Visions of the Alhambra

An exhibition by Aedes Architecture Forum Berlin with the Council of the Alhambra and Generalife, Granada showcasing the project New Gate of the Alhambra, designed by the Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza Vieira (Oporto, 1933) and Juan Domingo Santos (Granada, 1961), which won the 2010 International Competition for New Visitor Access to the Monument

The Alhambra is one of the most eminent World Heritage Sites in Europe. This significance is highlighted especially in the context of current times, as it represents periods of respect for diversity, pluralism and the co-existence of different cultures and religions.

After the first exhibition with Álvaro Siza 30 years ago, Aedes is pleased to join this outstanding architect again to showcase his work. The exhibition will consist of several original sketches for the project of the New Gate of the Alhambra by the architect who also received the prestigious Pritzker Prize in 1992. In addition, the exhibition will display models, executive drawings, an installation referencing the Alhambra, photographs and interviews that will bring the Berlin audience closer to the Alhambra New Gate project, a creation that Siza himself confessed to be the “project of our lives. I am totally devoted to it. Each project is a challenge but this one is mythical.” The exhibition provides a comprehensive understanding of this remarkable project. It will also give an insight in the historical and cultural context of this more than 1000-year-old monument.

Moreover, following this concept, the exhibition will demonstrate through several examples the close relationship that exists between Siza, Juan Domingo Santos and the monument. In Álvaro Siza’s case, he visited the Alhambra for the first time with his father, when he was still a child: “I was charmed. Then I came back several times, sometimes with great experts of the Alhambra, which allowed me to soak in its history.” Juan Domingo has a similar relationship to the monument, as he grew up in Granada with the Alhambra and its gardens.

The New Gate project will involve the rearrangement of a different entrance to the Alhambra, a work that, according to its authors, “will be complex” and will integrate the surrounding landscape according to its topographical and archaeological relevance.