Injecting 20th Century Spain into Architecture Appreciation Courses

Volume 50 Issue 1

Author(s):

Brett Tippey - Kent State University

Recommended Citation:

Tippey, Brett (2026) “Injecting 20th Century Spain into Architecture Appreciation Courses,” Bulletin for Spanish and Portuguese Historical Studies: Vol. 50 : Iss. 1 , Roundtable 5.

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Abstract:

In general-education courses in architectural history, the material culture produced by Spanish creatives is a rare commodity. Specimens of Spain’s Roman heritage, like Segovia’s aqueduct or Mérida’s amphitheater, are often displaced by their counterparts in France and Italy. Lectures on Baroque architecture rarely include examples of the Spanish variant, even though its global reach surpassed that of any other. Typically, only three Spanish buildings make the cut: the Great Mosque in Córdoba, the Alhambra and Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia. Mostly, this lacuna stems from international politics. Architectural history formed as a discipline during the second half of the nineteenth century, when Spain had already ceded its position of international authority to its neighbors in central Europe. Historians also ignored Spanish architecture thanks to the endurance of Franco’s oppressive regime and the international isolation it produced. Moreover, most original texts and treatises on the subject were written in Spanish and have never been translated. Nonetheless, the architecture of twentieth century Spain is, indeed, different, precisely because of the country’s international isolation. Spanish architects had little direct contact with outside sources, so they had to develop their own version of modern architecture. As a result, incorporating examples from twentieth century Spain into architecture appreciation courses enriches the broader historical narrative. This paper will discuss the recent transformation of Kent State University’s general education course titled Understanding Architecture. It will trace the incorporation of three case studies. The 1937 Spanish Pavilion at the World’s Fair in Paris, designed by Josep Lluís Sert and Luis Lacasa in part to exhibit Picasso’s Guernica, reflects the enduring tradition of architecture as ideological propaganda. José Antonio Coderch’s and Manuel Valls’ 1951 Casa Ugalde in Caldes d’Estrac reflects broader tendencies towards organic architecture. And finally, Rafael Moneo’s 1986 Museum of Roman Art in Mérida epitomizes typology as a field of architectural inquiry.

Tags: organic architecture, Spanish architecture, typology