Granite Architecture – Arajol Chalet

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Andorra Spain – The philatelic route that Correos de España is making through the granite architecture of Andorra is back this year with the Xalet Arajol, to which dedicates a stamp, inserted in a minisheet, where it shows one of the facades of the construction.

In this, you can see some of the main features of this architectural style, such as the layout of granite ashlar, its carving with different shapes and its layout on the facade to achieve a decorative effect, singularly molding the corners of the building in addition to the arches and lintels of doors and windows.

On the contrary, it breaks with the symmetrical shapes that have been used up to that moment in other buildings, playing in this case with the volumes of the different parts of the building, which stand out from the façade, as well as the layout and shape of the vain, using either simple and semi-detached windows, rounded off by an arch, or also by means of laminate.

The building, home of the Arajol family, is an example of the application of architectural style in the construction of buildings for a residential purpose, unlike other buildings, such as hotels and spas, which were built at first following the fashion of tourism lover nature and thermal waters. This factor, along with others such as the electrification of the country, which allowed the arrival in Andorra of a large number of stonemasons of Spanish origin, good knowledge of the techniques of granite carving, and the contribution of important architects such as César Martinell, Celestí Gusi, Joseph Puig i Cadafalch, Adolf Florensa and Xavier Pla contributed to the development of granite architecture between the 1930s and the 1960s.

This type of architecture, a mixture of influences from other styles such as Modernism, Historicism and Novecentism, is a reflection of the socioeconomic transformations that the Principality lived in the middle of the 20th century, from an essentially rural society to an urban society.

The taste and appreciation for this architectural style has allowed its expansion to other towns in the Pyrenees such as Seu d’Urgell, Ax-les-Thermes, Núria and La Molina.