English
At the CaixaForum in Barcelona, from the 20th of June until the 9th of September, you can enjoy the last few days of the temporary architectural exhibition Towers and Skyscrapers, from Babel to Dubai.
This exhibition is a look back to the history of the construction of towers and skyscrapers. Starting from the myth of the tower of Babel and ending with the construction of the skyscrapers in Dubai, Towers and Skyscrapers shows the tendency that mankind has for impossible challenges and the search of verticality as a way of being closer to divinity, as a defiance of the laws of nature or simply as something functional to optimize the space in the big cities.
And so, since the beginning of time, many buildings have symbolized the look to the sky, no matter their objective. Cathedrals, minarets and watchtowers in the Middle Ages, influenced by the biblical subject of the tower of Babel, which goes up in a spiral shape and that illustrated many paintings in the 16th century, such as those by Brueghel, open this exhibition, as well as an original model that the visitor can admire.
The Paris World Fair in 1889, and the presentation of the Eiffel Tower (1887), sees the end of one of the biggest concerns of 19th century engineers, which was building a tower of great magnitude.
That same era, in the United States, was known as the Spring of Skyscrapers (1885-1919). After the fire in Chicago in 1871, the first building of these characteristics was built, the Home Insurance Building (138ft) by William LeBaron Jenney, becoming a model of modernity and the image of the future, which influenced the architectonical scene, both in the United States and Europe, between 1919 and 1939. Even so, the art déco of European buildings would also be applied in the interiors of its American counterparts, reciprocating the influence between the two continents.
From this international style, inherited from the Bauhaus, the United States created the model of the skyscraper, based on rationality and functionality, which would project itself between 1939 and 1973.
From the end of the 70s until today, the diffusion of skyscrapers around the world has been a reality. And so, the exhibition closes with a building whose construction began in 2009 and that overcomes all the limits that were in place until then, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
Even so, the myth of the tower of Babel alerts us of something, which is that the disproportion and the challenge to the principles of the universe make mankind more vulnerable, and there are many examples of this.
Also, if you like this subject, the CaixaForum also offers activities about the exhibition. If you want to check out the programme of Towers and Skyscrapers, here´s the link: http://obrasocial.lacaixa.es/nuestroscentros/caixaforumbarcelona/torresyrascacielos_es.html
Don´t miss out on the chance to see the heights from the perspective of its creators!
If you´re looking for apartments in Barcelona, enjoy the last few days of this great exhibition, ´Towers and Skyscrapers, from Babel to Dubai´, and don´t forget that, until December, you can participate in the conferences and films regarding this exhibition.
