Swim Stay!!

I am excited to announce that some people who are very close to me have started a business. The company, Liquid Lanai Concepts, LLC, is a small, family business which has put out a useful, well-constructed, inexpensive product.

This great product allows you to use your backyard pool for exercise. It's called the Swim Stay. This product is not meant for children but is a fantastic workout tool for adults with pools. Swimming is one of the best exercises you can do. It allows you to work your entire body and it doesn't strain your joints and bones the way running does... but you know all that.

Please check out their new website and, if you think the product will benefit you, purchase a Swim Stay of your own.

Santiago Calatrava

And finally, a modern Spanish architect…

Santiago Calatrava was born in Spain in 1951 and is still alive and working. He is a sculptor, architect, and structural engineer.
Calatrava began his career designing bridges and train stations (like the one shown above). He is currently working on a design for a station at the former site of the World Trade Center. The station will remind viewers of a hand releasing a bird.

Calatrava is also working on a building that, when finished, will be the tallest building in North America. It is called the Chicago Spire and was inspired by campfire smoke twisting into the air. To me, it looks like a twisty rocket ship.
He has designed many modern-looking buildings that have been constructed throughout the world. I really love the Turning Torso in Malmo, Sweden (shown above). If you are from the Milwaukee area you will certainly have see the Milwaukee Art Museum (below).
In Valencia, Spain you will find the City of Arts and Sciences. The city includes five massive and gorgeous buildings designed by Calatrava. The Hemispheric is especially beautiful. It looks like an oyster with a giant pearl. Also check out the pictures of the Palace of Arts and the Museum of Science.

Each of Calatrava’s designs is so different from the others but you can see that they came from the same mind.

To the Americans: Happy 4th of July! To everyone else: Enjoy your weekend!

I will be posting later today about something that is not related to art but that you may be interested in. Be sure to check back.

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Antoni Gaudi

I mentioned Antoni Gaudi yesterday but I think I need to tell you more about him. He was a pretty terrific architect with a style unlike anyone else.

Gaudi was born in Spain in 1852. He studied architecture in Barcelona, Spain at the Escola Tecnica Superior d’Arquitectura but he was not a very good student. After five years, in 1878, Gaudi officially became an architect.

He began designing small projects but soon met Eusebi Guell. Guell became Gaudi’s patron and the architect designed buildings and parks in his name. You saw a picture of Parque Guell yesterday. Go click through the photos at the main Palau Guell website. I especially like the chimneys that grow atop the building like colorful trees.

You can see the characteristics of Art Nouveau in Gaudi’s work. There are bright tile mosaics and curving lines. He was very influenced by nature as you can see in the chimneys at Palau Guell.

The building that Antoni Gaudi is best known for, though, is La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona (shown below). He began this huge church in 1882 and he worked on it until he died in 1926. It still has not been finished. Gaudi designed and redesigned this building. He was forever tinkering with the plans. Unfortunately, the last blueprint he drew was destroyed in 1938 so the architects who are currently working on the building don’t know exactly what Gaudi had in mind for the church. Click here for more pictures.
One of Gaudi’s buildings, Casa Vicens, is for sale. This means that you can go to the website and see pictures of the inside and outside. Make sure to look at the original blueprints, too. It’s neat to compare the blueprint for the facades (the outsides) of the building to the pictures shown.

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Spanish Architecture: Art Nouveau

You may remember the post about art nouveau. The style began in France but it spread to other places, including Spain. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Art Nouveau buildings were created in Spain.

Like the buildings in France, Spanish Art Nouveau buildings included curving lines and decorations, and mosaics and stained glass. The shapes imitated nature so they were not usually symmetrical.
One example is the Parque Guell (sounds like: par-kay gwel) by Antonio Gaudi (shown above). Below is a second example, also by Gaudi. It is the Casa Batllo.
They remind me of cartoon castles or bakery cakes. Quite different from the Mudejar style buildings and the Churrigueresque architecture.

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Spain: Churrigueresque

Yesterday you learned about the Mudejar style of architecture in Spain. Beginning in 1667, a new style took over. Like Mudejar it was very decorative, but it wasn’t so serious. The style was called Churrigueresque.

Churrigueresque buildings are very decorative with carvings and twisting columns. You may remember that Mudejar buildings are also often covered in carvings. Compare the pictures shown below. Notice the difference between the patterns carved on the Mudejar building (shown first) and the pictures carved on the Churrigueresque building (shown second).

Churrigueresque combined architecture with sculpture. The carvings are so detailed and stand out so much that they are almost little sculptures. Can you imagine how much work that must have taken?

The Churrigueresque style can still be seen in Spain. It spread to all the Spanish territories, too, so you can find this style in Central America and South America.

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