CARVING MONOLITHS



"The building -  the void: an interesting city interplay"

Guillermo Aranda-Mena


CARVE  Verb: (often to be carved) cut (a hard material) in order to produce and aesthetically pleasant object or design. Carve out: take something from a large whole, esp. with difficulty.  Establish or create something through painstaking effort. 

MONOLITH  Noun: French monolithe. Greek monos (single) + lithos (stone).

1. A large single upright block of stone, esp. one shaped into or serving as pillar or monument.

  • A very large characterless building: the 72 story monolithic building overlooking the waterfront
  • A very large block of concrete sunk in water, e.g. in the building of a dock.

2. a large and impersonal political, corporate or social structure regarded as intractibly, indivisible and uniform.













From top to bottom:
  • Delft Square, NL
  • Federation Square, Melbourne
  • The Botanical Gardens, Melbourne
  • Hoi An Market, Vietnam
  • Lugano, Ticino
  • Rome, ‘la ciudad eterna’
  • Cycling path along the Yarra River - Melbourne inner-city. 
  • Melbourne CBD seen from Studley Park - Melbourne inner-city (suburbs are further out!)


Carving sculptures - inspired in Alexander Calder. GAM 1995

Carving a bird-eye view of Sydney. GAM 2007

Carving a view framed by Sydney harbor, trees, bridge and SOH. GAM 2007 

Carving a vaulted double-hight ceiling dining room. Views to middle patio on the right and back garden on the left. GAM 1993

Carving a tunnel under a park: Sydney The Rocks. GAM 2007/2008

Carving Edward Hopper's classic corner. GAM 1992.

Re-carving a baroque  façade. GAM 1995.   

Carving a retreat centre. GAM 1993

Carving a fijian buré GAM 2009


Carving a Piano staircase. GAM 2006

Carving a tower for Guadalajara. GAM 1994

Carving LeCorbusier's modulor on a Harley-Davidson GAM 1992 

Carving inspiration. GAM 1998