La Muralla Roja

"Beauty and intelligence is what moves me" says Ricardo Bofill, the architect and visionary behind some of Spain's most iconic buildings. We visit La Muralla Roja, to view one of his most photographed buildings.

La Muralla Roja is an architectural masterpiece. Literally translated to "The Red Wall" and built originally in 1973, it has regained a new sort of fame due to its iconic imagery popularized through social media. Its design is inspired by a geometric plan based on the Greek cross typology that leaves the service towers at the intersection of the crosses of the build. There is clear reference to the traditional Mediterranean and Arab architecture like the North African adobe towers and the casbah. The vivid colours of the building combine with the stark framing of the blue sky and the Mediterranean sea. Ricardo Bofill was born into a family of builders in 1939 in Barcelona. In 1963 he gathered a multidisciplinary, multitalented group in order to confront the complexity of architectural practice; architects, engineers, planners, sociologist, writers, movie makers and philosophers, conformed what is known today as the Taller de Arquitectura. The studio defines its practice as nomads on a journey to redefine style and space. Even though La Muralla Roja is a popular tourist attraction, due to social media exposure and pressures the building is now fenced off except to residents or the short term rental of an apartment via Air Bnb.