«At about eight o’clock at night they called me to tell me that Chávez wanted to rest in the Cuartel de la Montaña and that they needed me to build a mausoleum. And since Chávez was an environmentalist, I thought that he should rest on a flower, that it should be an orchid », commented in 2013 the architect who received multiple awards in life
The Venezuelan architect José Fructoso Vivas, known as Fruto Vivas, died on August 23 at the age of 94, according to relatives and friends on social networks.
Vivas added to his vast creative work of architecture the so-called Flower of the Four Elements, a design that adorns the tomb of Hugo Chávez Frías in the Cuartel de la Montaña. In several interviews that he gave for the year 2013, it took him only 20 minutes to prepare it, given the rush to prepare a suitable place for funeral honors.
«At about eight o’clock at night they called me to tell me that Chávez wanted to rest in the Cuartel de la Montaña and that they needed me to build a mausoleum. And since Chávez was an environmentalist, I thought that he should rest on a flower, which should be an orchid », referred The architect.
«I proposed that Chávez should be on a flower and a mirror of water, which were approved. The most beautiful thing about that design was the volume of people who worked without sleeping. He revealed that it was Venezuela’s tropical climate that inspired him to propose a flower for the mausoleum. “The construction of the Flower of the four elements was a beautiful experience”, remembered.
But that was not the only flower that gave him international fame, it also happened with the design he presented in 2000 for the Venezuelan Pavilion at Expo 2000 in Hannover, Germany. A three-story structure made of steel and glass with a flower-shaped roof that was later installed in Barquisimeto, where it is known as “Flower of Venezuela”. The structure features eight giant petals supported by a central mast that was conceived in 1999.
Futo Vivas had important recognitions to its prolific creativity professional, among them: in 1987 he received the National Prize for Architecture of Venezuela; in 2009 he received the title of Doctor Honoris Causa from the Faculty of Architecture of the Central University of Venezuela; in 2011 he received the title of Doctor Honoris Causa from the National Experimental University of Táchira (UNET); At the IX Ibero-American Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism (BIAU), the Ibero-American Award was also announced to the Venezuelan architect Fruto Vivas in an edition of the Biennial that aspires to recognize “architecture and urban planning aimed at improving the quality of life of citizens ».
In 2014, Fruto Vivas received this Ibero-American Award for “his consistent career of more than 60 years in the architecture trade, both at a design and teaching level; leaving a solid legacy in the investigation of topics related to innovation and sustainability in construction, both in the public and private spheres».
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