June 2006

Six stamps make up this Architecture issue amongst which feature the following: Casa Batlló (Barcelona), Teatro Campos Eliseos (Bilbao), Vapor de Aymerich, Amat y Jover (Terrassa, Barcelona), the Depósito de Aguas (Albacete), the Auditorio Alfredo Kraus (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria) and the Estación de Autobuses (Casar de Caceres).

"Casa Batlló"

The Casa Batlló in Barcelona, is a modernist style building by Antonio Gaudí, built from 1904 to 1906 and made on order of textile entrepreneur Joseph Batlló. It’s façade is made up of pieces of glass and pottery mixed with arsenic stone making waves resembling nature. The building is crowned by a porcelain cross, the balconies are made of iron and the gallery columns have bone shapes. Gaudi also designed the stairs and all the rooms as well as the furniture, lamps and doors.

This stamp, engraved by Alfredo Adán de Oro, from the FNMT-RCM (the Royal Spanish Mint), won the prize for the Best Chalcographic Stamp 2006-2007 awarded by the Government Postage Stamp Printers' Association (GPSPA).

"Teatro Campos Elíseos"

The Teatro Campos Eliseos in Bilbao (Campos Eliseos Theatre) is one of the most important exponents of the Art Nouveau in the Basque region. It was built from 1901 to 1902 by architects Alfredo Accebal and Jean Baptiste Darroquy. Acebal dealt with the technical details and Darroquy focused on the decoration. The delicate ornamentation of its façade of naturalist style where there are plenty of animal and vegetable forms has ceramic applications by Daniel Zuloaga and iron of curvilinear shapes. All these decorations are set around an oriental horseshoe shape arch. This building was restored in 1995-1997.

"El Vapor Aymerich"

The Vapor Aymerich, Amt i Jover is a building that dates back from 1909 and is an example of industrial architecture in Cataluña and one of the most beautiful buildings of its kind in Europe. It was built by Lluis Muncunill, one of the main architects of the modernist movement. The building is now the National Museum of Science and Technique and stand out its warehouses and the 34 m. chimney, besides a steam machine from 1897.

"Depósito de Aguas"

The Depósito de Aguas (water deposit) in Albacete, also known as Depositos del Sol, (Sun deposit) is currently a library. The circular building which was initially a deposit for storing more than 60,000 litres of water is crowned by a dome and a 34 m. tall chimney. The whole set was restored in 1994.

"Auditorio Alfredo Kraus"

The Auditorio Alfredo Kraus (Alfredo Kraus Auditorium) in the island of Gran Canaria is the work of Architect Oscar Tusquets and was inaugurated in 1997. Built in the far end of Las Canteras beach, it’s a singular building with four façades decorated by sculptor Juan Bordes. The building fulfils a double function: its both an Auditorium and a Convention Centre. It bears the name of opera singer Alfredo Kraus.

"Estación de Autobuses
de Casar"

The Estación de Autobuses (Bus station) in Casar de Cáceres is the work of Justo García Rubio built in 1992. It is a white concrete loop whose geometrical shapes and its colour match the buildings of the town.

The stamps depict perspectives of the facades.