Herrerian style

The Herrerian style (estilo herreriano or arquitectura herreriana) of architecture was developed in Spain during the last third of the 16th century under the reign of Philip II (1556–1598), and continued in force in the 17th century, but transformed by the Baroque style of the time. It corresponds to the third and final stage of Spanish Renaissance architecture, whose dominant trend had been towards austerity and minimal decoration. The ornate Plateresque style had given way to classical Purism in the second third of the 16th century. Purism in turn had given way to the geometric simplicity of the Herrerian style. It originated with the construction of the Monastery of El Escorial (San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Community of Madrid) and, more specifically, with the reorganization of the project made by Cantabrian architect Juan de Herrera (1530–1597), after the death of Juan Bautista de Toledo (1515–1567), author of the first design. Its main representatives are the aforementioned Herrera, to whom the style owes its name, and Francisco de Mora (1553–1610), Herrera's disciple and architect of the Ducal Palace of Lerma and other key works of Herrerian architecture. The Herrerian architecture, or Herrerian style is characterized by its geometric rigor, the mathematical relation between the various architectural features, the clean volumes, the dominance of the wall over the span and the almost total absence of decoration, which is why in time was called estilo desornamentado ("unornamented style). Is also known as Escorial style, referring to the building that serves as best example for the architectural style. Herrerian buildings stand out for their severe horizontality, achieved thanks to the balance of shapes, preferably cubic, that are arranged symmetrically in the structure. In general, they have wooden roofs clad on the outside with slate and lateral towers, finished off in conical or pyramidal quadrangular spiers finished in points, known as Madrid-style spiers or simply as Madrid spire, which introduce an element of verticality and magnificence, to the time that helps to reinforce the feeling of symmetry.