Smarting with the audacity of a modern-day Eiffel Tower, the opinion-dividing Metropol Parasol, which opened in March 2011 in the Plaza de la Encarnación, claims to be the largest wooden building in the world. Its undulating honeycombed roof is held up by five giant mushroom-like pillars, earning it the local nickname Las Setas de la Encarnación (the mushrooms of Plaza de la Encarnación).
Six years in the making, the construction covers a former dead zone in Seville’s central district once filled with an ugly car park. Roman ruins discovered during the building’s conception have been cleverly incorporated into the foundations at the Museo Antiquarium , while upstairs on level 2 you can (for €2.10) stroll along a surreal panoramic walkway with killer city views. The Metropol also houses the plaza’s former market, a restaurant and a concert space. Though costly and controversial, Jürgen Mayer-Hermann’s daring creation has slotted into Seville’s ancient core with a weird kind of harmony, turning (and tilting) the heads of all who pass.
