Casa de Retiro Espiritual, Córdoba, Spain, Section
Emilio Ambasz
Argentine, born 1943
1979
An ink-and-graphite architectural section by Emilio Ambasz that proposes a spiritual retreat partly sunk into the ground, aiming to unite a monumental modern volume with intimate, earth-embedded vaults to create a contemplative, landscape-integrated space.
The drawing strikes you with the contrast of a vast, pale vertical wall pierced by a crisp diagonal staircase opposite warm, rounded subterranean vaults, rendered with precise linework, soft shading, and a hint of color that emphasizes earth and light.
This work illustrates Ambasz’s early, influential strategy of fusing modernist form with landscape—an important moment in late 20th-century, site-sensitive and environmentally aware architectural thinking—and shows how a section can stage atmosphere and experience as design tools.
Medium
Ink and graphite on paper
Dimensions
11 1/8 x 15 1/2" (28.3 x 39.4 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of the architect
Accession
481.1990
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
