In Calpe, Spain, a couple of hours south of Valencia, there’s an apartment complex called La Muralla Roja (“The Red Wall”) that defies description — it’s part Barbie dream house, part M.C. Escher sketch, and all postmodern.
Designed by radical Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill, the colorful, geometric apartment complex drew from a few different inspirations, including North African casbahs, brutalist architecture, and the Greek cross (there are more than a dozen with roughly 15-foot arms incorporated into the design). Yet the most striking feature of the design is the color scheme — the walls of the complex bear dramatic hues of pink, red, blue, and violet that are color-coded by area, such as housing units and courtyards.
