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interpretative model
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plans
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Columbus Lighthouse, plans |
analysis
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In 1928 the Pan-American Union, an attempt to unite countries from the American continent under US hegemony, held the “Competition for a Lighthouse in memory of Christopher Columbus” to be built in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic’s capital. A total of 455 entries registered from 48 countries. The jury, in which Frank Lloyd Wright participated in a second phase, published the results in 1931. English architect J.L. Gleave became winner, his proposal was a huge concrete and marble mass that, seen from above, looked liked an enormous luminescent lying cross, a clear symbol of America’s Christianization. The young Soviet Union send 23 proposals, architect Konstantin Melnikov distanced his project from any religious symbolism and proposed a powerful image, representative of the meeting between Europe and America. The monument rose near 200 m (656 ft) high, its composition was based in two couples of main figures: two inverted cones cast over a vertical axis and two perpendicular triangular “wings” with articulations in their base through all the inferior cone. Melnikov seemed to repeat the same binary game with diagonals as protagonists, both frequent aspects in other projects such as the USSR Pavilion (1925) or the Soviets Palace (1931), but in this case the “symmetrical” fragments were submitted to powerful forces of nature, that also provided their strength. The upper cone was hollow, rainwater was collected inside thus starting a turbine located in the base of the monument. In turn, the “wings” could wave under wind impulse also collecting energy for the lighthouse. Seven rings (seven notes of a music scale) wrapped the superior spinning cone, the “wings” movement should produce “music night and day, beaming its waves to the whole world, waking up humanity to inspire the tireless creation of great works and heroic deeds, like Christopher Columbus’ ”. A helicoidal ramp curled up in the lower cone wall surface until it met the upper cone in a wide terrace where the monument for Columbus and Spain rose. When the two cones met, a helicoidal stair ascended to the pinnacle attached to the wall intrados of the upper cone. Dynamism incorporated to constructivism through familiar elements such as wings, spirals, translucent materials, water or light was tempered by two aspects: the serene equilibrium sensation given by the strong vertical configuration of the cones and the passive acceptance of natural forces impulse, inexorable and primitive—opposite to those mechanisms exposed in the Third International Monument. The symbolism became very clear, the superior cone represented the impetuous force of the American culture—the New World’s vital balm—and the inferior, the western civilization’s solid base set in Europe, both in perfect harmony. Light, water motion, a triumphant and dynamic image, music, liberating flutter, all presented as a result of the American awakening produced by the feat of the discovery. (F.A.P.) |
related works
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Rusakov Club
USSR Pavilion |
bibliography
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plans and models made by: 2005 - Oriol Vives, Maria Maguet, Montse Sanchez, Marc Barot Guilló, Cortada, Ruiz, Molas |
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VV.AA.(con textos de Otokar Mácel, Ton Salvadó, Ginés Garrido, Moisés Puente, Federico Soriano et altri) Konstantin S. Melnikov. Madrid: Electa, 2001. VV.AA. Vanguardia Soviética 1918-1933: Arquitectura realizada. Barcelona: Lunwerg Editors, 1996. COOKE, Catherine; KAZUS, Igor. Soviet architectural competitions 1924-1936. Londres: Phaidon, 1992. KHAN-MAGOMEDOV, Selim O. Pioneers of Soviet architecture. Londres: Thames and Hudson, 1989. STARR, S. Frederick. Melnikov: Solo architect in a mass society. Nueva York: Princeton University Press, 1981. Konstantín S. Melnikov. Madrid: Ed. Electa, Instituto de Juan Herrera, Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid, 2004. SALVADÓ, Ton (ed.), COHEN, J. L. COOKE, C. STRIGALER, A.A. TAFURI, M. Constructivismo Ruso. Barcelona: Ed. Del Serbal, 1994. |
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