Visions of New York ( architects, writers & filmmakers) and Special Rafael Guastavino, Architect of New York City

New York City is known for its abstract imaginary. It is an authentic poetic myth, a  city that lives between the dichotomy of the real and unreal. To write about New  York City and in particular, Manhattan, is to project many distinct perspectives on
the island. This program will focus on the eyes of architects, writers, artists and filmmakers. The program also pays special attention to the architect of New York: Rafael Guastavino.

yhe legacy of the Spanish architect Rafael Guastavino is huge. Rafael Guastavino left in the US . Rafael Guastavino Moreno,Who, at his death in 1908, would be described by the New York Times as "the architect of New York," ,  was born in Valencia in 1842 and emigrated to the United States in 1881 along with his nine-year-old son. Gone were his native Valencia and Barcelona where he had learned the office of architect in the School of Masters of Works,  Guastavino would never return to Spain. Guastavino incarnated the American dream. The key to his success was, on the one hand, his contributions in the technical aspects of his designs. The arches and vaults that Guastavino proposed were lightweight, but robust, quick to construct and economical but its fundamental and most appreciated characteristic was its resistance to fires. And on the other in the undeniable aesthetic appeal and elegance that fit perfectly with the Parisian style Beaux Arts and how much appreciated was in the US. In 1910, the construction company that fund with his son, simultaneously participated in the construction of 100 buildings in 12 different cities of the USA. More than 1,000 buildings in America, of which 600 survive and constitute his legacy. Most are in New York or Boston, but we can find them in 30 other states, Canada and Cuba.