Dear friend, supporter of the Statement against the CAJASOL skyscraper in Sevilla (Spain).

On behalf of the promoter team of the Statement , I want to thank you your support, and report the problem’s evolution . Today, April 17, we are 205 supporters, David against Goliath, but every hour we are more.

We greet the new personalities: musical composers Teresa Catalán, Manfred Trojahn, David P. Graham and Estefan Streich; theatre writer Luis Maluenda; Sergio Morabito, stage director; Cecile Wajsbrot and Claude Thomas, writers. Archiitects as Marco Vizzino, Carlos Cabrera, Jaime López de Asiaín, Rafael Manzano, Alfonso Jiménez and Antonio Jaramillo. For them, our welcome to a noble cause. Fort he rest, our gratitude. IT’S BETTER TO ACT NOW THAN REGRETTING IT LATER, WHEN THE SOLUTION IS IMPOSSIBLE.

On April 3rd we sent the Statement to the Minister of Culture, Spanish Government and the Culture Counselor of the Regional Government in Andalusia. WE ARE NOT AGAINST THE “CAJASOL PROMOTION” BUT AGAINST THE LANDSCAPE AND ENVIROMENTAL IMPACT OF A SINGLE VOLUME, THAT WOULD BREAK FOR EVER THE SCALE OF THE GUADALQUIVIR VALLEY.

The decision of accumulating all the buildable surface in a single skyscraper is not only irrational, but it lacks any justification, except to set up a huge ICON against the scale of the city. It’s equally absurd to build a two storey high in Manhattan or an skyscraper in Sevilla.

The Cajasol and municipality propaganda have put together the building of the skyscraper with the creation of 4.000 jobs, specially sensitive issue in troubled times of economic crisis. What they hide is that these jobs can be created, as well, with another project, respectful with the landscape, the environement and the historical precinct. Also, to reinforce the feasibility of the project, the Municipality has decided to transfer 500 employées to the skyscraper. The Gerencia de Urbanismo, which has now a horizontal development, will be totally vertical, with the mobility problems added. Other irrational decision for an irrational project. At the end, the whole skyscraper will end up full with civil servants, buying ultra expensive office space with public money, given that as it belongs to everybody it’s property of no one, following the interpretation of our local politicians.

On the Statement the name of the architect does not show. From the moment that a skyscraper in commanded in the supermarket of architecture, to be the new Sevilla ICON, the constants that define this noble profession disappear: definition of volumes, scale and relationship with the territory. His name is Cesar Pelli, U.S,A, architect born in Argentina, specialist in skyscrapers that spreads all over the world. By the way, the design of this skyscraper is the same that Pelly proposed for a commercial center with sports marina, in Las Palmas, Canary Islands, shown in the image.

The Pelly skyscraper in Las Palmas

To set up the same building in different places, gives an idea of Pelly’s ethics and knowledge of Sevilla. It’s one of the bad results of globalization: you can sell the same building in different cities and countries.

The steps we are going to follow from now on are:

• Set up contacts with AENA and SEPLA, flight security offices, to verify that the skyscraper can damage the air traffic and the approaches to the Sevilla airport.
• As the building was carefully hidden in Sevilla Master Plan, ask the Court of Justice to declare non valid the building permit.
• Continue denouncing this skyscraper in National and International Cultual Institutions.

Keep on getting other friends to support the STATEMENT. WE HAVE REASON ON OUR SIDE!!!!!

Greetings to everybody:
Fernando Mendoza, Statement Coordinator.