Standing at a height of 28 meters, measuring 150 x 70 meters, and with six massive mushroom-shaped parasols that underpin a complicated, parametrically engineered waffle structure, the Metropol Parasol by Jürgen Mayer H is not only the largest timber structure built but is also a symbol of the 21st century, a symbol of innovative technology, and a symbol of exclusive property rights that indebted Seville. Metropol Parasol aimed to host numerous public activities of different characters, ranging from commercial to social gatherings. This considerable undertaking of an architecture project became a tool for revitalizing the Plaza de la Encarnacion, which was used as a parking lot for years and was in disrepair. This particular old town core of Casco Antiguo became less popular for tourists as other regions gained popularity, and the city became worried about losing tourism revenue. (Storer-Adam 2020) Thus, City Officials of Seville planned to excavate the site to build an underground car park and, per Spain's master plan, to reduce the allowable densities by half to reclaim land for public use and provide an opportunity for community gathering and commercialism. The city hoped to rejuvenate the neighborhood's zoning and allow for real estate value to increase and provide economic growth. However, Roman ruins were discovered during construction, and the city halted all work and took immediate percussions to decide to maintain the historic ruins and hold a design competition with an open brief and budget to attract more people creatively. It was not until Mayer's bold idea to enhance tourism that city officials became intrigued. With a preliminary budget for design and construction of around 33 million Euros, it was the most expensive proposal that the city agreed to take on. The Metropol Parasol design goal was to serve as an epilogue of significant real estate in Spain during the increased economic growth of the 21st century. Its vibrant and striking form represented a belated prototype of the era of architectural icons, with huge ambitions from the government and what soon was a disastrous debt to the city and its citizens as the economy took a plunge during the construction and completion of the Plaza.

 

The preliminary budget for design and finances for the design and construction of the Metropol Parasol was initially estimated at 33 million Euros. However, the cost inflated to 86 million Euros during Spain's worst recession because of technical problems, delays, and budget overruns. (Royo 2020) Its structure used the most innovative software, assemblages, and manufactured glued Kerto-Q LVL material that used over 3400 distinctive elements that ranged in length and thickness. It emphasizes research and investigation from non-construction areas, like art, design, and communication, for its parametric studies and digital model. (Donati 2011) Not only was this material custom, but the micro-laminated pine wood was also not native to the area as it was manufactured in Aichach, Germany, for its strength properties in a colder region. In addition to the highly exclusive material, the project called for a complicated engineering effort to avoid damaging the Roman archaeological remains. Six massive vertical communication cores supported the contemporary structure. Since the project was a first of its kind, the analysis of the project required sophisticated and interactive parametric structural representation through newly developed Rhinoceros 3D modeling software and Maya software. All this heavy material and highly technical assemblage increased the project's price as an operation that needed to be more compliant in its iterative process and increased material consumption through a lack of composite logic in the software. (Charest, Potvin, Demers, Ménard 2019) 

 

As a Megastructure, it is anchored in the city's heart and feels like a private money-making scheme instead of a public plaza or an area of culture. The economic and political problems Spain faced during the worst economic crisis led to the halt of many urban developments. It also led to many abandoned buildings because they needed more resources to be maintained after the economy collapsed. (Winston 2016) This led to a suspicious public-private partnership between the construction company SACRY and the city for a 40-year concession, a conflict of desire for the public purpose of the building as it also uses an excessive amount of faith in aesthetics for profit from tourism. The focus of Metropol Parasol was thus shifted to an intense controversy of deep economic recession, which would have seemed impossible to build. It became a stage for people protesting exactly against the kind of expenses it represents, the misuse of economic resources by politicians and bankers, especially as a privately owned and funded project. Although Mayer's aim did not focus on creating a public space of political demands but rather an interrelation of humans and space through art and architecture, the complexity of the building contributed to its straining of cash. The Metropol Parasol's goal was to revitalize the Plaza, but it came with an expensive price tag when its approach could have been more sustainable and economical.

 

Additionally, the work took six years longer than initially envisioned due to the country's economic downturn, which led to disagreements with the construction companies over the costly selection of imported materials that the Architect specified. (Bordas 2018) The research and aesthetics that Mayer aspired to were developed through an analytical exercise identified through BIM software achievable only with micro-laminated pine timber. The complexity and recommendation to design for a more accessible construction system forced the building to focus on insights into achievability through one system.

 

The ambitions of the project in creating a city landmark, Ayuntamiento de Sevilla's vision of revitalizing the Plaza could have been done inexpensively through a new practice of architecture that aligned with the political activism and pioneering urban interventions that advocate equitable development for the city and its inhabitants. Spanish culture could have also taken the realization of the Parasol, like the work of Gaudi or Calatrava. However, the border between art and structure is more prevalent and has become an engineering operation. This project also could have been achieved if the Architect had yet to experiment with the project in terms of materiality and construction methods to achieve an aesthetic that was representative through Mayer's renderings as a new monument. There is no denying that the long-neglected space has been transformed and brought in millions of people. However, at the expense of investment towards urban development, it appropriated the people through the speculation of profiting and boosting the economy while indebting the city for at least 40 years.  

 

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“Metropol Parasol - An Icon of World-Class Timber Engineering.” Www.metsaliitto.com. solaripedia, March 26, 2011. Metsäliitto Group. https://www.solaripedia.com/files/1032.pdf. 

 

Kucharek, Jan-Carlos. “¡Ay, Caramba!” Construction Manager. June 9, 2011. https://constructionmanagermagazine.com/ay-caramba/. 

 

Charest, Phillippe, André Potvin, Claude Demers, and Sylvain Ménard. “Assessing the Complexity of Timber Gridshells in Architecture through Shape, Structure, and Material Classification.” Bioresources 14, no. 1 (January 2019): 1364–78. https://doi.org/10.15376/biores.14.1.1364-1378. 

 

Storer-Adam, Richard. “Metropol Parasol, Part of the Redevelopment of Plaza De La ENCARNACION, Seville, Spain.” Double Stone Steel. John Desmond Ltd, September 23, 2020. https://www.doublestonesteel.com/blog/art-and-sculpture/metropol-parasol-redevelopment-of-plaza-de-la-encarnacion-seville-spain/. 

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Bordas, David Bravo. “Metropol Parasol.” Public Space. Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona, May 2, 2018. https://www.publicspace.org/works/-/project/g315-metropol-parasol. 

 

Royo, Sebastián. “The Causes and Legacy of the Great Recession in Spain.” The Oxford Handbook of Spanish Politics, 2020, 115–31. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198826934.013.8. 

 

Mosley, Jonathan, and Rachel Sara. The Architecture of Transgression. London: John Wiley & Sons, 2013. 

 

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Argyriades, Marcia. “Metropol Parasol // the World's Largest Wooden Structure.” Yatzer. Yatzerlab, August 28, 2011. https://www.yatzer.com/Metropol-Parasol-The-World-s-Largest-Wooden-Structure-J-MAYER-H-Architects.

 

Winston, Anna. “Economic Crisis Made Spanish ARCHITECTURE Radical Says Biennale Curator.” Dezeen, May 31, 2016. https://www.dezeen.com/2016/05/31/unfinished-spanish-pavilion-venice-architecture-biennale-2016-economic-crisis-golden-lion-inaqui-carcinero/.