ARCHITECTURE:Contemporary Spanish Architecture

In 2006, the exhibition “On-Site: New architecture in Spain” was held in the MoMA. It defined Spain as a country that has lately become known as an international center for design innovation and excellence, as it is shown in the fact that seven Pritzker awarded architects were selected for the exhibition.

By Efi Michalarou

On the occasion of ARCO, the meeting of the Contemporary Art Galleries in Barcelona, we make a tour on the most important cultural events, among them in the Contemporary Architecture. As Terence Riley, then in charge of the Architectural Department of the MoMA said: “There is not a “Spanish” architectural style. But there is an increasingly level of quality and beauty within the new projects, probably more than other part of the world”. The curator also stated that in Spain there is a lot of construction as there is even more in China. “However, while in China you cannot find hardly any interesting proposal, there are a lot in Spain. Their variety and open-minded lines are surprising”. In 2006, Terminal 4 of Barajas Airport by Richard Rogers and Antonio Lamela won the British Stirling Prize. The Barcelona Torre Agbar or Agbar Tower, by French architect Jean Nouvel combines different architectural concepts, resulting in a striking structure built with reinforced concrete, covered with a façade of glass, with its window openings cut out of the structural concrete. The projects that take shape over the course of the Capital of Culture and do not forget, the important role in the review, the creation and the promotion of Contemporary Spanish Architecture played by the Olympic Games, that changed the icon of Barcelona and not only…both in Public Buildings and Museums, as well as the Houses, Spain, the Spanish Architecture, the Design and more… made the transition…