Jørn Utzon, Can Lis. The façade unfolded and the solution was exemplary

Abstract

Jørn Utzon contributed in Can Lis (1971-74) an exemplary solution to the 'unfolding of the façade', a design theme that marks the history of architecture and is framed within the projectual problem, fully in force, of reconciling on the façade two different interests: to functionally and spatially shape the architectural interior and, simultaneously, provide the formal exterior presence sought. In Can Lis, it is in the main living room and the bedrooms seaside facades where the unfolding is exemplary. The article analyzes the compositional and constructive criteria that determine this unfolding, relating it to historical precedents as well as to the ongoing conversations, or trends, that marked the western architectural panorama of that time. This makes it possible to relate this work to the logics and architectural debates of the 70s and his ode to the fragment, veiled in Can Lis, by the unity of the stories, utopias and myths of the Classic, the Modern and the Mediterranean.