Guía de Arquitectura
La Habana colonial (1519-1898)

Research and cataloguing of selected works.
María Elena Zequeira, Eudardo Luis Rodríguez Fernández
(CPPN project, 1991)

Published in 1995

Translation from spanish:

HOUSE OF THE MARQUIS OF CASA CALDERON

CURRENT USE: Citadel. ADDRESS: Oficios, 312, corner of Santa Clara, Old Havana. AUTHOR: Unknown. DATES: 18th Century (last third). Remodeling: XIX Century

It is still possible to appreciate, in spite of its poor state of preservation, the qualities that make this mansion an important example of Havana's 18th century architecture. In its last decades it acquired its physiognomy and only occasionally varied in the 19th century with the introduction of dust covers on the exterior windows and some wrought iron elements, as well as the replacement of the original woodwork with paneled woodwork.
Its overall image is massive and imposing. It consists, as usual, of a ground and upper floor with an intermediate mezzanine expressed on the facade. Its owners
must have enjoyed excellent ventilation and lighting conditions, judging by the corner location and the existence of a courtyard and backyard.
The central motif that distinguishes it is undoubtedly the extraordinary façade, whose elaborate sinuosity makes it one of the most striking of the baroque period.
In 1991, the Viennese architects Carl Pruscha and Peter Noever carried out a project to restore the house as an exhibition center, linked to an extension on the adjoining property with workshops and studios for foreign artists.

© archive studio noever