About Spain
Spanish building style: typical round forms
Spanish buildings have a tendency to have their own unique look. This is largely because of the country's history and all of the influences that there have been on its architecture. One of the most common design elements that you will see is the round form. This is nothing more than that buildings tend to have rounded look to them that you don't see in most other country's buildings.
Over the years Spanish building style has had a number of influences. This ranges from the Romans to the Muslim builders from Africa as well as from all around the rest of Europe. As a result they have combined these many influences into the way that they design their buildings. As a result there is a rather eclectic collection of buildings in the country which somehow despite all of the differences between them have a look that is uniquely Spanish.
One of the features that you will see on a lot of Spanish buildings are round forms. These are largely a remnant from the days when the Moors occupied the country. The round form has its basis in minaret that is frequently seen in Islamic architecture. However over the years Spanish designers have altered the look in order to create their own style. One of the other features that has become prevalent in Spanish architecture is to design buildings based in the observation of nature. Since this frequently involved the use of round forms they have remained common in building design.
In the later part of the twentieth century there was a trend towards designing buildings that had a more international look. This was largely a part of Spain's reemergence on the world stage. They had largely been shunned from the Second World War until the eighties which is a part of the reason that the rather unique styles developed in the first place. However with admittance into the EU Spain has become a much more international country and this has been reflected in the architecture. That being said they designs of buildings have always managed to retain their own flavour.
Over the last few years the trends in Spanish building design have been to move away from international trends and to go with local styles. Spain has always been a very regional country with people often showing more allegiance to the part of the country they live in than to the country as a whole. This attitude is starting to appear more and more in architecture as designers are now putting up buildings that have a very regional style. Since much of this was influenced by the Muslims who once occupied the country it has resulted in an increased use of round forms. It has also really helped to ensure that Spanish architecture has remained vibrant and original.