc1cgr.:lph building of
Pamplun:1 i.s a fine example of Wh:11 we can call
postal archileclure. It occupie~ 11 whole block on
Ihe soulh side of P:lseo de Saras:l\e, comer 10
Vínculo ...1rCel in Ihe firsl !ine of \Vh:1l \Vas lhe
enlargemerll 01' Ihe dI)' in Ihe early 20lh century,
fa<.:ing Ihe i\k<.!icv¡ll borough of S:tn Nicol:is. The
Vínculo name 01' one of Ihe sidt: Sl rCeb rcmimb
Iha\ Ihe building 1:lke.s up :1 p on ion 01' Ihe plul
bc!onging 10 one 01' Ihe 1ll0~1 relev:lnl and presligious local in.sl i\lllion~, Ihe Vínculo, Ihe p l:1CC
where lhe bread \V:ts h:lked as :1 municipal
l11o!lopoly sincc the 16th cenlury. Thal pon ion
of Ih<: pl"t \Vas sold 10 Ihe Slale in 1918 for
68.000 thous;.lIld p(!scla~ 10 build Ihe ne\\ PoSI
Officc:-. and lhe relevant half of Ihe Vínculo W:I.S
dcmolished thal .'lame y....ar.
The ck:sign w:t~ made in 1919 by Ihe i\ladrid
Architect Joaquín Pal L:.lpona , gr:.ldu:lled in 1905.
\\"ho \Vas :lble 10 :In;ommooale in Ibe \"olunll's,
maleri:lls and expressiol1 o f the building :1 cCl1:tin
Pa mplone~e spiril. The mOSI signi fical1l e lemenl
of the discn:le fa0ldL' b the Nl!o- Ibroque pona!.
slighlly .sL'1 back rd:uive 10 Ihe laleral budies and
made wilh of good C]u:llily quany Slone, \Vhils\
Ihe sIricll}' fllnClional windo\\'.s o f gcncrou~ siz<..:
in Ibe ~ide f~l<;,aclt:s are no\iccablc.
Slone
csculcheons sland out on Ihe brickwork background of Ihe main naor. A b:\ck a1ley provides
;ICCCs~ to Ihemail b:lg IO:lCling :md unloading
dock. ThL' inlCrior, :lS usual, is dominalccl by a
brge public hall lil lhrough Ihe roof. ils stnlClure
supponecl by rom piles. Ihe w ho le conc:dved
\Vilh Ihe &1.1111;: diserele spi ril Ih:1\ presides Ihe
building.
SEVIl.LE. (ClDEP)
In Ihe Seville Univer:-;al Exhibition of 1992 a
numeroll~ group of pavilions mel in La C:lrtuja,
01" which only a ft.·w .sllrvived l/U;' eonclilion of
ephL'1l1era/ archileelllre conck!mn<..:d 10 Ix; clernoli:-;hed afler Ihe show was closed. Some of Ihc
sllIviving o n <..:~ \VerL' disassemb1ed ane! r\::~ls:,..:m­
b1cd dsewht:rc. ane! olhers remain in Ih..: .s:l me
p!:tce. Among.sl Ihe Ihose 01' risky innovalivc
archÍlt:ClUre \\'e can sli ll see ill si/u, is Ihe pavilion of Pucl10 Ricu Free SI:lI..:. designed by Pueno
Rican archilcclS Sierra, Cardona and Ferr<:r in collabor:.lIion of lh<: St"villbn Itioja $mdio.
ThL' building was pUfch:ls\"d b~' lhe Spani sh
Post in 1993 :md is a pan ofwhat has bcen c;dlcd
Clt1uja 93. a corpor:.ue cst:Ue de\'oled 10 R+D.
Private and public eoneerns have laken :Idvanlage of Expo '92 building.'> 10 set up Iheir facililies. M> saving some .significanl pa\'ilion.s, like Ihis
on..:. now canvened in a Cenlre of Pn:-.I:d
Ikse:lrch ami Devt:!0plllcnt (CID[P). The p:lvilion \Va~ acbpled by archileCl Inlllaculacb I\ kstr..:
Súnchez. respecl ful of Ihe original line~. save for
sm:dl ch:lIlg<:s Ih:lI do nm affeel Ihe ovcrall
de-;ign.
Thc noor plan of Ihe proj,,:cl consisls of 1\\'0
very .simple geomelrÍl' forms. a circk: and:1 righl:Ingle triangle, from which a cylinder :lnd :\ prism
gro\V up. The expo.sed m :lleri:lls. slonc. c:oppcr
shecl ancl glass. projecl :111 imerc.sling highly
impn.:s.,ivc im3ge nI' Ihe archileclure of t h .... ·90s.
Th..: cyli ndcr contains Ihe brgcr spaces. as :m
exhihÍlion g:llIcry anc1 an audiloriulll ahove il.
whilsl Ih" Iri:lIlgular based prislll llOuses in ils
difft.!renl noors Ihe leaehing facílili<..:s, aside from
lhe m:l1lag<..:menl :1I1d admini.str.ltion office.s of
Ihe Centre.
SANTIAGO DE COMVOSTELA
As lhe cily 01' Santiago de Composlela is nol ;¡
provincial c:l pilal. il \Vas cxcluded from Ihe PO.s1
:l11d Telegr:.lph Ikforms Acl of I ·¡ Junc. 1909. BUI
Ihe clclCrmina\ion of Ihe ci ty ancl Ihe zcal of
Corunna rt:presemali\'es m:ln:lged 10 m¡lkc Ihe
Senme VOh.: :\ L:l\V giving Sanliago in Ihis re.specl
Ihe Cllegor)' of a capila l. wilh Ihe Slale bui lding
:11 ils expense a ne\\' building in ;1 Sile chosen by
lhc municipalilY.
The Law W:IS pllblished in t.l:tdrid's Gazell<..: on
31 1)l-'<:<:1111)l.'r 1915. bUI some monlhs earlier a
local bo:\rd \Vas airead)' fonn..:d 10 deal \Vilh Ihe
Ihomy maller of Ihe Sile. The IX):lrc! Ihoughl of
o ffenng Ihe Stale lhe C:.lmpo de S:1Il CIt.·mentt:, bUI
tl1l.' fin:d sile \Vas anOlher. boughl by Ihe City
Council from Ihe Viscount o f Siln Albel10 in 1926.
local<..:d in Ihe 1'1:1."_:1 de Enlr..:cerC1S. no\\' 1'1:1:1.:1 de
Rodrigo de Padn.\n. corner 10 Tra"c::.Í:l de Fo nseca,
in ~l very bu::.y :l rca in lhe he:1I1 of Ih..: di)'.
The follo",ing }'ear Iht:: SI:1Ie acc<:]"}t\.·d Ihe site,
but .sinee Ihe Telephonc Compan}' had bOllghl
anolher adjacenl plol for ils own building. Ihe
POSI :mllexed anolhcr sllla l l piece of bncl and SO
in 1929 Ihe final fonn of Ihe POSI amI TclegrJph
plo\ was definecl. Thc new byolll affeclcc1 bltxk
alignmenls and Il!<..: widlh ofTravc.'>b ele Fonseca.
The design of Ihe nc\V building was cOllllllissioned 10 archileo.s Joaquín Olamcndi ::ll1d l.uis
Loz:mo l.o,silb \Vho prcsenled Ihe drawing::..
reporl :md COSI cSl imale (499.760 pI a) in
Seplernber 194j. The conlracl \Vas :l warded 10
Perfeelo Fonl:'n in Fehru:uy 19j5. The constnlction wenl o n il11medbldy, bUI Ihe Iroublec1 limes
madc lhe works slow d o\Vn unl;1 lhey beca me
10la1ly paralysed.
COnl'lnlClion was resumed
afler Ihe Civil War :lIld \Vere full y fini.shccl in
Fc])nl:IlY 1947.
The building i5 of a nOlable fUll ctional si mplicily, \Vilh a we1l re:-.olved porticocd fa~:lde.
amI Ihe interiors wcre refonned in 1964 :l1lcl
again in 1978.
11Al.MA OF Mt\jORCA
In Ihe beginning of 1111.' 20lh cenlury Ihemail service was 10ClIed in S:m Fdio Slreel. very ne:lr the
lively P:I,.;eo del Borne (promen:ldc). unlil Ihe
space bec:u11e insufficienl and Ihe service \Vas
moved 10 the olher side of Ihe Paseo. on the currenl sl reel of Ihe Con slilulion 1)(.':lween Soledad
ami Tous y ¡\brOlo SlreelS. The plot \\':IS bought
by Ihe municipalil}' in 1925 for Huk !llore Ihan
one hundn:c1 IhOu.sand IX'Sl:'las. The building
wa.s designed by ¡he le:lI11 fo rmed by archil<..:el
i\ l:t nud Cases L:ll1101b :Ind Fr:lnci seo POli y POLI.
enlonel of Ann y Engineers and Chief 01'
Fortificalions \\1orb in I\ bjorc;.l.
The fe:lIures of the building, op\::nec1 in 19-15
willt some changes from Ihe original ide:l. belong
nc\'<..:nhelcss 10 Ihe previolls p<..:riod lInder Ihe
Second Hepublic, as il main1ains a difficlllt h;11:Hlce belwcen Ihe Majorean slyle, specifiC:l 11y
requircd b y Ihe eompelilion. nOI very suil~lbk for
;¡ POSI Office. and I he clesirc of lhe aUlhors lO do
somel hing more in a¡:cordance wilh Ihe limes.
Al the end. il resll lt ed in a comer building.
cnlcred Ihrough Ihe chamfen:d comer with a
lo\\'..:r aCl ing a.s a hingo.:' betwel.·n Ihe IwO side
faCldes. of which Ihe main o ne has a Ihree arch
pol1ico Ihal k ;¡ds inlo ¡he public h:lll. Winclows,
ba1conies proleeled \Vilh iron grillwork ancl :111
0 1X'n g;¡llery lInder :1 wide canlilever e:lve,
altcmpl 10 con nccl with Ihe signorial archileclure
of old Majorca, sincc fro111 her ancienl pabccs
Gllne Ihe d<..:\;¡ils for c:olulllns. capitals. moulding:,>. :lrcht:~ :Illd grill.s.
The intcrior \\':IS 101:(11)' renov:n ecl in 1967.
:mcl 1;l\cr o lher enbrgement.-; w(:re :Idded . Ihal
make,s us fed nostalgia fOr I he Case." and POLI
designo
167
11EKM I GUA (1..., Gom er a)
I It:rmi gu:1. a ,~ m :¡[1 [own in lhe nOl1h of GOlllera,
:m isl:md o f [he W'cslern C:l!laries, .. ils in lhe par:ldbiaC:11 valley of Ihe s:l m e na me, In o ld lime,,>,
[he 10WIl rivalkd, bOlh in populalion :lnd \\'ealth,
wilh S:tn Scb:I ~li:ín, lile island C:lpil:ll , In Ihe ,.,eco nd h:llf o f Ihe 18 th cenlury. José Viera y Clavijo
dcscribed lhe fen ile va lley a,.,: "A deliglllful place,
slII'round(,.,<:1 by high hills from wher<: Ihret'
Sl l'eams Gll'lying Illuch he:dlhy waler run down
10 irrig:i1e Ihe v:llley .. , The t'nlire va lley b h,,.,h
wilh vineyard,>, 1>:1I1:lI1a Iree,." different kineb of
fig trL"C,." dragos, lemo n [rces, palm trce,." fmil
Irees, and all son s of garden vegel:l blcs .. ,Amidsl such bndsc:l¡:><'::, Ihe lo\Vn has sincc
1990 :1 ncw PO,.,I omce building, designL-d ¡he
prcvious year by archilt'CI Enrique SoJan;1
Qucsad:1.
1I is a moclesl Iwo-slorey buildi ng,
intended 10 h:4\'c :1 quite C lIlarian look, w ilh
whilewashed fa~;¡de corn ers and window ami
<loor fr:.1Il1eS reinforced wi¡h local reddish ,>¡one,
[n :111 [he,.,c, Ihe archileclu ral fe:Hurc,,> seen i n Ihe
island o f Tenerife secm 10 weigbl more Ihan
Ihose of La GOlller:.l proper, i n :1 line 1>:l l':.llIel to
¡he rcgion:¡lislic cxperienn.'s of Ihe POSI O ffi ccs
o f Ihe fin.1 Ihird o f ¡he 20th cenlury,
TOLEDO
The c:Il'liesl infonn:l¡¡on aoolll the po.'>t scrvices
localion in I hb eit y IC:lds to wha¡ \Va,., Ihe " Iinl
:md bler arms faclor'}' in NlIñcz de Arce ;,Ireel.
which W:I~ known a,., "bil s[reet in Ihe 181h cen tur)', bec-.lllSC i n the .s:lme bu ilding, with o n e of
Ihe be,.,t counya fds cxisti ng in Tok'clo, Ihe l~ oy:11
" 1:lil \\':1:; e,.,tabl¡.,hed in Ihe limes of C:.lrlos 111.
[n ollr days, Ihe PO,.,I :lnd Tdegm p h serv iee:'>
are inslallcd in a purpose-bui h building on I'lala
Slreel. 111is i:-. a livcly artery of '\Icdieval and
Iknaissance Toledo, where si l ver and gokbmith
~lOn1('S a~d shOI~ \\'ere concelllr.I[(:.-d, expl:t ining
liS Il<lme, So Ihe soil under Ihb building ha.; :1
lo ng and noble hislOI)'. Enough 10 rec:\ 1I Ih:1I
IheI'C \\'as tht' housc of ¡he cOlwen ed Je\\
Rodrigo de la Cuad ra , vi('lim o f a deadly
Inquisilion Irbl.
I n Ibe 161h cent ury Don
Francisco I~uiz , bisho p of AviJ:¡ had :1 llOuse
[hel'e. And in Ihe 18th cenlluy, in lhe sil e ( X ' CUpiec! by Ihose old homes, Diego de B:íb:lmo
foun ded :1 hospi l:l l, popul:lrlr :me! :Ipproprialely
n:lmed ~C:I .sa dd U:í.IS:lmo·· ~,
In Ihe 19th ccnlury Ihe bu ildi ng pa~ed on to
pri vale hands, ;!¡.. a I'e~lllt of the 1835 la", confiscaling church propenie:'>, :1Ile! then it Ix'cune 111('
propeny o f I he SI:ilC ¡11:11 demoli..,hcd [he o ld
buildings i n the '3Os of our ccntury, There Ihe
p resent poMa l ecli fice \\':15 b uill , moving ¡he por-
168
1:11 prc\iollsly on Ihe nt:a rby :-':m Vicente ""Iuare
10 tlle preM:nl ¡X>1>ilion on PJala 1>ll't.'et. 'I'h:1[ p ortal callle from Ihe lime the hu i lding \\-:1 .. Ihe re_..iclenee of Ihe hl,>hop of A\'ila :lnel js '>lII'l'Ounclt:d
by I he SI. Fr::IIl<:1:'> cOl'd, as hí.' wa'i ;¡ Fr.m<:15C:ln
friar am i :l5Sbh.."C1 C:lrdin:¡1 Cbnero,.. in Ihe reli ~iou:. reform he u l1elt.:rtook. This i.., Ihe only clement or Ihe pabc\'" ~lilI sl:mding, 01' \\ hich \\1..'
kilO\\' il a[so conl:linee! rkh coffered ccili Tlg~,
The ponal is :1 varialio n 01' ¡he Iypical Toled:\Il
plaler~..qlle of Ihe e~lrI)' 161h ccnlury ,
•pLlu ll1ea n ~ :-11\ \,.'r,
··¡UIS:lOlO Illc:m s 1);llm
HA KCELONA
In Ví:I Layetana, o ne of Ihe main :I \'elllll;':-; Ir::l\'er:;i ng Cerd::í' .. Ens:mchc·, \\hcre ~e\cr.11 importanl office buildings Wl:l'e credce! in the ' 20~,
:'>uch a:,> the Cornp:u"iía Tr:.II1~medilcrr:.íne:I, CI.'>;I
C:lmbó 01' C Ija dL' Pt'n .. iones, Ihe main B:lr<.'d o n:l
PO~I Offic!.' w as built i n 1926-27,
lt occupit',., Ihe firsl block, on ¡\ monio López
PI:iZ:l, wit!~in vicw of Ihe \ cner:.lble Lonja ele
Barcelona , Tlle archilcclS \\ere Jo.-.é Gocby y
C:I-.::des :Incl J:lime Torr\"'~ Gr.llI , gr.tdualed fro m
liT<.' School of Archilec'lure of Barcelona in Ibc
ela",., of 1905 :lIlel 1903 rCSllCCli\'ely, 111e building has:lll Ihe Iypicd fe:ll ure .. or Ihe Cal:II:I Tl 11 011,
celll ls m e , forccfully combining archilCctUr.11.
slal uary :lIld painling cJa:'>.'>icbt ekmcnl.s, of :In
ambi liOlls m o nlllllenl:d :md r-, Icelilerr:.mca n mien,
Column.s, p ila~ler.-., pex ,limen\.'. :lnd venical 'oCulpture,." wilh a IOllch of B:mxluc, ,.,ervee! Ihe
:mthor:; 10 o rche"tr::lIe Ihe building in.:.idc ancl
OLlbklc, h b \'cl')' \\dl bid out. \\ilh br:.l\'e con1r:.I.sts l:>cl\\'cen Ihe bare wa Jls o f the 111:1in fa ~;ldt'
:lnd the L'''pre..:-;ivity of Ihe l onic arcade :lIld Ihe
:llI ic loppcd by:111 excellent C{):1I of arms, NOI 10
be mi!)...ecl are Ihe s"clte CI'\;',>b 01' Ihe fa('aelcs,
pr'(')\'iding :1 cenai., piclur<.'sque air, but e!em:lnded by lefegr:lph rcqlliremcnt .. , Ol ller ek1>ign.:.
enler(,:'CI in Ihc fil"ll Barcclon:1 PO:'>I Office COlllpelilion ( 19 11), like [he \ery \\'ell kno\\n by./osé
Pllig }' Cada fa k h, incorporaled ,>im il ar e1ement..;,
The allegoric fif(lln..'" in I he IC[f:..I .. lyle po nico,
Ihe royal <.'0:11 of ::11'111 ,> ,lile! other clecol~ l ti \'e
mOlifs üu'n,." garbneb, el c.) wc::re Ibe \\'ork o f
sculplon. Pedro Jou, I\lallllcl FlIx:i :me! El hebio
Arnau, w hibt Ihe inlerior p;¡inti ng:'> are d ue 10
Fr:.mcisco ClIlyc.::lles, :lIld abo 10 Ihe gre:1I 1ll1lr:.lli,.,l~ Fr:IIlc1SCO Galí, .losé Obiob and Fr:.mcisco
L:ib:1I1:1. \"\ ho by Ilwlll \\'ere beginning 10 \\'ork in
the lllur:.ll .. uf ~ I ontj ui c h P:lbcc for the 1929
Exhibilion,
-..
pr h\,., En~Uldl\"', 0 1'
[¡X:II11ph: in C:H;11:m, ¡, ,1 cit} eXlen,
~.'nginL'Cr ,md not;lblc urban
pl:1I1111: r IIdl'fol1!'o() Cerdá.
- rhe \[l'(lic \;¡1 de;¡ring hou-.e
- rhe nlnle\,.'o hundrL'(1 rC:lr1> orlllt: [91h l't:ntllry, w hen
IllI.-' ...o-called C'tllaklll moden/6111 \\ ..... de\doped,
Amonio G3ud. hcing Ihe b(.'t lcr kno\\ n repr\,.....(..m::¡.
live of Ih:l( 1>1}'Ie,
,ion (.'re,II\"1:1 hy Ihe
CADlZ
In onc of Ihe m01>[ hu,.,y pIaCt:'> of C:.ídiz :l ne!
:.haping up :1lI irregular 1'101 left !)l;lwcen lhe pre,>enl pl:l/.a~ de 1:1" Flo re~ :I nd Libenad, w herc t/¡l'
Central ll1arkel lL..ecl 10 Ix:, ri"e:-; Ihe \ertic:1I 1'0:.1
Office, Thi,., 1<X'alion, ;IS a hi n ge lX:lwc.::en Iho1>e
1\\'0 urhan spaec~, made Ihe archile('I.s lO pl:lcc
~ pac1al elllpha:'>is on Ihe ehamrerec! cOl'l1er
crownecl by :t lower \\'ilh ;¡ gbzL"<I-in b:llconv:
wilh the int('nlion [O :Idopl :1 I}'pical C:íd iz ..;oI~I ­
lion, :lhllOUgh Ihe building:l:-.:t \Vhole hardly h:l~
:lny link.. of 1<X":ll I r:le!il ion~, eilher in \'o !unle 0 1'
lhe Ire:ilment o f m:lIl.-'ri:I¡",
A bu dgel 0 1' '520,{)(x) pc.;el:t .. W;h appm\\"'(1 in
19 1"i for Ihe PO... I :md Tclegr:.lph omce in C;ícliz,
one of Ihe highe~1 al Ihe l ime, only \"'''ct'edcd by
Ba rcclon:1. \'alelKia :md Uilhao, ::hide from Ihe
¡\ I:ldricl P:tlacc, l)oubtle~,.,I}'. Ih\! service req ui remenb in a pon eil y forCL"C1 the pro\' i~ion of more
c(Nly facililic:., ·111i.'> \\ ould :Iho explain Ihe progr:l1llmt' developecl by Ihe :lfchilCCIS, a~ [hc
building conccpl :md Ihe number of '>Iorey'> \\'a~
nOI habilll:ll. TITe dale and nalllc of ¡he :llllhor,.,
of Ihe de .. i,!.m ¡,., nOI known, bUI from lhe minute ..
of ¡he panel in <.'harg(' of :1\\ arding Ihe nc\\ PO:'>I
Onkes, w"¡eh fOl' Ihe II1celing hde! on ti .luly.
1919, mcmion .. Ibe ('()mIllL'nt~ m:ldL' lO ¡llI.-'
dcsign entcrecl by G6mez Ilom:in amI Vi<b l.
thefe b nOlb ing to pre\el1l u,.. 10 Ihink tlll.-'y mU:'>1
h:n 't' been Ihe :mlhor:. of IllI.-' building th:u \Va,>
con1>truclCcl in the follo\\'ing ye:trs, I f Ihi,.. ¡~ ( ' 01'rcCl, we \\'iI] rememlx:r Ihal ¡\lanuel Gú mez
Rom:in wun :-.ome yeal"o bler Ih\..' COllle .. 1 for
Vigo',> PO"'I Oftlce. \\'hih( Vida) mar \\'ell he I.uh
Vicla l Tuas6n, f(r:.ldU:UL"C1 in ~l:idrid in 1906,
\\:Iilh Ihi .. building, of unu,.. u:d hl:.'ighl :1111ong ..1
1'0," 1 Omce~, lhe :luthor:; lried lo :-.:ty lIl:my Ihing'>
:11 111<..' S:lmc lime, It re~ult,., frolll Ihe acldi¡ion of
di\'er'oC,:' demenh, comi ng OUI wilh ,>Irenglh Ihe
rok' pbycd by ¡11I.-' brid\\\-ork in "qU:lre co lllmn ..
and proje<.'ling hands o n 101' o f :1 "[Onl' plinth,
Al'>o\'(:.' Ihe b rf(L' cnlr)' :Irch, \\'ilh l o uche .. o f
coloured cer:.lmÍ<.':-., ri~e'" ;¡ I\VO :'>101')' bl<Kk \\ ilh
same inclu:'>lri:ll archileclu re o\enonc,>, ane! ()Il
l op an :lII ic crO\\nt,"C! hya dock.
1)IEORAHfli\
In 111(,' m.lin thoroughLIrI: of thi~ Aúb to\\n,
\\ hl'n,: thl.' Grcal Duke of Alba \\':1" hom in lhe
16th L:cnlllry, \\l' can find onc of Ihe ll1;1ny
'kdmicd Communicalion OOke,' lhal h:I\'e Ix>t:.'n
cre;ned in old n:..:habilit:ued buildin¡..:', M) conIribulin¡..: lO the pres(,'I"ation of Ih!.: rur.11 :II1(J ,.,GIIlered archilectural heril<lRc, Thi:. wOl1h} la,k
\\01' repcaled in Pit;.-dr:'lhila, \\herc 111\.' ,\I:l il St:r\ in: o(:nlpie" one of Ihe t\\'o"lorc}', ..,tone con·
"lrllC[ion h()the~ ('haracleri,in¡..: Ihe :.mcient 10\\ n,
Ik'pih: Ihe ,implici[} of Ihe huilding, it doc~
not bd; nobility, a" prm en hy thL' coat of amb
0\ er lhe entran<.:e lintd, Ihe unl} fea[u re th:1I
!t:mh sl.!'/" ;lnd biSfOl)' lO ih rlhlic granil e con~lrtKli()n, aCluaHy doser 10 \\ Iml i.., commonly
kn()"!l :1:-; folk archil!.:ctllre,
MADRID. CHAMARTL"'i
\\'llhin 11ll:' long hbtory of de\cloplnl:nl of the
Ibit\\ .Iy Connections Pbn :md the dirt;.'<..1 mil line
\Lldrid·Uurg(h, lhe fir.1 Ch:lmal1ín SI.llion \\a~
opcn in 19-8, But Ihe pre'>Cnt largl.' 'talion ¡., the
re">lllt of;1 difren.:nt design, made neo.::~:.ary ",hen
Ih!.: r.lillraffic W:b deloured fromlhe.: Alocha and
Príncipe Pío :-;I:llion:-. :lml Ihe Delicia,,> :.Ia[ion \\'a,,,,
<,'Io,-.;cd, and "al> pul in ">l'r\'ice in 1972, Th('n rollo\\cd Ihe.: COIl"lruclion of Ihe Chamartín Po!>I:11
Comple:>. (197'1·-8) after the.: de,ign of .. rchil ....cl
Luh Gonl.;ílel. CnlZ,
The c()mpk·x (:on!>i"'h or a nine-,lOl't.'y hcx;lgonal 10\\ e.:r, .111 indu!>lrial huildin¡.; :.Ind 11ll.' IXJ!>t31
"t;ltion propc.:r, ",ith fOUT ~r'\'ice 1r.ICk", all concein:d with a discrele funclion;L! ,cn~l.·, \\ith
uninterrupted horil.onlal contin uil Y in b(,'adc!>
amI Ilex)r-cei l ing con:-.lruclion,
PALENCiA
1'hc Palencia PO!>I Qffice huilding, de~igned in
1916, b \\itholll dOllbt on(' of tlle he:-.t r....pre'>Cnlali\(!, or tho~ huih in Ihe earl} PO!'>I Oflle.... perilKI. Ikfon.' Ihis building, th:1I no\\ oCl,:upic:-. one.:
full hltx'k, Ih .... ¡\I:1i1 :lnd Tclcgl':lph M..'r\'1ce:-. \\,('re
hOlN:d in 1\\0 building"> in El Cuho :-.lrcct and
S:m F r.md~co !'>lreCI. re,,>po,xtivcly,
Sine!.:: thlo:
,lhO\'e dale, bOlh \\ere.: uniled in a 1llonumcnl:d
hi:-.loricbl huilding de.:~igned hy )acolxl nom..::ro
Fern:'indez, municipal :l1ld <" pi~cop: 11 :m.:hitect o f
\';IILldolid, ,lftl·r :1 hard-rollghl eonle~l in which
Jo,..,(· A\clino Díaz, Joaquín \Iuro, Lui, F(.'rn.'ru
;md t\ntonio Alclldt.: abo panicipall,..d,
Tht.: nOlable far,:ade.., comhine ~I one with
hril:kwork llnd~r \\'()(xlen l.·:I\e.." [he ",indow!>
lx'in).l pro\'ided \\ith fOl}{ed iron grilb in Ihe
.~~xlltlsb !asbiol/, in olhef wor<.b, lhe architt.:ct
:Iplly u ......,d 11ll.' Imdition:11 m:IIL·ri:lb Ih:1I in!>un.'d,
ori¡..:in:IIlY,:1 \\arm and l:olourful rt;.·"ult, Thl.· ..,I}'I ....
of the huildin¡..: manir!.::,t, Ihal TX:\ j\'al of Ihe
~p:lIlbh Hen:li">.,;¡nce which, ,in<.:l' Ihe ~p:mi .. h
pavilioll in tll<." 1900 1':11';'" l 'niver..:tI Exhihition,
Ix:clllle lile nalion:di!>(1c :,.ource of our .Irchileclun:, \'el)' ll,>ed in olTici:ll h uildill}.:'>, harracb.
ctc, hUI abo pl'e~elll in renlal n:lI:-. :mu clegant
10\\ nhou,l." ,
Thh '\eo-PIa[ere:-.que :-'Iylt.:, in fac\. IXlrrowed
cle1llent' frOIll Ihal Renai:-",';Ince ,>Ioek, ;llwa}'!>
,uhmittl."(1 10 an adaptation pnK'e'!'>, a, \\:1' lhen
,:lid, Thu", Ihe Pfllleresqll(! motif, round hOlh in
Ihe l.':.:lerior and Ibe imaginali\'e puhlic hall
\\ould be better undel"'>tood, 1kre, a... if it \\:I.S :1
Henai ....'ance cotU1yard of the fir:.l lhird of lhe
16111 cenlll ry, he.: arran¡":t;."(1 Ihe l\\'O Il~\eb \\'ilh
column,,> on which C:lpil:ll, 1\\'0 :Irchilr.ne:-. rllll
\'L'ry d()~e lO l.·ach Other on Iheil' c;lpilah, in lhe
line \Vhkh the.: aUlhor klle\\, and prob:lbly ~aw in
lhe Duei\a,> Colwenl of Sabm:mca,
VITO RIt\
11\e Po:-[ and T elcgraph building ..,t:ltld, on
PO:-.la~ :-.lreel and doS<.' lO P!:Iza Nue\'a, facing lile
B:tnc() de.: E,..,p:t ib, in olh('1' w(}rd" an out:-.tanding
l(x,:lIion, 1X:1\\'(,'cn the hbtork :-....oi()n of Vilori:lG:I,I{oi1. and Ihe m(x!ern dly l.':.:len.,ion. The
dt.:~ign i, dUl' 10 lu b
Díaz Tol()~ana :lIld
Fr.UKi,<.'o Javier Ferrero, '111e fir.1 n:unt;."(l b Ihe
alllhor uf othcr "¡torian building." :h the & 11001
(lf An, and Trade~, hur none of them rdk-cI !>O
openly Ihe re~i()nali"tic cha~lCt~r of the IX)!>lal
huilding, 11c.:rc.:,;I:-, in many olhe.:r in..,l:lIlce.." the
~ Iunicipatil}' donal t;.-d the bnd in 19 15 and Ihe
fotlowin~ year Diaz To lo:-':In:t 1'0mplcled I lw
de..,i).ln, ahhough Ihe initi:llion of Ihe.: \\urk:-. W:I!>
:-om e\\'Il:1l debyt;."(1. They beg:1Il in 1921 :lI1d
\\efe.: fint,hiXI in 1927,
Tlll' fmlll f:I("<lde i.s formed by twu Iater.11 lO\\'er.. ;Ind a Ct:ntm l bod}' of le,~r height. The
building .lrmngelllent is n!r)' ,imple, \\'ilh Ihree
' Iorey', c:il'h ",ith :1 differcm \\indo\\ byout. bUI
all \'el)' dean and '11100Ih, :1:-. :1 l.'enain anlicipalion ()f r:n ionalÍ'>m , -rhe gr.lccfullrt.::nlllenl úf Ihe
[\YO PO:-.l anrJ Tdegr:lph e!>culch..:on', ",ilh :In :lir
of Al1 IX'co, dc"t:I'\'ed bcing poinlt:d out.
I n open Cunlr.l ~t with Ihi" centr:ll core, 1\\0
(."(llIal luwer-;, IXllh airy and hea\')', rbe Ihelll,c1\'e, \\'ith all Ihl:ir ft::llurc!> ">}'tllmetric::11 in
re'I'X.'C1 to Ihe r:l(;:lde <.:cnlre I¡'k', The,t.· are 1\\'0
regionali'l im:lge.., of the way B:t "o{lue <lrchitccture
wa, unde.:r.lood in tho"C lime.." althou¡..:h :l lIlhe,e
fl.':lItl .....·~ were reworkcd pbcing mon.' \\'l.'Í¡..:hl on
lile de,ign intl.·nlion Ihan on tlle .Ictual hÍ'>loric
:-.Ollfce (JI' Ihe c!ements, '111ey :trl.' in e!'>:-.cnce
fred)' mixed dichc~, ::I~ ,een in the I()\\ IX>I1ico.
the rough bond uf the \\'alk tlll.' lal}te O\erhang
of Ihe e:l\e', :lnd the ~pire" o\'er Ihe roof~ a~ :1
comir1U:l\ion of Ihe comer rcinforl:Clllenh, BUI
thl.' conct:pt. the ]ll'Olx)nions :lnd Illl.' \\'ay all
lhe:-.e delllenl' an.' cOlllhined, do nOl follo\\' Irue
modd" hUI \\'hal \Vas Ihen cllled regiolla/i,"1
s~)'/(', I\rchik-ct 11hz Tolo..,~ln:1 W:h forld or pl:lcing in hi~ huilding., large half-cirde arche' \\ilh
Ca:-tilian Henai..,~ancc rorg<.:d iron grill.." wllich he
:11....0 u'e:-. in olhe.:r arca" of Ihe huilding,
MADRID. OFFl e lAL SCHOQl
The Tdec()1llI11uniC:lIion., Engineering $chool
\V:I,' huih in J9 tS in lhe Sal:J 11lanc:l dI)' ~ection of
~ l:l drid, Thi ~ hu ilding :Ipll)' houM..'''' no\\ lile.: Post
and Tdc~r:lph S<.:holl. The Si:.:-'I01..... y high rront
i" unbpi rl.'<.1. hut :11 the S:Ulk· time, \ el)' mllch in
line \\ilh ()f Ihe peculiar lIerrerilfl/· :.lyle Ihat
ch3r.tcteri">l."(1 Ihe.: public archilecture of Ihe ';(h"
Pib:-.ler:-;, pt:dimenl,> !OPI'X..'(i hy lile trite ,.,tone.! ball
ornalllent.., u~t;.'(1 hy H errer:.1 :.md 111:-' follo\\ er., all
fl\led in :m elemental cb:-. ... ichl composi tion
ord cr, \Vere the.: \\'ell-worn formula!> 01' Ih:1\ peri-
(xl.
CI:h~ 1'(XJI11:-., lihr:l1y and 0111('1' te:lching fad1ilie ... normally found in school, :ll'e di'l rihulL'd
Ihrou~houl the intl·rior of Ihi ... hui lding Ihal ,
thmugh time :lnd in difTercnl gmde", ha\'e Ix-en
the 'Ia~e Ihal from Iclccommunicllion enginl.-er:s
[O amateur r:.tdio opcr.lton; h:ld ha<.l lO mandatoril}' :utend,
,\fter Ju,1Il de IlcrrcrJ., one of lhl· chief :Irdlitecb of 1~1
I;;'·,(.'orial Ihat domin:lt\:.'J :::,p:lni,h 11:1I'(XIlIe ror 1\\'0
((.:nturie~
LEON
\\:fhen Ihe 1908 Royal Order c011\'ok<..'(1 a hidding
for propcrty to be purch:l-;ed by Ihe Stalc 10
propc.:rly hml'e the l>o'lal :lml Tclegr.lph :,crvice~, León could nOI m:lke :.m)' offlo:r :¡~ no I:md
o r u,:l ble huilding~ wc;:rc availab lc, Ne\'enhdt.:ss
:tnd :lgrcclllenl was cnlCred with Ihe ;-' l ini~(r)' of
Ihe Inl erior, ,~i m ibrl}' as Barcdona ami Vak:ncia
did, \\'hcrt.:hy Ihe ~ [ unicipali l y of I.e.:ón I lIlden ook
lO hu}' an :1<.Iequalt..' plul appf(wed b y Ihe
Difl."('IOr.Hl.' Gen.:.-r.ll of Ihe 1'0.:-1. ami tu b u ilel the
huildin¡..: :11 ih eXJ'l<;'n!>e, \\ hibt Ihe Slate commil [ed it:-.elf 10 make fift<.."Cn }6,000 1X.'~cla" :mnu:iI
p:I}'lllenl"
lInder Ih;,., financing proccdure, Ihe \\'ork!>
"'efe initia(l'd afler Ihe pbn, of ,\1.td r ileni:m
:lr<."llÍle<.:1 ¡\ 1:Inud de C:'irden a" gr:ldllal ed from
169
Ihe School of ArchilL'CturC o f l\bdrid in 1900. bUI
\Vho resided in León. as Illunidpal, p rovincial
and episcopal arcl1ilecl unlil 1920.
111e 1'101
wherc Ih..: interesling pO~lal huilding slands is Ihe
fir:-.I one in Ihe Cllbc.:dr.d P1:tza, looking frolll ils
com er l owcr 10 Ihe imposi ng C:llhedr::d pi le,
w lh.:re C::írdenas also work in sonw rCSIOl1l lion
work.... T h e dcsign \\':15 :lppl"O\'e<l in 19 14 and
four yt:ars 1:lIe1" Ihc building W: IS ful1y finished. 1I
b, Ihereforc. one of the olde!'>1 in ou r counlry.
Al Ihe same lime, Ihe cily of L....-im has o ne of
Ihe newesl Spanish commlmicalion~ building..,.
designed in 1980 by Alejandro de la Sola in cooper.uion of Ihe PO:.I archilecl Carlo:-. Isidro de la
Puerta. \Vho \Von I/W com p elilion for Ihe
Calhedr.1l of L::I Almudcna in Madrid. Tbis build+
ing, conceived from a 1110re Illodcrn sland p oi n t,
is OTlc of lhe most signilk:uivc of Spanish :Irchi+
lecture in Ibe second h:llf of the 20lh ccnlury.
De J:¡ SoI~1 made realily Ihal sentence of the
r-. l odern M o\'ement : A cube rnu:-.I fundion . In
o ther words. lO incorpor.ue purc geomelry lO a
functional s)'slem w¡¡hom abandoning abslr;lC+
lion. Thb occurs in l.eón. whefe \Van and Ii':r.-.C
fa,ades hide a luminous inler ior Ir.L\'erscd by
lighl-looking slair.-., lensed h:Lrrier.-. and counler:.
growing from a purblic approach. allhough
a~~blcd by lamps, w h ich cIt.:"ign. convcr.sdy,
m:lkc~ us think of Willi:lm ~Iorris.
OSORN'O (Palencia)
M:ldoz, in his well known Dictionary ( 1849).
descrihed Ihe vill:lge
O ...orno, in I he province
i1y rdalion::; with Ihe lordl)' do mains of Villalc::ízar
Thc
d e Sirga and Aguilar de Campoo.
e:.culeheon~ in Lhe pre ... elll PO...I omce givc
nOlice of all Ibese. in partic ular Ihe formidable
C0:11 of :tnns held by 1\\'0 !ions :m Ihe corner o f
Ihe house, which lllonumenl:t! siz\.' is disproportio n ale lo Ihe 181h cenlll l)' pa 1:tcc.
SEGOV1A
The
PO~I
Office is 011 Pbza San Facundo ",ith
\Vith
the growlh cxpcrienccd by aJl Ih¡... eil)' section in
Ihe lale 191h century, in Ihe ca d y 20lh cenlury an
impon:1I11 urban reform \\':IS carried OUI by Ihe
municipal :t fchilecl Joaquín Odriozob. \Vho cre:1\ed Ihe r.Lpid acce:-.s 10 Ih(..' Plaza Mayor Ihrough
S:1I1 A¡'¡;llslín Sl reel.
This mac1t..' il necessary 10
c1(;:l11oli ... h Ihe S:1Il F:lcundo pari.,h clllI rch. (¡Ill.: of
Ihe oldest Olllsic1e Ihe cily w:Llb, 10 make Ihe
p1:l 7':1 of Ihe S:1Il1C anc1 e~t:lhlish new a¡¡gllrnenl~
:md ~1n.'Ct widths. '111e po.,lal huilding wa~ huill
O!l o ne side of Ihal plaza.
An initia! Co.-,I e ...lim:lI<: of Ihe SegO\'ia building. made in 1908. :ullounted 10 155.000 pcsela~.
:11\ amOlLnl Ih:LI did nOl change in Ihe nexl years.
:1Ilc1 Ihe conlr..ICI m u sl have heen ;Lwarc1ecl al Ihal
price. :Lftt.·r the plol \\":1-. clefim:d in 1922. The
huilding \Vab excrulcd in 1932- 193-1 aflt'r a Vl.'ry
elemenl:d design Ih:L1 Irk:-. to harmonisecl \\'ilh
Ihe lypic:11 cil)' archilectufL' Ihrou~h a relÍ<:ubr
~gr.lffiIO of rel:lli\'l' :'lICCl·"!lo.
P!:t7..;:1 DOClor Lagun:1 around Ihe comer.
)'ou n¡.¡; :trchill.·CI~ frOI11 11u: xh(x)1 of l\l:idrid th:L1
formcd :t ... ucceSl)fu[ Il.':lm in 111:111)' o f Ihe compclilions held. unlil Ihe fir:-.I o ne died.
'111e
Santander 1'0:.1 OmeC \\,;1 ... one of Ihem. ancl
:1I11ong.~llheir ri\'al~ \Vere M>me of Ihe 1110:.1 :.ifnifka nI represcntali\,(;:. of I he II/ OII((lIlés• region:tl
liIY!"::, slIch as J:L\'ier GonóleZ de Hiancho \\'ho,
althoLt~ h p:l~sc.'d Ihe fi rsl prelimi nar)' design SLL·p.
did nOI gcl Ihe fin:ll :lw:l rd. 11 \Venl lO Fern{¡nc!ez
Quinlani11:1 :md Secunclino Zu:tzo. P:LI""3c1oxically.
tlH::y U"'L'"d ekment:. of Ihe I"t.'¡.¡;iomdbt /a .!IOlllflllll
archilccture. bUI in a 1lll.·:l~lIr...."(1 do~l.· ami well
incor1'or.llc<1 lO a unmi ... takahlc m odcrnil}'.
·T1lU~. regionali~m is reducL'(1 10 Ihe picture'-<.Iue char.lCter 01" Ihe building a~ a ",hole,
wilh a dominaling polygonal lo\Ver :md anolhcr
lower lower breaking Ihe rigid :-.)'mlllelry sCt:n in
o lllL'r buildings of Ih:1\ lime. t\sidc I"rom Ihe c m lilL,\'cr....'C1 roofs :md M)I1lC other delail. Ihe resl
:lIh\VCr.-. 10 :In ;¡rchilecl ufC :.earch ing ror a comprombc 1X'1\\'een Ir.ldition ~lTld mooernit)'. "cr)'
\\dl rt:~ol\'L'X1 by Ihe archileCI:-.. The ma:..:.c~. Ihe
column pon.ico, Ihe di\er.-.il)' in ... ize :md sha[X' of
Ihe opcni ngs. Ihe eolou r :md COIllIXl.... ition of Ihe
uppcr noor. incorpoF.tling Ihe dock. revcal :1
wxxl under~I:Lnding ()f Ihe philo ...ophy o f Ihe
ne\\' postal bLlile!ings in Ih:LI e:lrly SI:lgc. ane! so
Ihb of Sanl:lIlder. ( l:ttcd in 19 1'). cune 10 be one
o f Ihe 1110S1 dblingubhed olles.
::'ctnlander is
:1 mounUinou ... pro\ ¡nec nicknam...,d !tI
(Ih..., moum"in) ,lnd \\ hale\ el' per1ain" 10
Ihe prO\ince i... l.' lll<.-<.I II/UII/(1I/6 (moumainl."Cr).
IIOllfll/la
or
of P:tlencia. saying Ihal il had one hundrL--d :lnd
cígh!)' nine houscs, Ihe majoril)' on ly one slorc)'
high, ...ave for Ihin~' Ihal h:L\'C 1\\'0 noors :lncl
added Ihat .. Ihemai! i~ rec<::in,;d b y ~\ privale carrier \\'ho brings ji from S:lI1lan<.k;r··. NOI ~urpri:.­
inAly. a~ Ihe main Slreel of Ihe vilJage W~IS abo
Ihe highway linking Santander :lnd Palencia.
The ~ ilu :ll ion is no\\' quile different :lI1d Lhe
PO~ I ser\'ice use.s now olle o f tho:.c Iwo-,>Iore)'
~I(lne hOU::;L"'S. Thb (me rnake ... u~ remember lhe
vill:lge \Vas 111<.:"" seal of Ihe (."Ou nb of Osorno. and
a_~ ~uch. il dales from lhe 151 h ccnlury. \"ilh EllnH
M
,
170
SA.tYIi\I' IDER
The PO~I and Tdegr.lph Office of Santander is
1<X.'!Lled in une o f Ihe mO~1 \.'mblemalic mea:-. of
Ihe dly. 11 shoulcl su ffice lO obselve lhe size of
Ihe open spaces Ih:1I :-.urrouncls il and Ihe significmce of Ihe !lear by hui1din¡.¡;~. :.uch :1:' Ihe
C:llhedr::11 and Ihe Bank of Spain 10 under.-.land
~lg:Lin Ihe inlereSI place by Ihe Cily Council :md
Ibe Slale 10 make Ihes\.' huilding~ true elllhas~ie...
of Ihe ne\\" \\"orld uf commun iCllion:..
The dt"sign execulcd i ...... igl1ed hy Fern:'¡ndez
Quinlanilb and S\.'cundino Z U:IZO Ugalde, 1\\'0
SANTA URSUlA ( Tenerife)
011 Ihe old highway linking 1";:1 L:lguna 10 l:I
01'01:1\1:1. in Ihe nonh of Ihe b!:md o f Tenerife,
sil!lo lhe HIIle ham!el 01' Sanla Llr... ula. Ihal sinee
1996 ha:-. a Technical Communicalion Office. :md
Ihu.... onc of the !le\\"c~1. Thi .... ¡... a dÍ'>lribulion
centre concci\'L'X1 in prol"Xmion 10 Ih..., local
n ....'(..'Xb. 11 i:. a conlempor::Lf}' huildin~ de.. igned by
Enrique Solana de Que ...ada \\ ho. in Ihe detail~
ancl 111..: IreaUl1t.'nt of matcri:¡[~. adhl.'rt:... in lht'
!1l0... ¡ ¡.¡;ener..11 fashion 10 Ihe "'o-C:llIecl m<xlcrn
designo
BIBLIO GRAFíA
AA. VV. : La Gasa de Correos, 111/ etliJicio el/kl cil/dad, J\bd rid. 1988.
ALO".'>Ü P r. ~ El R/\, J.R. : "El P:lbcio ele Comunic:¡ciones en la historia ll1adrilena" .
Filia de ¡\f{/c/lid. núm. 66, 1980, pp.43-50.
BE"!TO G OERl.lClL 1).: f.a arqllileclura d el eclecticismo ell Valen c ia , Valencia.
1983.
UOI.AOERI~ . G.
y Olros :llItorcs: "Con curso de proyectos p:ml Cenll.ll de
Correos y Telégraros. Dictamen elel jurado", Anuario de la Asociaci6/1 de
Arquitectos de Ca/altll/a, ( Barcelona). 19 17. pp. 65-76.
CAHI:LI.O LAI'IEORA, loM .: - tos nuevos edificios para Correos y Telég~lfos",
Arq/lileclllI"C/ JI COIISlntcci6 /1 . (Barcelona), 19 19, pp. 8 1-94.
CA.\I,\ CIIO, R. «([i r.): Cllía bislóricO-{//1ístiCt./ de Málag a , ¡\'¡(¡laga. 1992.
ICatfilogol de la Exposición EI/seui BOJItI, Barcelona , 1973.
CI'Juoo LÓ1J EZ, J.: " I)on Vcnt ura Hodríguez y 1:1 nueva Casa dc ColTCOS d e
1\l:Ldrid", Anales dellllsfifwo de Es/lidios Marllileú os. (l\ ladrid). 1976, XIII ,
pp. 133- 142.
1\'1.1.: 1..<1 jormaciólI de la ciudad con/emponillea . LogrO/lo
entre /850 y 1936. Logroño. 1993.
D A RIA~ PRí"ClI'E. A.: La Gomera. Espac io. tiempoyforll/a. l\'l:tdrid. 1992.
FER'lÁ:"'OEZ F t: I!.'lÁNOEZ. X.: Arqllifeclllra del eclecticismo el l Galicia (18751914), b Canilla., 1995.
G AI!.RIOO HODlÚGIIEl, X. e I GLESIAS VEI GA. J,M.R.: Mmlllel Gómez Ro máll . Mesfl'e
da arquitectura g aleg uista, l\'i:ldrid , 1995.
C EI!.RI U.O l{u m O,
J. L : "Im:'tgencs de b :t rquit ectura abulense des<lparccida.
en la documentaCión del siglo XIX". Los arc!JillOS y la ill tJes(igació ll. Á \'ila ,
GlJI1 fo l!.llEZ ROIILEOO,
1987. pp. 13-32.
J.P.: I-Jis/on'a de las ca lles d e Toledo. Toledo, 197 1 (2. vals, ).
¡v I Al!.n N -Cl.I:TO.
Ca!)'ü d e Co r reos)' Telégrafos de Valellcia: Sil h istoria,
V:tlencia, 1991 (i néd ito).
M07.A<;. J y FERNÁNOEZ, A. : Vi/oda. C llía de arqllitec/lIl't1. Viloria, 1995.
N ,WASCUts PALACIO , P.: "Jaime Marquel y la Amigua Casa d e Correos de
Madrid Villa de Madrid, nLun. 24. 1968, pp.6s-70.
NAVAscut<; P,\LAC10 , P.: " Regionalism o y arquilectur.1 en Espaib ( 1900-1 930),
Arquitec/lll'fl JI Vivienda. ( Madrid ), 1985, núm.3, pp.28-35.
PALIZA M ONDUATE, l\ 1.T . y NIETO GO:-<ZÁLEZ, J .R. : "Ejemplos de la arquitectura
residencia l miro brigense e n e l primer terciO de l siglo XX" , A clas d el 11m
CO l/g reso 6/x0101 d e Nistoria del A11e. T I, pp. 521-524. Ckeres, 1992.
R ot)ltiGUF:Z GuntI!.REZ, P.: I.a ClIY/lIifecll l ra oficial d el siglo XX ell 5al/ItI Cm z de
Tellc rife, Santa Cru z de Tenerifc, 1986.
RODl!.fGUEZ SoI!.Oi\OO , M.e.: Arq/lifectura pública el/ 5{//1 Sebas/iáll (18 /3/922) , S:m Sebasti:'tn , 1985
SAINZ DE LOS TERRERO~, L : "l.;¡ nueva caS;l d e Correos. Visita in augu ra l", I.a
CO lls/m cció /I M odema , ( l\ladrid), 19 19, OLI111.1, 15 de enero d e 1919,
M AR'TiNEZ FEURERO. H.:
M
,
pp.4-6.
Va.tAR M OVEll.ÁN, A .:
Arquitectllra del rr.-.ogi o l/alisll/ o el¡ Sevilla (1900- 1935).
Sc\'i1b , 1979.
17]