Xanadú (La Manzanera)

Xanadú is one of Ricardo Bofill's first works of architecture. He designed it with his Taller de Arquitectura for La Manzanera, on the coast south of the centre of Calp, and the building was put up between 1966 and 1968.

In 1968 the Taller published its manifesto, “Hacia una formalización de la ciudad en el espacio”, which set out the method behind Xanadú, already built, and the Barrio Gaudí, then under construction: putting cubic volumes together into large, town-like wholes, with simple materials and techniques, while recovering the qualities of the towns and villages of the Mediterranean.

At the time the building came as a jolt; Bruno Zevi wrote that it seemed to embody a slogan of the May events: “Forget everything you have learned, start dreaming”.

The building was conceived as an experimental prototype of a “garden city in space”: its levels, of different heights, are linked by ramps and stairs. The plan starts from a grid, with the vertical circulation core at the centre; as the building rises, the cubes twist. The green volumes are capped by curved roofs, daring for their time, finished in ceramic tiles, and the overall cubic form is adorned with railings. Openings follow the orientation best suited to the use of each room, and shaded terraces reduce the heat.

The building began from the idea of the castle, then moved toward a configuration inspired by the Peñón de Ifach, the rock close by. It stands at the edge of the cliff.

Xanadú is seen from the outside. It is one of the Bofill buildings shown on the guided tours of La Manzanera's exteriors, which Calp town council runs on certain dates, by prior registration.

The Voramar-Borumbot path, from Arenal-Bol beach to the Manzanera cove, goes down a flight of steps and then past Xanadú; it takes about twenty-five minutes one way.