March 6, 2007

Global Seminars & Invited Speaker Series

CONTEMPORARY ART LESSONS IN NAVARRA

Panorama of architecture in the second half of the 20th century

Dr. Javier Azanza López.
Chair of Navarrese Heritage and Art

The architecture of Navarre in the second half of the 20th century follows a long and attractive path in which it is possible to mark several stages that bring us closer to its evolution and to the names of its protagonists.
The 1950s is a period in which the post-war architecture is still present in buildings such as the Monument to the Fallen, the novitiate of the Oblate Sisters (1945 and 1953, Eugenio Arraiza), and the Izu Chalet (1955, Ramón Urmeneta) in the gardens of the average Luna, residency program of the indiano Ambrosio Izu, who became rich in Mexico, which looks back to the architecture of the Madrid of the Austrias. But along with this architecture that insists on the values of tradition, there are other works that seek to advance along the paths of modernity, such as the parish of San Francisco Javier (1952) or the Hotel de los Tres Reyes (1959-63), both by the Pamplona architect Miguel Gortari. 

The industrialization and the consequent increase in population experienced in the Pamplona region in the sixties and seventies led to the construction of towers in very visible points of the city, landmark buildings promoted by financial institutions, real estate companies or by the Pamplona City Council itself, among which are the Erroz Towers (1964, Javier Guibert and Fernando Redón), the Basoko Tower (1969, Ramón Urmeneta), the Torre de Monasterio de Fitero nº 24 (1971, J. Capdevilla and Estanislao de la Quadra-Salcedo), or the Singular Building (1968-1976, Javier Guibert, Manuel Jaén Albaitero, Manuel Jaén de Zulueta, Miguel Ángel Ruiz-Larrea and Luis Lozano Giménez). In the second half of the seventies, a lower tower typology and friendlier lines were imposed, evident in the Caja de Ahorros Municipal building on Avenida del Ejército (1975, Fernando San Martín, Xabier Sánchez de Muniain and Roberto Urtasun), or in the Santa Cruz residential and commercial building in Zizur Mayor (1975, Javier and Jesús Martínez Oroquieta).

Pamplona. Singular Building

Together with the construction of high-rise blocks, some of the architects who were to mark the panorama of Navarre's architecture in the second half of the 20th century, such as Fernando Redón, author of the most significant projects erected in the region during this period, many of them in partnership with Javier Guibert, are now making their presence felt.

The eighties and nineties were marked by the prominence of universities and new urban spaces. The University of Navarra fits in with the model of campus English, with very diverse buildings that allow us to make a tour of some architectural trends of the second half of the century; the most recent Social Sciences (1996, Ignacio Vincens and José Antonio Ramos) and Library Services of Humanities (1998, Javier Carvajal) establish a fruitful dialogue in the urban ensemble of the university city. In the Public University (1989), Francisco Javier Sáenz de Oiza proposes a miniature city in which, respecting the personality of each building, he achieves a unitary whole; the influences that can be detected in it reveal one of the features of his architecture, always permeable to avant-garde currents.
accredited specialization In the field of urban planning, the place and Yamaguchi park in Mendebaldea (1995, team of architects formed by Josep Martorell. Oriol Bohígas, Albert Puigdomenech and David Mackay), which includes the Planetarium of the architect Íñigo de Viar and the brothers Iñaki and Josu Aurrekoetxea Aurre.

Pamplona. file Royal and General of Navarre

Finally, the first years of the new millennium were fruitful in the architectural work of Pamplona and its metropolitan area . At the same time that the urban development is being completed with projects such as Sarriguren or others, not without controversy, such as Guenduláin, are announced, large public building projects are also being developed with an ambition and resources unknown until now. Along with the remodeling of the former Audiencia as the new seat of Parliament (2002), it is the time of the Royal and General file of Navarra (2003, Rafael Moneo), the Congress Center and Auditorium of Navarra (2003, Patxi Mangado) and, outside the city, the Jorge Oteiza Foundation Museum in Alzuza (2003, Francisco Javier Sáenz de Oiza), three authentic achievements of Navarre's architecture, each with its own personality and the fruit of the creative maturity of its author. Meanwhile, the pilgrimage of the new bus station project continues towards its completion, and plans are announced for the future AVE station that will give a new impulse to the panorama of contemporary architecture in Navarre.

Alzuza. Oteiza Foundation