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Modernist building

Almacenes L’Águila - Modernism with a Viennese accent

A department store with an artistic and functional façade

On one side, we have Plaça Major, Palma's main square, and on the other, the Ajuntament (City Hall). And in the between these two titans stands the colourful Almacenes L’Águila building. A perfect photo...

 

Almacenes L’Águila forms part of the modernist tour of Palma. This building was designed by Gaspar Benàzar and Jaume Alenyà in 1908. Its commercial function meant that appropriate solutions had to be adopted to make the most out of the interior space and light. To this effect, the use of iron also stands out, both in the structure, which shares the ground floor with the Can Forteza-Rey building and makes the most of the space, as well as in the decorative elements.

This results in an eye-catching façade with wide openings that let in external light. The building draws on modernist features of Viennese architecture shown by the planimetry of the façade and the geometry of the composition. The building’s central motif, a half-moon arch, the ornamental nature of the arch and the coronation of the ensemble are reminiscent of the Karlsplatz Stadtbahn Station in Vienna, a project by the architect Otto Wagner, a precursor to the Vienna Secession movement.

Plaza del Marqués de Palmer, 2
07001 Palma

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