Rafael Guastavino (2027). Documentary by Eduardo Montes-Bradley | 30 min

Name: The Piccirilli Factor
Director: Eduardo Montes-Bradley
Released: 2025

In Rafael Guastavino, Montes-Bradley explores the life, work, and legacy of the Spanish architect and builder, tracing his journey from his formative years in Valencia and professional development in Barcelona to his reinvention in the United States. Conceived as a comprehensive biographical portrait for American audiences, the film examines the experiences, ambitions, and traditions that shaped his career, revealing a figure whose contribution to American architecture remains less familiar than the extraordinary spaces he helped create.

Guastavino’s arrival in New York in 1881, accompanied by his young son Rafael, marks a turning point in this journey. Adapting a Mediterranean tradition of thin-tile vaulting to the demands of a rapidly growing nation, he developed a construction system that combined structural strength, fire resistance, and expressive beauty. His work at the Boston Public Library helped establish a company whose achievements, continued and expanded by his son, would become integral to landmarks including Grand Central Terminal, Ellis Island, and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

Beyond these celebrated buildings, Rafael Guastavino explores the relationship between craftsmanship and innovation, the collaboration between father and son, and the immigrant experience behind an enduring American enterprise. Through the interplay of architecture, light, and sound, the film invites audiences to look anew at familiar public spaces and recognize the ingenuity that made them possible. Bringing these dimensions together, it offers a fuller understanding of Guastavino’s life and the legacy of a family whose work helped shape the experience of modern America.

Runtime: 30 minutes | Year: 2027
Language: English | Country of Origin: United States–Spain
Status: In Development

HERITAGE FILM PROJECT PRESENTS RAFAEL GUASTAVINO

A FILM BY EDUARDO MONTES-BRADLEY MADE POSSIBLE WITH THE SUPPORT OF

THE MORRIS AND ALMA SCHAPIRO FUND, THE JOSEPH AND ROBERT CORNELL MEMORIAL FOUNDATION

and DOCUMENTARY FILM FUND PRODUCED BY SOLEDAD LIENDO and EDUARDO MONTES-BRADLEY

IN CONSULTATION WITH FERNANDO VEGAS LÓPEZ-MANZANARES JOHN OCHSENDORF CAMILLA MILETO

MAR LOREN-MÉNDEZ JAVIER MORO BENJAMIN JAMES HAYS VICTOR CANTERO

KENT DIEBOLT JUSTIN DAVIS ÁNGEL AYÓN WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY EDUARDO MONTES-BRADLEY

Rafael Guastavino and Jefferson’s Rotunda at UVA.

Visitors to the University of Virginia, founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819 and opened to students in 1825, encounter one of the most recognizable expressions of American architecture: Jefferson’s Academical Village. Presiding over the Lawn is the Rotunda, a building inspired by the Pantheon in Rome and conceived as the intellectual heart of the University. Construction began in 1823 and was completed in 1828, two years after Jefferson’s death at Monticello.

Rafael Guastavino, Columbia University, Montes-Bradley

Columbia University: Guastavino Under the Vaults of St. Paul's Chapel.

A morning beneath the Guastavino tile vaults of St. Paul's Chapel at Columbia University in Morningside Heights, where every curved surface carries itself.

U.S. Custom House. Photo by Montes-Bradley

New York’s Hidden Guastavino

Yesterday, while scouting locations for Visions of Spain, I returned to the old U.S. Custom House at Bowling Green. I know the building very well, or at least I thought I did. I spent time there while making Daniel Chester French: American Sculptor, because the monumental figures representing the four continents were designed by French and carved by the Piccirilli brothers. Now I’m back for Guastavino.