Alhambra: the courtyard as the center of the palace space

Useful to know

The Alhambra in Granada is more than a single palace hall. UNESCO considers it along with Generalife and Albaysin as parts of a historical urban and landscape system. Alhambra is a fortress and residence, Generalife is associated with the out-of-town residence and gardens, and Albaysin keeps residential architecture. [1] This distinction is a good start to read. It shows different functions and scales that need to be connected instead of all the places being simply called a palace.

The courtyard of the lions is among the most familiar spaces of the complex. Official management describes the central open courtyard as a core around which multi-purpose rooms are organized. [2] Thus, the empty space is not a remnant between the buildings. It is an essential element of the plan that creates relationships between entrances, galleries and halls. It is useful for the observer to look at the center and the surrounding parts at the same time, because the architectural meaning arises precisely from their mutual organization.

In the description of the yard are highlighted the cross organization and the central fountain, as well as the column gallery around it. The space is related to the development of the Nasrid palace architecture. [2] These data provide a specific basis for observing the repetitions and axes. Columns should not be perceived only as a collection of beautiful details. They participate in the way the successive plans are seen and are passed between the covered and exposed parts of the complex.

UNESCO places the different parts on adjacent hills and highlights their attitude towards the lower modern city. [1] This adds another layer: the place and the terrain are involved in the architectural impact. The courtyards and halls can be viewed closely, but then have to return to the larger context of residence, fortification, and city. Thus, the single view of a fountain is not used as a substitute for the entire spatial arrangement of the Alhambra and surroundings.

When viewing, one can start with the route: from where one enters, when the courtyard is revealed, and how the next hall is visible through the gallery. This is an analytical exercise, not a re-enactment of a binding historical path. Then the attention can be turned to the repetition of supports and changes in illumination. Thus, the decoration gets its place in the space. It is observed on actual borders, openings and transitions, rather than as a detached ornament unrelated to use.

The Alhambra shows why architecture can be explained by relations between spaces instead of just by separate facades. The yard collects, the gallery connects, and the adjacent premises develop different directions of experience. The historical and urban context gives additional meaning to this organization. When the small detail and the large plan are considered together, the complex becomes more understandable as a medium of life and representativeness, and not only as a series of famous decorative motifs that the visitor recognizes from pictures.