Afundación A Coruña

Every time I walked down Avenida Marina (the inland-facing part of the isthmus that connects the old town to the rest of A Coruña) I was intrigued by a very unique building that isn’t like the other typical “cristales” that line the avenue. It is very modern, for one; it leans forward, literally; and it has an external elevator that moves up and down along the incline of the lean, i.e. it blows my mind. It also happens to be the seat of Afundación A Coruña, an organization whose aim is to develop, nurture, and promote social and cultural heritage of Galicia. And, lucky for me, the building itself contains, among other things, a museum. It’s been on my list of must-sees for a while but I waited for Sagrario to come because I knew she’d be interested in going too.

While Fely went off to work in her shop, we decided to do some more sightseeing and after a stop at the post office we went to Afundación A Coruña to see the weird building up close (3D tour inside available at the link). First, however, we moseyed through the main exhibit dedicated to Isaac Díaz, a local intellectual, painter, designer, and ceramist, closely tied to the Sargadelos brand. There were other artists’ works as well but for me the building was a piece of art all by itself. Designed by Nicholas Grimshaw, a British architect, it is an avant-garde structure that is a worthy addition to the architectural heritage of the city and Galicia overall.

I’m sure Sagrario must have thought me silly to be so excited to be inside, never mind my insistence that we take the elevator … I just wish we could have taken it up further. Unfortunately for me, the museum only takes up a couple of floors and they were the only ones we could access freely. Suffice to say I still enjoyed the ride, however short; I mean, how often do you get to go up and down in an elevator but also slightly sideways — or forward and backwards, technically. The little kid in me had a blast.

I was also amused by the posters Señor Díaz had made to show the workers at Sargadelos factories how NOT TO BREAK the ceramics. There were samples of his other design works as well, making it even more obvious to me that I must one day own some of their pieces, costs be damned. On the way home we stopped by the Sargadelos store once more, my obsession with them undiminished. What can I say? I love the stuff!