Ricardo Bofill’s La Muralla Roja Through the Lens of Andrés Gallardo.

Muralla Roja IV (In Memoriam Ricardo Bofill).

Ricardo Bofill Muralla Roja Iv In Memoriam Ricardo Bofill Photo Andres Gallardo Yellowtrace 18 Muralla Roja IV (In Memoriam Ricardo Bofill).

Ricardo Bofill Muralla Roja Iv In Memoriam Ricardo Bofill Photo Andres Gallardo Yellowtrace 23 Muralla Roja IV (In Memoriam Ricardo Bofill).

Muralla Roja IV (In Memoriam Ricardo Bofill).

Ricardo Bofill Muralla Roja Iv In Memoriam Ricardo Bofill Photo Andres Gallardo Yellowtrace 22 Muralla Roja IV (In Memoriam Ricardo Bofill).

Andrés Gallardo has captured the graphic nature of the late Ricardo Bofill’s architectural icon La Muralla Roja (The Red Wall). In two separate photo series, Muralla Roja III (When the sun goes down) and Muralla Roja IV (In Memoriam Ricardo Bofill), the Spanish photographer highlights the fortress-like building in an explosion of colour, light and shadows.

Located in the La Manzanera precinct on the coast of Spain’s Calpe, the apartment complex takes inspiration from the Mediterranean tradition of the casbah. Emerging from rocky cliffs, striking colours—typical of Bofill’s work—cover the outer and inner facades of the buildings, contrasting with and complementing the surrounding nature.

With a constructivist aesthetic, the creative ensemble forms a series of interconnected patios that feels not unlike the David Bowie film Labyrinth—leading to 50 apartments and upstairs roof terraces. Outside surfaces are painted in red, while patios and stairs are cast in blue tones, the choices creating an optical illusion of space.

Ricardo Bofill Muralla Roja Iii When The Sun Goes Down Photo Andres Gallardo Yellowtrace 01 Muralla Roja III (When the sun goes down).

Ricardo Bofill Muralla Roja Iii When The Sun Goes Down Photo Andres Gallardo Yellowtrace 03 Muralla Roja III (When the sun goes down).

Ricardo Bofill Muralla Roja Iii When The Sun Goes Down Photo Andres Gallardo Yellowtrace 11 Muralla Roja III (When the sun goes down).

Ricardo Bofill Muralla Roja Iii When The Sun Goes Down Photo Andres Gallardo Yellowtrace 06 Muralla Roja III (When the sun goes down).

Like a playground, the project was ripe with endless photographic possibilities for Andrés, who has travelled the globe to capture mesmerising silhouettes, colourful juxtapositions and angular forms of the world’s most exciting buildings, with special attention paid to symmetry, line, shadow and colour.

In these two photography series, taken at alternate times of the day, Andres offers distinctly different perspectives of the same building. In Muralla Roja IV (In Memoriam Ricardo Bofill), the colours stand out against water and sky, a traditional take on the post-modern masterpiece.

Ricardo Bofill Muralla Roja Iii When The Sun Goes Down Photo Andres Gallardo Yellowtrace 12 Muralla Roja III (When the sun goes down).

Ricardo Bofill Muralla Roja Iii When The Sun Goes Down Photo Andres Gallardo Yellowtrace 07 Muralla Roja III (When the sun goes down).

Ricardo Bofill Muralla Roja Iii When The Sun Goes Down Photo Andres Gallardo Yellowtrace 09 Muralla Roja III (When the sun goes down).

Ricardo Bofill Muralla Roja Iii When The Sun Goes Down Photo Andres Gallardo Yellowtrace 14 Muralla Roja III (When the sun goes down).

For Muralla Roja III (When the sun goes down), his goal was to capture the unique complex at sunset, night-time and sunrise. “There are not many night photos out there, so I didn’t know what to expect or what the outcome would be. However, I was sure I would enjoy the experience. As the night fell down, it was just the labyrinth and myself, with the sound of the sea in the background,” Andrés attests.

Andrés has a series of prints on La Muralla Roja available on his website. To find out more click here.