Building on the landscape legacy: Of the “Quinta Julieta” to the “House of Spiritual Exercises”. The contribution of the architecture of Santiago Lagunas

Abstract

At the end of the 19TH century, Enrique Sagols and Julia Rodrigo, bought land in Zaragoza next to the Imperial Canal. They conceived the idea of making a fifth of recess, following the canons of the time. The venue was known as “La Quinta Juliet”, and was used as a leisure area. In 1940, it was acquired by the society of Jesus in order to build a place for the gathering, the “House of spiritual exercises”. Santiago Lagunas Mayandía, (1912- 1995) architect and painter, pioneer of the abstraction in Spain with the “Portico Group”, was the architect in 1956 of the transformation of the garden playful of the “Quinta Julieta” in a space of great load emotional. In that transformation Lagunas assumes the trace of the existing landscape as if it were a palimpsest and re-reads them to give rise to what it is now. Through its unique architecture based on respect for the place and the use of color, it generates a space intended for a purpose other than for which it was created. The architect preserved the built landscape, the imprint of time and the outline of the memory in search of a place of meditation and encounter with one’s self.