Madrid, España
Como el propio Távora reconoce, «me interesa mucho Pessoa. Soy un verdadero experto en el tema»1 ;
basta un vistazo a su biblioteca particular en la casa de la Rua Sra. da Luz, donde finalizaba cada jornada, leyendo hasta dormirse, para corroborar su obsesión casi fetichista por él. Esta influencia resultaba paralela a la de Le Corbusier, su única referencia arquitectónica permanente, como Shakespeare lo fue para el poeta.
Aunque, al no coincidir en el tiempo, no pudieron cruzar sus discursos, Távora afirmaba que Mensagem, la obra apologética de Fernando Pessoa sobre la grandeza de Portugal, era el libro de su vida y enfocó también a la manera épica de aquel, su causa por una nueva arquitectura, síntesis de tradición y modernidad.
Su ensayo de juventud, O problema da Casa Portuguesa, se podría asimilar al primer libro del poeta, trazando en él su misión vital de una manera casi heroica, que tendría su reflejo en el proyecto de la Casa sobre o Mar. Por otra parte, en su relación con otros personajes clave en su trayectoria, arquitectos que complementaron y difundieron su labor, encontramos una narrativa de heterónimos, que alcanza su culmen en la consagración de la denominada Escuela de Oporto.
En este artículo, se pretende reflejar cómo la admiración de Távora por el poeta contaminó de alguna manera su pensamiento y cómo la referencia de Pessoa constituyó para él tanto una boya a la que aferrarse en sus momentos de duda como una bruma permanente que flota sobre su actividad a lo largo de toda su trayectoria, ayudándole a justificar las aparentes contradicciones que albergaba su síntesis.
Todos los poemas y citas de fuentes originales, han sido traducidos del portugués por este autor, en aras de garantizar una mayor continuidad en la lectura; pido disculpas por tal atrevimiento.
As Távora himself admits, “I am very interested in Pessoa. I am a true expert on the subject.” Just a look at his private library in his home in Rua Sra. da Luz, where his days would end with him reading himself to sleep, is enough to corroborate his almost fetishistic obsession with the poet. This influence was parallel to that of Le Corbusier, his only permanent architectural reference, as Shakespeare was in literature to the writer.
Despite the impossibility to exchange discourses, as they did not coincide in time, Távora claimed that Mensagem, Pessoa’s apologetic work about Portugal’s greatness, was the book of his life. In Pessoa’s epic style, he therefore focused on his cause for a new architecture, a synthesis of tradition and modernity.
The essay he wrote during his youth, O problema da Casa Portuguesa, could resemble the poet’s first book, as he traces his vital mission in an almost heroic manner, which would be reflected in his design for Casa sobre o Mar. Moreover, in his relationship with other key characters in his career, namely architects who complemented and spread his work, we find a narrative of heteronyms, which culminates in the consecration of the so called School of Oporto.
This article aims to reflect how Távora’s admiration for the poet somehow polluted his thought and how Pessoa’s reference constituted for him both a buoy to cling to in moments of doubt and a permanent mist that would linger on his work throughout his whole career. This would help him justify the apparent contradictions his synthesis contained.
This author has translated most of the poems and quotes from the Portuguese originals, which have then been translated into English, in order to ensure greater continuity in reading. I apologise for such audacity.
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