Patxi ‘francisco’ Mangado Is Coming To Town

I already have my ticket to see the Spanish architect Patxi ‘Francisco’ Mangado who will be touring Australia in September and October this year. He is a guest of the Australian Institute of Architect’s International Speaker Series. I have a rather strange relationship with these International Speaker Series. On two occasions I haven’t been able to make it due to last minute unforeseen circumstances and had to forfeit my rather expensive ticket. On the last occasion I became ill and ended up in the bathroom before the speaker arrived and had to go home. So this time I am not only determined to make it I am determined to sick – I mean sit – through the whole talk illness free.

The Spanish do some great contemporary architecture; including Mangado. I particularly  love his Archaeology Museum of Álava, in Vitoria, Spain. I adore its monolithic form and how the windows read deep within the facade. It reminds me of traditional European architecture with the thick solid walls – often made of stone. In this case he has clad the building in timber and it looks fantastic. The contrast of the citrus coloured timber window surrounds works beautifully against the chocolate cladding. I love it. I love it. I love it.

Now I have Spain in my head I am reminiscing about the time I walked the 780km of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela from St Jean Pied de Port in France to Santiago in Spain. To think how close I was to Vitoria. I could have popped in to see Mangado’s museum; except it was yet to be built. Next time.