What does the future of architectural practice look like in ‘Unfinished’ Madrid?
The periphery of Madrid today looks more like a construction site than a sprawl of suburban developments. The fall of the Euro and the Spanish housing market crash of 2008 resulted in the halt of construction, leaving many buildings, infrastructure and towns partially finished. According to Forbes, with construction at a standstill in 2009, over 55,000 real estate agencies closed down in Spain. Due to the lack of employment in all sectors, families found it difficult to meet their mortgage payments, for many resulting in bankruptcy. In a recent publication by the Department of Economic Analysis at the University of Zaragoza, figures show that over 3 million homes remain empty in unfinished urbanizations around the country. Spain is now a fragmented image of the idealistic vision once held by the government and developers.
During the financial crisis, vast numbers of architects fled the country seeking economic refuge in Asia, Europe and South America. Other who chose to remain sought employment in other creative fields, such as graphics, product and furniture design. Still some held fast, hoping to make a living practicing architecture. In most cases, architects adapted, employing alternative tactics to make ends meet. Traditional architecture practices have struggled. Different models of practicing such as collaboratives have seen an increase in popularity, enabling architects and creative designers to work together - pooling their resources in order to get work and provide design solutions. In many ways, the financial crisis has provided an opportunity for architects to reconsider the way in which architectural practices operate.
8 years later, after what feels like a long pause for dramatic effect… we are starting to see signs of improvement. After the bail out of most major banks in Spain, we are seeing flickers of light in the construction industry. Once again, the cranes have returned to urbanizations on the periphery of the city. The literal gaps and empty building plots in these housing developments are starting to be filled. With what, I am not sure, considering the existing abundance of residences remain uninhabited around the country. Despite the signs of growth, the industry that we once knew, fuelled by the economic demand to build more housing, is all but back to normal.
In a recent exhibition held at the COAM in Madrid, Cartas a la Alcaldesa (Letters to the Mayor) - originally held at The Storefront for Art and Architecture in New York, 70 letters written by architects to their respective mayors were exhibited expressing urgent issues and the wishes of the authors to play an important role in politics and local government. By demonstrating that the architect has a voice to be heard in government decisions in regard to urban development, the significance of the exhibition goes far beyond the simple display of letters. The commissioner and chief executive director of Storefront for art and architecture, Eva France writes:
“As civic figure, the architect has the privilege and responsibility to articulate and translate the collective aspirations of society and specifically those who have no access to decision-making.
Throughout history, architects have dealt with this responsibility and economic, political and cultural power structures, and they have done so in different ways to obtain varying degrees of success. With the rise of globalization and the homogenization of the contemporary city, the architect ‘s role in the political landscape has often been reduced to answer questions that others have done. In the process of designing a new-iconic-tourist cultural object, driven economically, a growing number of architects and politicians have forgotten the ethics that should be associated with architectural practice and potential of design in the construction of public life.”
It seems as if the decisions that were made leading up to the financial crisis of 2008 can be attributed to a failure in considering the consequences of the actions of all parties involved, government, banks, developers and architects alike. Perhaps the years of economic drought that have followed the crash have provided a time for reflection on the decisions that got us there.
Many of the questions raised in the ‘Unfinished Madrid’ design studio that I participated in at Oxford Brooks University 2016 were about the way in which architecture can develop and progress in the context of ‘Unfinished’ urbanizations. These types of questions have become legitimate considerations in the architecture industry today. UNFINISHED, the Spanish Pavilion which won the Golden Lion award for best pavilion at the 2016 Venice Biennale, displayed a collection of work that was centred around the idea of architecture in a constant state of evolution - thus remaining unfinished. The exhibition highlighted built works around the themes of adaptation, infill, re-appropriation and reassignment, each of which brought new uses to existing sites or buildings. As well as built projects, the exhibition featured a collection of theoretical proposals that provided an alternative commentary on unfinished developments. I believe that this collection of work, praised for its significance as an important discussion topic in the wake of the economic crash, will become a basis for which architects view and consider future projects. In contrast to the landscape of wasted building sites around Madrid, future new build construction will be considered not only in their feasibility, but in regards to their necessity and enhancement of existing/unfinished infrastructure.
At the moment, I am not sure what the future of architectural practice in Madrid looks like. I am not sure if the Madrid urban periphery developments will ever get finished. I am not sure if we will see a time when much more housing development is needed when an abundance of housing is currently in existence. I do believe, however, that future architectural projects must be considered within both the physical and philosophical context of ‘Unfinished’. We do not have the luxury, any more, of constructing without consequences. As architects, we should no longer simply accept and formulate a responds to government, bank and developer decisions over large scale building projects. It is the fundamental responsibility of the architect to act on behalf of the users of the built environment in order to provide a service that improves the spaces we inhabit.
With these considerations in mind, future architectural projects have the ability to infill, enhance and revitalize unfinished locations. In doing so, architects will see themselves as the designers of spatial solutions, not simply the designers of new buildings.