We would like to talk about Rafael Guastavino in this post. Rafael Guastavino was a Spanish architect whose work has been recognized among the years as being part of the identity of the architecture in New York.
Rafael Gustavo Moreno was born in 1842 in Valencia, Spain, and of his times’ architects, he was one of the most internationally well-known, especially in the United States. It is in this country where, together with his son – Rafael Guastavino Expósito – they built one of the most characteristic buildings in the city of New York. It is important to notice they always enhanced the Mediterranean tradition by means of la bóveda catalana – the Catalan vault.
There are near 233 of his works in New York which were defined as being of special architectural interest. Among all these, New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Plaza Hotels, and the City Hall Subway Station are the most noted ones.
Estación de metro City Hall New York
Guastavino´s con puente Queensboro al fondo
In 1888, Guastavino founded his own building company, and from that moment on, it participated in some of the most significant works of the moment, as well as in the construction of near 1000 buildings, most of them in the USA. Some of these buildings in the USA are universities such as the University of Yale, Milt, Berkeley, Harvard or Columbia, or even the Metropolitan Museum of Art located in New York and the National Archives and Records Administration building – NARA. Not all of his buildings can just be found in the USA, but also in Canada, Cuba and India there is a part of his work.
It is also of special interest to mention “La casa de los azulejos” – The Tile House – in Bay Shore, New York. Designed by Guatavino Jr in 1913, this house features extensive tile work and the vaulted ceilings for which both men were known.
You can find an attached video taken from the Spanish television, TVE1 about Gustavino and his work. We hope you like it.