Spanish Architecture Hurting With Economy

Spanish children dreaming of elaborate, gorgeous buildings, are being woken up by a rough economy.

According to an article published in the Christian Science Monitor, budding Spanish professionals may have to consider options other than architecture in the near future.

In the 1990’s, buildings like Norman Foster’s Torre de Collserola and I.M. Pei’s World Trade Center (located in Barcelona), and Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum of Bilbao inspired young architects to dream big dreams, the article argues. They also proved that successful architects could be, well, very successful.

Now’s Spain’s unemployment level sits at roughly 25%. Funding for public works programs, like government buildings, has been all but cut off, and architects are running for their lives, the author says.

When the Guggenheim opened in the late 1990’s, she writes, the world’s perception of Spain changed from one of desolation and emptiness to amazement. International tourism skyrocketed and as a result, the building bred it’s own phrase: “The Guggenheim Effect.”

But since the crash of the real estate market in 2008, Spanish housing prices are down 30%, the CS Monitor says. Opposite the Guggenheim effect came the symbolism of huge, half-finished public works projects; empty concert halls and abandoned airports are not uncommon sights.

Housing starts, according to the article, are down from 800,000 annually pre-recession to 80,000, and as a result, 42% of Spaniards trained as architects are out of work. But this shock to the system provides an opportunity.

The author suggests that Spanish architecture is shifting toward environmental consciousness, instead of chasing the Guggenheim dream at all costs.

Rafael de La-Hoz, an award-winning architect in Madrid who has constructed edifices both in Spain and internationally, told reporters, “Good architecture means working together with a city, to create a better city, not just one amazing building."