by Maleeha Sambur

Apartamento co-founder Nacho Alegre's gorgeous photographs of La Muralla Roja, the Ricardo Bofill-designed housing complex in the Mediterranean town of Calpe, Spain, have been dancing in my head ever since I spied them on Vogue.com over the summer. They continue to haunt me, resurfacing in my Pinterest and Instagram feeds every other day or so.

Built atop a rocky cliff, the design of the complex was inspired by the walled fortresses of North Africa, its flow dictated by a series of inter-connected stairs and access bridges that lead to the 50 apartments. The vivid color scheme consisting of pinks, reds, and blues was intended to interact - either as complement or contrast - with the changing colors of the sky.

While I'm pretty much a fan of all of Bofill's works, these images in particular had me jonesing hard for a trip to the Alicante. However, it was Alegre's beautiful, spot-on description of the place that really stuck:

I imagine it as a Postmodern interpretation of a casbah, with its labyrinth-like circulation, overlapping stairs, impossible balconies, and endless series of patios.

Read more about his impressions and see the rest of the photos here.