La Muralla Roja, A Labyrinth of Colorful Geometric Beauty

Partida Manzanera, 3, 03710 Calp, Alicante, Spain

The entire building has a unique design

4.9

Introduction

The Shangri-La City Wall royal in Alicante, Spain, was designed by architect Ricardo Bofill in Manzanera and built in 1973. Bofill had been conceiving this design for the previous decade, and eventually realized his idea. The building was designed through aesthetic techniques to create a series of courtyards, responding to the need for interconnected housing. The terrace features shared amenities such as a sunroom, swimming pool, and sauna. The combination of forms in the building uses different types and geometric plans to respond to various hybrid approaches and intersections, and also references popular Mediterranean and Moorish architectural styles, particularly the adobe towers of North Africa and Casbah. The functional and color range of architectural elements is given specific meaning. This building provides high-quality housing services and offers comprehensive security in the town of Calpe. In 2012, the Calpe City Council held an exhibition called "Red Wall," and this building became an important exhibit in the exhibition. Professor Adriana Figuera and architect Diana Gomez were invited to coordinate student organizations in the course. The exhibition not only analyzed the building itself, but also explored the important values of surrounding buildings and related properties, and made intervention recommendations for new projects in Calpe or other geographical locations.