Palaces for the People: Guastavino and America’s Great Public Spaces

Previously was the National Building Museum, in Washington, D.C. with the title "Palaces for the People: Guastavino and America’s Great Public Spaces" and now at Museum of the City of New York, "Palaces for the People: Guastavino and the Art of Structural Tile" is a major exhibition examining the engineering and architectural beauty of spaces designed and built by Spanish immigrant Rafael Guatavino and his son, Rafael Jr. Constant innovation, revolutionary technology, shrewd marketing, and a risk-taking founder.

This exhibition at the Museum City of New York is not about a 21st century tech start-up. It’s about the Guastavino Company (1881–1962), which, over a century ago, revolutionized U.S. architectural design and construction.

Oyster Bar, Grand Central Terminal. Gustavino Co. for Warren & Wetmore, 1912. Photography © Michael Freeman.

Palaces for the People: Guastavino and America’s Great Public Spaces features the work of the Spanish immigrant Rafael Guastavino Sr. (1842–1908) and the family firm that he created. The exhibition looks at the history of the firm from the perspectives of “immigration history, architectural innovation, and the cultural conditions that led to the creation of hundreds of America’s great public spaces.”

Years ago when I was doing my research on New York for my thesis, by chance, I discovered, in an exhibition at Columbia University, the work of this Valencian in the United States. It was a parallel theme to my thesis, however I caught the impressive work by Rafael Guastavino, and also when I discovered that just there was a small publication about his work, now over more than 17 years, the situation recognition of the patented system and authors, Rafael Guastavino (1842-1908) and his son Rafael Guastavino Expósito (1872-1950) is still pending. Well, something less, thanks to this exhibition in Nueva York.

The Exhibition contains estimates, correspondence, notes, and telegrams pertaining to projects by R. Guastavino Co. in Wisconsin. Projects include proposed Greek Orthodox Church (Milwaukee) with Frank Lloyd Wright.

Being under some of its 1,000 works (nearly 250 in New York) is generally being in an emblematic building in the United States, usually under one of the huge timbrel vaults, working on buildings with LaFarge at City Hall Subway Station, New York City (1903), with Warren and Wetmore at the Grand Central Terminal’s Oyster Bar, New York City (1912), the Cathedral of St. John the Divine for Heins, La Farge & Morris; Henry Vaughn; Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson; 1899-1940, in the Boston Public Library (1889–90), the U.S. Supreme Court, the Ellis Island’s Registry Room, the Carnegie Hall,the Bronx Zoo’s Elephant House, with architect Bertram Goodhue and mosaic artist Hildreth Meière at the Nebraska State Capitol (1922–1932). Although the work of these two Spanish immigrants, father and son, have started receiving growing attention in recent years, especially among architectural historians, their immense contributions and legacy architectural require wider recognition. Besides contributing to the creation of a large number of impressive public spaces from the 1880s to the 1940s, Guastavino revolutionized the architectural design and construction of the American way. The best architects of that era used the techniques of vaulting of these Spanish to create spaces that represented the highest ideals and aspirations of the United States.

The patented tiling system by Guastavino (1885, on U.S.) —based on a centuries-old Spanish building method— enabled the construction of self-supporting arches that were simultaneously lightweight but strong, fireproof, and attractive. The construction system interlocked and layered thin clay tiles and quick-setting mortar in highly decorative patterns. Compared to stone or brick vaults which required additional time and materials, Guastavino’s tile vaults were exceptionally economical and highly flexible. Within a few short years, Guastavino’s signature vaulting technique had transformed the American architectural landscape.

The system of structural tile vaults developed by the Guastavinos—lightweight, fireproof, low-maintenance, and capable of supporting significant loads—was used by leading architects of the day, including McKim, Mead & White and Carrere &Hastings. Ellis Island’s Registry Room, Carnegie Hall, the Bronx Zoo’s Elephant House, and Grand Central Terminal all contain Guastavino vaults.

The exhibition highlights the intersection of this technology with aesthetics. The Guastavino Company controlled the fabrication process of their signature tiles, supervising craftsmen in the shaping and firing of tiles that were used to create vaults patterned in colorful geometric designs. Original Guastavino Company patents and drawings are on view, many on loan from Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library at Columbia University. And a beautiful half-scale tiled vault inspired by the Guastavinos’ work at the Boston Public Library (1889–90) allows visitors to see the patented “cohesive construction” technique—multiple layers of ceramic tiles bonded with thick mortar.

Palaces For The People: Guastavino and the Art of Structural Tile.
Venue.- Museum of the City of New York. New York, US.
Dates.- March 26 - September 7, 2014.

The Guastavino family’s soaring tile vaults grace many of the nation’s most iconic structures including Grand Central Terminal, the Boston Public Library, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Yet the name, the accomplishments, and the architectural legacy of this family of first-generation Spanish immigrants are virtually unknown. Their patented vaulting techniques made it possible for the greatest architects of the day to create the breathtakingly beautiful spaces that represent the nation’s highest ideals and aspirations. The Museum's exhibition Palaces for the People: Guastavino and America’s Great Public Spaces sheds light on their work and their story. See examples of their work below.

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Guastavino tile vaults at City Hall Subway Station with polychrome glaze, New York City, architects Heins and LaFarge (1904). Photography © Michael Freeman.

The vaulted arcade below the approach to the Queensboro Bridge now houses a grocery store, New York City, architect Henry Hornbostel (1909). Photography © Michael Freeman.

Ellis Island Registry Room (Great Hall). Guastavino Company for Boring & Tilton, 1917. Photography © Michael Freeman.

Main entrance hall of the Boston Public Library with elaborate mosaic tile covering the underside of the Guastavino vault (1889-1891). Photography © Michael Freeman.

Guastavino tile arches at the Oyster Bar, Grand Central Terminal, New York City, architects Warren and Wetmore (1912). Photography © Michael Freeman.

Guastavino vaulting in the entrance hall, Biltmore Estate. US. Photography © Michael Freeman.

Vaulted dome with structural design and tile finish by the Guastavino Company, Heins and LaFarge, 1908. Photography © Michael Freeman.

Vanderbilt Hotel, Guastavino tile vaulting, 1913. Photography © Michael Freeman.

The Guastavino tile dome at the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of Natural History, Washington DC, architect s Hornblower and Marshall (1909). Photography © Michael Freeman.

Rotunda of Pittsburgh's historic Union Station. Photography © Derek Ramsey.

Vaulted staircase, Baker Hall, Carnegie Mellon University, Guastavino Company for architect Henry Hornbostel (1914). Photography © Michael Freeman.

Baird Auditorium, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Washington, D.C., US. Photography © Michael Freeman. / Rafael Guastavino, Sr. standing on a newly built arch during construction of the Boston Public Library designed by architects McKim, Mead and White, 1889. Boston Public Library, Print Department.

Img. [1-2].- Vaulted spiral stair, Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Guastavino Company for Heins, La Farge & Morris; Henry Vaughn; Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson; 1899-1940. Imag.[3].-Vaulted stair, St. Paul's Chapel, Columbia University. Guastavino Company for Howells & Stokes, 1907. Photography © Michael Freeman.

Flat vault with opening for stair, Boathouse, Prospect Park. Guastavino Company for Helmle & Huberty, 1905. Photography © Michael Freeman.

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JOSÉ JUAN BARBA

José Juan Barba (1964). Architect from the Madrid School of Architecture (ETSAM) in 1991. He received his PhD in Architecture from ETSAM in 2004, graduating summa Cum laude with the doctoral thesis "Inventions: New York vs. Rem Koolhaas, Bernard Tschumi, Piranesi." In 1991, he received a Special Mention in the Spanish National Graduation Awards. Until 1997, he worked as an advisor to several NGOs. In 1992, he founded his architectural practice in Madrid (www.josejuanbarba.com).

He is an architectural critic and, since 1998, Editor-in-Chief of the internationally acclaimed bilingual architecture journal METALOCUS (Spanish/English), recipient of several national and international awards.

Barba is an Associate Professor at the University of Alcalá and a member of several research groups. He has been invited to participate in numerous international forums on architecture and urbanism, including the II Forum of Mexican World Heritage Cities, Urban Development, History and Modernity, organized by the Pan-American Committee for Urban Development and Historical Heritage; the World Urban Development Forum (FMDU), held in Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico; and the International Conference on Architecture and Urbanism from the Perspective of Women Architects. He has also been invited as lecturer and guest critic at numerous national and international institutions, including the National Building Museum, Roma Tre University, Politecnico di Milano, University of Genoa, Université Pierre Mendès France Grenoble, the Madrid and Barcelona Schools of Architecture, National Autonomous University of Mexico, the Faculty of Architecture in Montevideo, the Schools of Architecture of Medellín and Ecuador, Universidad Iberoamericana, IE University, as well as the Schools of Architecture of Zaragoza, Valladolid, Málaga, Granada, Seville, and A Coruña, among others.

He has extensive professional experience in architecture, urbanism, landscape intervention, and territorial regeneration. His work has received numerous awards, including First Prize in the “Gran Vía Posible” competition for Delirious Gran Vía, Madrid; recognition for the Rivers Interpretation Centre in Zamora, awarded and exhibited at the World Architecture Festival 2008; and recognition for the Santa Bárbara Park project in Toledo. He was also awarded the Erich Degner Prize for Architecture (1995), promoted by the BBVA Foundation. His project for a Day Centre for the Elderly was included in Volume 3 of the Madrid Architecture Guide published by the Official College of Architects of Madrid (COAM) in 2007. His work has been widely published in national and international books and journals.

He served as Maître de Conférences at the Institut d’Urbanisme de Grenoble, Université Pierre Mendès France Grenoble, during the 2013–14 academic year, following his appointment through a European open competition. His work has been published internationally. He regularly serves on academic and professional juries, including the editorial competition jury for the journal Quaderns (2011), the selection committee for the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Awards (2007–present), and the jury panels for EUROPAN 13 (2015–16) and TRANSFER, Zurich (2019). He was also invited to participate in the Biennale di Venezia 2016 as part of the exhibition Spaces of Exception / Spazi d’Eccezione.

He has authored several books, including "The Dark Line. michele&miquel, dA Vision Design" (2024), "CONGRESO ANYWAY. La ciudad de las ciudades" (2020), "#Positions" (2016), and "Inventions: New York vs. Rem Koolhaas, Bernard Tschumi, Piranesi" (2015). He has also contributed to publications such as "Espacio público Gran Vía. La Ciudad del Turismo" (2020), "Spaces of Exception / Spazi d’Eccezione" (2016), "La manzana de la discordia" (2015), and "Contemporary Japanese Architecture: New Territories" (2015), as well as chapters in numerous books, including "Women Architects: A Professional Challenge" (2009), "21st Century Architectures" (2007), "Ruta de la Plata, New Conquerors of Space" (2019), and "The City of Tourism" (2020).

Selected awards include:

• “SANTIAGO AMÓN” AWARD, award for the promotion of architecture, COAM Madrid, 2000.
• “PANAYIOTI MIXELI AWARD,” SADAS-PEA, award for the promotion of architecture, Athens, 2005.
• “PIERRE VAGO” ICAC. International Committee of Art Critics Award, London, 2005.
• FAD Award 07, Ephemeral Interventions, First Prize, M.C. Escher Exhibition, Arquin-FAD, Barcelona, 2007.
• World Architecture Festival, Center for Research and Interpretation of the Rivers, Tera, Esla, and Órbigo, Finalist, Barcelona, 2008.
• Gran Vía Posible, First Prize, Delirious Gran Vía, Madrid, 2010.
• Reform of the Río Segura Surroundings, Award, Murcia, 2010.

Rafael Guastavino

Rafael Guastavino (Valencia, Spain, 1842 – Asheville, North Carolina, USA, 1908) was a Spanish architect and builder. Based on the Catalan vault he created the Guastavino tile, a "Tile Arch System" patented in the United States in 1885 used for constructing robust, self-supporting arches and architectural vaults using interlocking terracotta tiles and layers of mortar. Guastavino tile is found in some of New York's most prominent Beaux-Arts landmarks and in major buildings across the United States. It is used in a huge number of architecturally important and famous buildings with vaulted spaces. Guastavino was not the principal architect for most of the projects.

In 1881 he came to New York City from Barcelona, with his youngest son, nine-year-old Rafael III. In Spain he had been an accomplished architect trained in Barcelona and was a contemporary of Antoni Gaudi. In the March 7, 1885 article entitled The Dakota Apartment House, printed in The Real Estate Record and Builders Guide, he was listed as being the contractor in charge of "fireproof construction" of the luxury apartment building that was completed in 1884. Though not specified, the work may very well have included the groined vault entry on the south side on West 72nd Street, the north side on West 73rd Street, as well as the construction of the subterranean basement, and the 3-foot thick arched floors between the basement and attic levels. Years later he was commissioned by the firm of McKim, Mead, and White's Boston Public Library (1889), which increased his reputation with every major architect on the East Coast. His published drawings of interior decoration of the Spanish Renaissance style caught the eye of an architect, who asked him to submit a design for the planned New York Progress Club building.

After forming a partnership with William Blodgett, he eventually was offered a construction position in 1890 with George W. Vanderbilt to construct arches for the new mansion, Biltmore at Asheville, North Carolina. After working on the estate, he decided to build his own retirement home in the mountains of Black Mountain, North Carolina in a 500-acre valley. His house, Rhododendron, had a vineyard, dairy, brick kiln, and more. This property currently is owned by Christmount Assembly, the conference center for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). On the property there still are artifacts that may be visited, including the kiln and chimney, a wine cellar, beautiful old stone walls, and many smaller artifacts that have been rediscovered as modern buildings have been constructed.

He and his son developed twenty-four items that were awarded patents. Their company, Guastavino Fireproof Construction Company, run by the father then by his son, was incorporated in 1889 and executed its final contract in 1962.

Akoustolith was one of several trade names used by Guastavino.

Literally hundreds of major building projects incorporate the distinctive Tile Arch System. In Chicago, the central nave vaulting of Rockefeller Chapel at the University of Chicago uses 100,000 Guastavino tiles. In Boston, Guastavino tiles are found in the Boston Public Library; in New York City, in the Grand Central Terminal, Grant's Tomb, Carnegie Hall, the American Museum of Natural History, Congregation Emanu-El of New York, and St. Bartolomew's Episcopal Church; and in Washington, D.C. in the U.S. Supreme Court building and the National Museum of Natural History on the National Mall. Guastavino tiles form the domes of Philadelphia's St. Francis de Sales Roman Catholic Church, and in Pittsburgh's Union Station, the vaulting of the carriage turnaround is a Guastavino tile system. In Nebraska, the tiles may be seen in the Nebraska State Capitol.

In 1900, New York architects Heins & LaFarge hired Guastavino to help construct City Hall station, the underground showpiece for the IRT, the first part of the then-new New York City Subway. The station, although elegant, was never convenient or popular, and after it closed in 1945 it became a legendary abandoned Manhattan underground relic, the secret of subway buffs and urban spelunkers. Guastavino also installed the ceiling of the south arcade of the Manhattan Municipal Building, which was constructed during 1907-1914.

Having experienced Ellis Island as an incoming immigrant, in 1917 the younger Guastavino was commissioned to rebuild the ceiling of the Ellis Island Great Hall. The Guastavinos set 28,832 tiles into a self-supporting interlocking 56-foot (17 m)-high ceiling grid so durable and strong that during the restoration project of the 1980s, as many sources repeat the story, only seventeen of those tiles needed replacing.

The largest dome created by the Guastavino Company was over the central crossing for the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in Manhattan: it is 100 ft (30 m) in diameter and 160 feet (49 m) high. This dome was intended to be a temporary structure, to be replaced by a high central tower. In 2009 this "temporary" fix celebrated the 100th anniversary of its construction. In large part, Guastavino received this contract due to the much lower price he could quote because his system served as its own scaffolding. This was an extreme test of his system, however. The masons had to work from above, each day adding a few rows of tiles, and standing on the previous day's work to progress. At the edges, many layers of tile were laid, and the dome thins as it rises toward the center.

As architect. Few structures designed and built by Guastavino alone have been identified. He was responsible for a series of rowhouses with unusual Moresque features on West 78th Street (121-131 known as the "red and whites"), in Manhattan's Upper West Side, which survive. One of Guastavino's structures, an event space, is located under the Midtown Manhattan end of the Queensboro Bridge. His son Rafael's Mediterranean villa (1912) built entirely of Guastavino tiles, still stands on Awixa Avenue, in Bay Shore, Long Island.

Published on: March 31, 2014

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"Palaces for the People: Guastavino and America’s Great Public Spaces" METALOCUS. Accessed

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