Metropol Parasol: The World's Largest Wooden Structure

Mar 29, 2013 6 comments

Metropol Parasol is a wooden structure located at La Encarnación square, in the old quarter of Seville, Spain. Designed by German architect Jürgen Mayer-Hermann, the structure resembles a grove of prefabricated wooden trees soaring 26 meters into the air. It has dimensions of 150 by 70 metres and claims to be the largest wooden structure in the world. The building is popularly known as Las Setas de la Encarnación (Incarnación's mushrooms).

The Metropol Parasol actually is a device for revitalising the Plaza de la Encarnación, which was used as a parking lot for years and seen as a dead spot between more popular tourist destinations in the city. The structure consists of six parasols in the form of giant mushrooms, whose design is inspired by the vaults of the Cathedral of Seville and the ficus trees in nearby Plaza de Cristo de Burgos. The Parasol contains a market, shops, and a podium for concerts and events. In the basement is an Antiquarium, where Roman and Moorish remains discovered on-site are displayed in a museum. On the roof there is an open-air public plaza, shaded by the wooden parasols above and designed for public events. There are panoramic terraces, including a restaurant, offering one of the best views of the city centre.

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Comments

  1. A fantastic architecture, I have ever seen in my life.

    ReplyDelete
  2. serves to remind one not everything that glitters is gold, not every dream is worth chasing, not everything that can be built should be built

    although i have to admit the thing IS awesome, hard to judge on misplaced priorities I guess.. maybe should ask the unemployed youth and cash strapped tax payers

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What on earth are you whining about?

      Delete
  3. Shame that it surpassed the Tōdai-ji temple, which was build to accomodate bronze Buddha statue without a ,record, in mind...

    And this structure only done it to be the biggest wooden structure, is it just me, or the world is getting ridiculously shallow nowadays...

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  4. I might be wrong, however I am guessing that there is an awful lot of steel and aluminum alloy in that structure. And an even larger amount of technology.
    But it is neat.

    ReplyDelete
  5. As a former logger we used to say Log it!! Burn it!!! Pave it!!! Now I see what's come of my saying

    ReplyDelete

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