Classical Architecture: Castle Kafka / Ricardo Bofill

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Known for his innovative structures and colorful, the Catalan architect Ricardo Bofill and multidisciplinary firm, Architecture WorkshopCollaborated on the design of a single apartment complex on the outskirts of Barcelona in the area of ??Sant Pere de Ribes.

Completed in 1968, Kafka’s Castle, an homage to Franz Kafka “is far from traditional design techniques and aesthetics of the typical Spanish apartment buildings. Instead of a development from the site, plan, and context , Bofill launched a series of mathematical equations, which led to the position of the ninety houses, and the location of Kafka’s Castle.

In 1963, he founded his company Bofill, Taller de Arquitectura, to be an innovative and progressive multidisciplinary team of architects, engineers, sociologists and philosophers to provide a modern design in a series of social and cultural levels. It was not until the 1970 that the company is internationally known for its colorful, innovative, and oddly titled buildings. Kafka’s Castle was one of the projects that helped Bofill and his firm to enter the international level.

Often called a resort, but Kafka’s Castle is a housing complex comprising 90 apartments, swimming pool, sauna, bar and restaurants. Despite that, Kafka’s Castle has some programs similar to that of a building typical Spanish department, the design of this complex is very different. is a set of prefabricated blocks are based on two mathematical equations that generate their location relative to the vertical circulation towers and the overall site design.

Bofill and his team used two equations that led to the design strength of the project. The first equation generates the number of capsules room that is connected to the stair towers, while the second equation determines the height of its projection in a spiral around the stairwell. Apart from prefabricated components, the two equations provide a design standard not based solely on a generative process that creates overlaps and juxtapositions volumetric proximal end, began to create internal voids within the cubic composition.

The cubes are small prefabricated units for its size and scale in the overall organizational system contain only a room or space so that each has a direct connection to the central tower of stairs. The cubes are designed so that each cube contains a spatial element important for the overall construction of the apartment units. A cube can have a dorm room or have a combination living room-dining room.

Apartment, : Classical Architecture. Castle Kafka - Ricardo Bofill3

Apartment, : Classical Architecture. Castle Kafka - Ricardo Bofill1

The departments are created by combining various units that are connected through several changes of level within the interior thereof.

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Coincidentally, while Moshe Safdie built a similar scheme, Habitat 67, Montreal, Canada for Expo 67. Both projects explore the types of home phones that branch from a central organization of the system, and various spatial qualities generated from a design and porous units.