Rafael Guastavino
This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2011) |
Rafael Guastavino | |
---|---|
Valencia, Spain | |
Died | February 1, 1908 | (aged 65)
Resting place | Basilica of St. Lawrence, Asheville |
Engineering career | |
Discipline | Architectural engineering |
Significant advance | Guastavino tile |
Rafael Guastavino Moreno (Spanish pronunciation: [rafaˈel ɣwastaˈβino]; March 1, 1842 – February 1, 1908) was a Spanish building engineer and builder who immigrated to the United States in 1881; his career for the next three decades was based in New York City.[1]
Based on the
Guastavino Fireproof Construction Company
In 1881 Guastavino came to New York City from Valencia,[2] with his youngest son, nine-year-old Rafael Jr.[3] In Spain he had been an accomplished architect and was a contemporary of Antoni Gaudí.[2] In the March 7, 1885 article entitled "The Dakota Apartment House", printed in The Real Estate Record and Builders Guide, Guastavino was identified as the contractor in charge of "fireproof construction" of the luxury apartment building, which was completed in 1884. Though not specified, the work may very well have included the groined vault entries on the south side on West 72nd Street, and the north side on West 73rd Street, as well as the construction of the subterranean basement, and the 3-foot thick arched floors between the basement and attic levels.
Guastavino was commissioned by the firm of
After working on the estate, Guastavino decided to build his own retirement home in the mountains of Black Mountain, North Carolina in a 500-acre valley. His property, Rhododendron, also had a vineyard, dairy, brick kiln, and more.[4] This property currently is owned by Christmount Assembly, the conference center for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).[5] Guastavino's wife Francesca remained in the house until she died in 1946, and all that remains is a brick foundation and a wine cellar.[3] The property holds artifacts that may be visited, including the kiln and chimney, a wine cellar, beautiful old stone walls, and many smaller structures that have been rediscovered as modern buildings have been constructed there.
Guastavino and his son also developed twenty-four products that were awarded patents. Their company, Guastavino Fireproof Construction Company,[2] run by the father and then by his son, was incorporated in 1889. It executed its final contract in 1962. Akoustolith was one of several trade names used by Guastavino.
Hundreds of major building projects incorporate the distinctive
Work in New York City
In 1900, New York architects
The Guastavinos had entered New York as immigrants via Ellis Island. In 1917 the younger Rafael Guastavino III was commissioned to rebuild the ceiling of the Ellis Island Great Hall. The Guastavinos set 28,258 tiles into a self-supporting interlocking 56-foot (17 m)-high ceiling grid so durable and strong that during the restoration project of the 1980s only seventeen of those tiles had to be replaced.[6]
The largest dome created by the Guastavino Company was over the central crossing for the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Manhattan: it is 100 ft (30 m) in diameter and 160 feet (49 m) high. This dome was intended to be a temporary structure, to be replaced by a high central tower. In 2009 this "temporary" fix celebrated the 100th anniversary of its construction. Guastavino received this contract due to the much lower price he could quote because his system served as its own scaffolding. This was an extreme test of his system, however. The masons had to work from above, each day adding a few rows of tiles, and standing on the previous day's work to make progress. At the edges, many layers of tile were laid, and the dome thins as it rises toward the center.
As building engineer
Few structures designed and built by Guastavino alone have been identified. He was responsible for a series of surviving rowhouses with unusual Mooresque features on West 78th Street (121–131 known as the "red and whites"), on
Family
Guastavino lived with his aunt and uncle when he studied architecture in Barcelona, and he had a relationship with their adopted daughter Pilar. When he was 17 and she was 16, Pilar became pregnant, and the two married. They had three sons together, but Guastavino had an affair with nanny Paulina Roig, after which Pilar left her husband, later moving to Argentina. It is believed Paulina was the mother of Guastavino's fourth son Rafael Jr., and the three, along with the two previous daughters she had, moved to New York City together in 1881.[3][2] However, Paulina and her two daughters returned to Spain that same year.
Guastavino began a relationship with Francesca Ramirez, who was much younger than he was, and he pretended Francesca was his daughter until they moved to North Carolina in the early 1890s. They married in 1894, when Guastavino was 51 and she was 33. At that time, he tried searching for his ex-wife and sons but had no luck.[3]
Retirement in North Carolina
After working on a commission at the Biltmore Estate, Guastavino retired to Black Mountain.
The site of his estate is now used as Christmount, the conference and retreat center of the
In North Carolina Guastavino completed a number of projects: his work is found in Duke Chapel in Durham, the Jefferson Standard Building in Greensboro, the Motley Memorial in Chapel Hill, and Basilica Shrine of St. Mary in Wilmington. He is buried in the crypt of the Basilica of St. Lawrence, Asheville, which he designed in 1905.
Archival sources
- The records and drawings of the Guastavino Fireproof Construction Company are held by the Department of Drawings & Archives in the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library at Columbia University in New York City.
See also
References
Notes
- ^ "9 Dazzling Tiled Archways Devised by Rafael Guastavino | Architectural Digest". Architectural Digest. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
- ^ a b c d e Sam Allis (February 26, 2011). "The greatest architect you've never heard of". The Boston Globe. Retrieved February 26, 2011.
- ^ a b c d Chesky, Anne (September 30, 2023). "WNC History: Infidelity may have led to Guastavino's move here, work on Biltmore, basilica". Asheville Citizen-Times.
- ^ a b «Guastavino Estate - Rhododendron - Black Mountain, North Carolina», Guastavino Alliance. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
- ^ a b "Christmount Retreat, Camp & Conference Center, Black Mountain NC 28711". christmount. Retrieved Dec 14, 2019.
- ^ Dunlap, David W. (25 February 1987). "At Ellis Island, Gloomy Ruin Starts to Shine". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
- ^ Guastavino Facebook page, retrieved 2010-11-21
- ^ "awixa.com". DAN.COM. Retrieved Dec 14, 2019.
- ^ "Rafael Guastavino Jr. House". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
- ^ Michael T. Southern and Peter Austin (May 1989). "Rafael Guastavino, Sr., Estate" (PDF). National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory. North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
Further reading
- Ochsendorf, John; Freeman, Michael (Photographer), Guastavino Vaulting: The Art of Structural Tile, Princeton Architectural Press; 1st edition (September 22, 2010). ISBN 978-1568987415
- Moro, Javier; A prueba de fuego, Ed. Planeta 2020, a novel thoroughly researched about the Guastavinos, father and son. ISBN 978-84-670-6391-2
External links
- Rafaelguastavino.com: documenting Guastavino's work in New York City
- Guastavino.net backup at MIT: documenting Guastavino's work in the Boston area, this page provides copies of writings and patents by the Guastavinos as well
- Video of masons using traditional Guastavino methods, ca.2012
- Guastavino Fireproof Construction Company architectural records, 1866-1985 (bulk, 1890-1942). Held by the Department of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library, Columbia University, New York City
- Photo of the Rhododendron house