Already in 1986, J.P Estrampes – author introducing the report dedicated to the Madrid-based architect Antonio Fernandez Alba in AA No.246  – Spanish architecture was celebrated by the architectural press, where it was presented as “a victory of modernity and the revival of the spirit of the time against the forces of conservatism and archaism.”

He revisits this image in order to reveal the proper expression of Spanish architecture and the principles that give it a quality so highly recognized by critics.

According to J.P Estrampes – author of this article introducing the file dedicated to the Madrid-based architect Antonio Fernandez Alba – this quality stems from the adaptation of the principles of the Modern Movement to local cultures, history, climate and techniques.

“[…] an understanding of contemporary Spanish architecture also involves taking into account two archetypes of the culture of this country, the Alhambra and the Escurial, the two opposing influences, sisters and enemies, like the tragic fantasies of a civil war.”

Thirty years later, L’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui again dedicates a whole issue to Spanish architecture, except that today it is a revival emerging from an economic crisis that reshaped the practice. Read more on this topic in AA No.419, currently available in bookshops.

To read the full article published in 1986, click on the cover.
And if you want to complete your collection of vintage issues, click here.