Old Faculty of Sciences of Valencia . It is located on Avenida de Blasco Ibáñez nº 13, corner with Jaime Roig in the city of Valencia , Spain .
the beginning
Initially, it was designed as part of a single building along with that of the Faculty of Medicine, the architect José Luis Oriol y Urigüen initiating this first phase of the project , and breaking it down in 1911 . The works suffered several interruptions, taking charge of the definitive project Mariano Peset Aleixandre , drafting it in 1933 .
Description
The plan is a classic composition exercise, organized from two orthogonal axes that intersect at the point where the dome rises. It is at this point, where the turn to Jaime Roig street also occurs, when it practically did not exist. From this central point the program is developed, locating the main pieces such as the rectory or the assembly hall in the circular sector developed by him.
The language of the building is perhaps the most complex. Within an apparent stylistic ambiguity, we find a calibrated composition of volumes, in which the tower stands out, acting as a patella on which the building turns to its perpendicular side. This tower is configured as the main body, ending with an observatory. The appearance is robust and monumental, where relevant spaces such as the lobby, staircase and access are emphasized.
Although features related to German expressionism, neo-medievalism or the late Viennese style have been attributed to it, this building refers us to the first operas of a Behrens , a Oud , and even to the constructions of European totalitarian regimes that questioned the modern movement, like those of Speer and Troost .
