Metropol Parasol - Seville, Spain

A bit of a rant here. Why are North American city planners so dull? Do they take a class in whatever program they enrol in at university that aids them in tempering any sort of innovation or whimsical city planning ideas? Sure, there are the occasional stand outs; the Disney Concert Hall in L.A. and the Experience Music Project in Seattle come to mind, but those were built with private money. Head over to Europe, and it is a vastly different story. They (especially Spain) are blessed with a huge array of architecturally significant, modern, progressive and awe inspiring public spaces and buildings. The latest addition is the Metropol Parasol in Seville, Spain. Built on an archaeological excavation sight (lets see you get a permit for that over here in the colonies) it's part museum, part public square, part farmers market, part food cart mecca. There's a sky high promenade and panoramic terrace on the roof as well as multiple bars and restaurants inside the Parasols structure as well as beneath it. All that and it's the world's largest bonded wood structure. The structure was purpose built to reclaim a banal city square and turn it into a hive of activity that would be used by residents, visitors and tourists as a gathering place underneath an architecturally motivation waffle-like crown. You go Spain! More pics after the jump.