Over thirty years, the photographer has carried memories of travel and life across diverse countries, capturing vast Asian metropolises with his camera and observing their growth through architectural interventions. He documented Tehran, Hong Kong, Seoul, and Dubai, later turning his lens toward Alicante, Benidorm, and Torrevieja to craft a parallel world that echoes familiar sights from far away.
Today, Cantabrian photographer Manuel Alvarez Diestro presents a cohesive body of work at Pozos de Garrigós, adjacent to the Alicante Water Museum. The IV Art and Environment Cycle, organized by this venue, presents the exhibition titled steel caves. The phrase, drawn from a book by Isaac Asimov, frames the project. The artist explains that the aim is to reflect how human expansion reshapes the landscape through city construction, while also inviting viewers to see their own city with fresh perception.
He envisions a link between coastal Alicante and major Asian metropolises, suggesting that vertical architecture offers a sustainable model to optimize water and light use and to protect nature. The show comprises 27 photographs organized into three sections. One part pairs images of Mediterranean and Asian cities, creating a visual dialogue so seamless that it’s hard to tell which metropolis is being described. Another room features a series that surveys all the bridges in Seoul from a unique, ground-level perspective captured in the same frame. The final segment includes a projection where Álvarez Diestro integrates the human element, presenting an experimental video that mirrors the activity surrounding these bridges.
All this unfolds in a setting where the exhibition’s rooms reveal the artist’s intent to fuse urban growth with environmental awareness. The display aims to deepen the audience’s understanding of how cities evolve and to encourage viewers to reflect on the built environment around them.
During the exhibition’s opening, the project was described as a collaborative effort that highlights the value of architecture within the broader arts and environment conversation. The director of communications and corporate affairs for the venue emphasized the pursuit of new partnerships and alliances, including engagement with the Alicante Territorial College of Architects, to broaden the impact of the project. The head of communications at CTAA highlighted the importance of enriching architectural dialogue with striking imagery—an ongoing theme of the cycle.
round tables
Over the next three months, the IV Art and Environment Cycle will host a series of roundtable discussions in collaboration with the Alicante Regional College of Architects. Prominent architects will join Álvarez Diestro to debate the role of architecture in today’s cities and in future sustainability efforts. The inaugural discussion took place at the Alicante Water Museum, with a panel including the artist, a CTAA president, and a university professor, alongside a moderator who steered the dialogue toward the intersection of practice and policy.
Images from the exhibition rooms capture the moment, and a second roundtable is scheduled for mid-June. It will bring together architects and scholars to explore how urban form can balance growth with resilience, and how cultural institutions can amplify these conversations through public programming.
Manuel Alvarez Diestro has established himself as a leading voice in architectural photography. His work appears in prominent architecture journals and design publications both in Spain and internationally, and he has directed feature films shot in Asia. His career also spans roles in tourism promotion and aviation, with international assignments in Europe and Asia. He currently leads the Art and Creation Department at a university-affiliated program and holds honorary citizenship in a South Korean city, reflecting a long-standing engagement with city life across cultures. In the IV Art and Environment Cycle, his varied experiences provide a distinct way of looking at how cities are imagined, built, and inhabited.
Beyond his photography, Alvarez Diestro has contributed to discussions about the role of tourism and urban development in shaping skylines and experiences. His background in promoting cultural exchange and shaping perception of places adds an extra dimension to the discourse around sustainability in urban contexts. As the cycle continues, audiences can expect more images and conversations that blend aesthetics with urban planning, inviting a broader public to rethink what makes a city livable and resilient. (citation: cycle organizers and participating institutions)