Dear Mr. Toyo Ito,
We are a group of 4th ESO students (15 – 16 years old) from Institut Montjuïc (a high school of Secondary Education) and we would like to show you the work-project we have been carrying out. It consists of the interpretation and transformation of your recently built building Hotel Santos / Porta Fira placed in our neighbourhood. That reconstruction, a scale cardboard model of your building (see adjoining document), has been developed with the artist Eduard Arbós, from his project “Architectural Dérives”, in the framework of “Creadors EN RESiDÈNCIA”, a program of Institut de Cultura de Barcelona and Consorci de Barcelona, in cooperation with the Association A Bao A Qu..
Along the course, we have been working with Eduard Arbós, who has been invited by the project EN RESiDÈNCiA to develop and conceive a specific artistic project around our high-school. With him, we have discovered the conceptual and formal structure of his work and we have acquired tools for a better understanding of Modern Art.
More precisely, “Architectural Dérives” has focused on analyzing the different ways of detecting, learning, depicting and interpreting the space room. With it, the project has made us question the relationships we keep with our environment. Therefore, we have been paying special attention to our own neighbourhood.
Finally, we want to state that the composition of this letter is not just a whim, but a member of the conceptual framework that makes up the project itself.
We will present “Architectural Dérives” the next 15th of May at 7 p.m. in the Francesc Candel Library (Amnistia Internacional, 10, Barcelona). We would be very pleased with your presence.
We sincerely appreciate your attention and, of course, the contribution that your architectural work has given us to carry out our project.
Kindest regards.
Yours sincerely,
Santi Londoño, Milbert Bautista and Ivan Fuentes
Resposta de Toyo Ito:
Dear Santi, Milbert, Iván and other students and staff,
Although I am not Toyo Ito in person, I hope my reply will not disappoint you. Writing to you from our office here in Barcelona I can say that we are honoured for your school to be studying our building here in L’Hospitalet. Your project sounds very interesting and we have already enjoyed the photos you sent us of the analysis and cardboard model you made of the Porta Fira Tower. I am not sure if you are aware but Mr. Toyo Ito, who lives in Tokyo, has recently been involved in architectural education to children and young students in Japan. Last year he has opened a small private school in Tokyo to teach young adults about architecture and their constructed environment.
It is very motivating for us having been approached by you about one of our buildings in this way, it seems you are highly interested in your surrounding urban landscape. We should take advantage of this! Therefore, in representation of our office our Barcelona staff will try and assist your presentation on the 15th of May. Nevertheless let us confirm at a closer date, as we are also dependant on a visit abroad during this date. On the other hand, we can maybe offer to present you a little bit more about this building and the story of its conception and construction at a small group chat in the near future.
Y para acabar, nos ha dado mucha satisfacción vuestra carta en inglés y el esfuerzo que habéis hecho, pero quizás es más fácil para todos seguir en castellano! Hablamos unos pocos días antes de vuestra presentación y confirmamos nuestra disponibilidad.
Un saludo cordial,
Nils Becker, Arquitecto
Toyo Ito Arquitectos Asociados en España
C/ Dolors Aleu 19-21, 3º
08908 L’Hospitalet de llobregat | Barcelona