Modernist Architecture

Combining modernist and eclectic shapes, Modernism is developed in Castellón, and the best examples can be found from the second decade of this century.

We should keep in mind that, in our city, this style is shown with strong eclectic and even historical features.

Perhaps the purest examples of this movement can be seen in the Casa Dávalos (Dávalos House) (5 Gasset street), by Gimeno Almela; and in the Casa de les Cigonyes (House of the Storks) (7 Plaza de la Independencia), by Ros de Ursinos. The first house utilizes the typical straightening and modernist wave of French descent in their crest, although the general lines are reminiscent of a temperate Austrian side.

In the second house, we find the characteristic modernist wave shapes in the floral elements that surround the attic’s circular windows, in addition to the determined use of tiles and colour.

Some of the buildings’ decorative pieces are reminiscent of the Orient and speak to us about the diversity of the movement.

Another interesting building is located on the street Alloza number 130; it has a floral design on the upper part of the façade to contrast the solid colour tile below, which is typical of this style.

These architects, like as the ones that immediately followed, combine different styles, so that Eclecticism lived together with Modernism while also being mixed with historical elements, and later they were mixed with the geometric shapes of Deco, a style which we have numerous references.

On the other hand, the use of brick is very typical for private homes as well as in public buildings; many times it associated with Catalonia’s modernist architecture.