las setas
Undecided…
This past Sunday was the official opening of the Metropol Parasol – aka Las Setas (wild mushrooms). I stayed away from the celebrations but snapped this pic of it yesterday once everything was back to the usual work-a-day crowds. While it was going up, which took years, I hated the damn thing as much as everyone else seemed to and couldn’t imagine how such a monstrosity would “fit” into such a beautiful old city as Sevilla. Though it’s actually sitting in the middle of the Encarnación Plaza, which had its heart and soul cut out of it during a fit of sixties “rebuilding” which destroyed palaces and old houses and left a strip of hideous office buildings and storefronts. But I digress…
The Setas (how can you not call them that?) are on the original site of the Encarnación Market which was levelled and moved to a “temporary” site next door … about 35 years ago. I don’t know the whole story there other than the original site was pretty much a parking lot when I first moved to Sevilla in 1993, then they started digging it up and discovered ruins that held up any building for several years. And then they started constructing The Setas.
The market was shifted over just before Christmas last year and although the building is now officially “open” there’s still some construction going on. When the scaffolding first started coming down, unveiling the first seta (in the foreground of the photo) I was startled to find myself liking how elegant it looked, swooping up towards the sky. But as more of the structure became visible I became less entranced. So I remain undecided. I guess the real test will be how well the site ends up being used. Aside from the market there will be bars and restaurants (coming soon!), and there’s a big shaded area up on the first level which has a small playground for children, benches for adults, and will apparently be used for concerts. There is also a walkway along top of the structure with panoramic views of the city which residents of Sevilla will be able to access free of charge. Anyhow, for better or worse, there it is.
What do you think?
[also posted on the Sevilla Blog]
I like the look of it
Exhuberant!
If I had read a description of that, I think I’d have hated it.
But seeing that picture, I think it looks pretty good. Of course it helps not having seen what was there before.
It is a very striking structure. Hard to judge without seeing it in the context of the town.
Well, if I say so myself, this photo (taken in haste while passing by with my iPhone) actually turned out very well and nicely shows the elegant sweeping lines of the structure. Also think this is the best perspective – from the other side it looks a bit clunky.
Ok, so maybe my comment about it looking like a burst mattress was harsh, but it really does resemble one of those wooden dinosaur kits you buy from craft shops.
I like the organic curviness of it–very mushroom-like, indeed! While I have trouble reconciling this image with other images of historic Sevilla, it is intriguing. And it sounds like an improvement over a big parking lot or ugly 60s office buildings. (Also an improvement over the construction site that I saw when I was there in 2009!) I’ll be interested to hear how your feelings about it develop. Maybe it will grow on you. (…like a fungus…)
It looks like discarded packaging.
I’m trying to place the Plaza itself, and if it’s the one I think it is, then thank the Lord they have finally done something with it.
And I think they’ve done something pretty spectacular with it, as well!
It’s hard to tell from one photo but I don’t mind the top so much. It’s the supports which I find too heavy. It would appear lighter and more soaring if the bases weren’t so stocky.
Oooh, I love it. What material(s) is it made from? It will be interesting to see how they change with a bit of weathering.
“an innovative timber-construction with a polyurethan[e] coating”, apparently.
Got this cool shot last night…
So yeah, the setas are *ahem* growing on me…
I think the most important thing will be to see how it rejuvenates the area, especially when the new bars and restaurants open and the last of the construction stuff has been taken away.
That’s more like it!
Going from the pictures, they look rather cool.
(I’m sure there’s another mushroom pun in here, but I’m too tired for that now
Your photo of it definitely caught my eye. From the angle seen in your photo, the structure looks very interesting and innovative. So… a (qualified) thumbs up from me re it!
Going by your photos I think – WOW, I love it! I was looking at the Daily Telegraph’s travel supplement (the front page showed a photo of the Guggenheim, Bilbao) today with a friend and she said “the Spanish love that surreal sort of architecture”. I would love to live in Spain.