urban mobility devices + picturesque surroundings blend in manuel alvarez diestro’s photos of santander

after photographing the construction of new cities in asia and the middle east, visual artist manuel alvarez diestro travels back to his hometown santander, spain and conduct a new project about the coastal city. with a camera in hand, diestro captures all the itineraries and delivers a new postcard depicting the less recognizable areas of the city. in his recent work, he portrays a ‘piranesian’ world of stairs interacting with each other and sometimes leading to dead ends.

mechanical stairs interacting with traditional ones
all images courtesy of manuel alvarez diestro

known for its scenic beauty, santander is a medium-size city of 180000 inhabitants bordering the cantabrian sea. located on top of hills and valleys, santander bay has faced numerous challenges to connect the lower parts of the city with the upper ones. with this in mind, during the recent years, the local authorities have invested in urban mobility and installed a complex urban fabric of mechanical stairs, ramps and elevators all across the city. in his project, manuel alvarez diestro photographs all these new additions and presents a different side to his hometown which is unknown to many.

mechanical ramp between buildings

from an artistic perspective, diestro brings a new visual narrative for a city that is normally considered as beautiful when seen from the sea with renzo piano’s centro botín followed by the iconic maritime promenade and magdalena palace. through this ‘inverted postcard’ of the touristic city, the photographer creates a very personal work charged with emotion and melancholia. the full work entitled ‘santander transversal’ by manuel alvarez diestro and curated by maria arantxa vidal can be seen at centro cívico tabacalera in santander from august 12th until september 25th 2021. the exhibition was made possible with the support of santander city.

mechanical ramps against rationalist building and city residential areas in the back

mechanical stairs with new residential areas in the back

mechanical stairs with a tourist on the top

mechanical stairs against parisian style building in central santander

juxtaposition of mechanical stairs against an eroded facade

view of santander with elevator descending and city spreading below

panoramic elevator connecting the lower and upper parts of the city

all urban transportation devices interact with each other

art installation of mechanical stairs by photographer interacting with vertical garden in centro cívico tabacalera

photographer manuel alvarez diestro surrounded by his work within centro cívico tabacalera

project info:

name: santander transversal
photographer: manual alvarez diestro

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.