Fundación Alejandro de la Sota

Alejandro de la Sota

The mission of the Alejandro de la Sota Foundation is to preserve and disseminate the legacy of the architect Alejandro de la Sota (Pontevedra, 1913 – Madrid, 1996), one of the essential figures of modern Spanish architecture, and to promote knowledge of the generation of masters to which he belonged. The author of seminal works such as the Civil Government building in Tarragona and the Maravillas school gymnasium in Madrid, De la Sota understood architecture as a mental problem, to be solved with rigour, economy of means and a deep respect for place. His teaching at the Madrid School of Architecture left its mark on several generations of Spanish architects.

Its activities include the Pioneers of Modern Spanish Architecture International Congress, held since 2015 in collaboration with the Spanish Ministry and the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid, directed by Teresa Couceiro. Each edition brings together researchers from the leading schools of architecture around one theme — learning from a building, projects for inhabitance, the design process, in-between spaces or blending with the environment — to rigorously analyse the masterworks of the Spanish architects born around the 1910s and 1920s.

TC Cuadernos publishes thecongress book seriestogether with the Foundation: eight bilingual Spanish-English volumes that make up the Pioneers of Modern Spanish Architecture collection, a reference library on De la Sota, Sáenz de Oíza, Coderch, Fisac, Cabrero, Bonet and the other protagonists of the modern movement in Spain.

Pioneers of Modern Spanish Architecture 8. Blending with the Environment

Pioneers of Modern Spanish Architecture 8. Blending with the Environment 2

Books TC

Pioneers (8). Blending with the Environment

Fundación Alejandro de la Sota

The 8th Pioneers of Modern Spanish Architecture International Congress, held in May 2026 under the title “Blending with the Environment”, reflects on the commitment of the Spanish architects born around the 1910s and 1920s to integrating their works into the settings where they would be built. “By building a profound and serious understanding of the...

Pioneers of Modern Spanish Architecture 7. In-between Spaces

Pioneers of Modern Spanish Architecture 7. In-between Spaces 2

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Pioneers (7). In-between Spaces

Fundación Alejandro de la Sota

The 7th Pioneers of Modern Spanish Architecture International Congress, held in May 2022 under the title “In-between Spaces”, is devoted to the transitional spaces — galleries, courtyards, porches, terraces — that link buildings with the space outside them. In the early twentieth century the avant-garde freed space by breaking down volume into free...

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Pioneros de la Arquitectura Moderna Española 6. El proceso del proyecto

Pioneros de la Arquitectura Moderna Española 6. El proceso del proyecto 2

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Pioneers (6). The Design Process

Fundación Alejandro de la Sota

The 6th Pioneers of Modern Spanish Architecture International Congress, held in May 2021 under the title “The Design Process”, analyses designs by the pioneering generation of architects, from the initial idea to the final solution, reflecting on the value of the process involved in the creation of a work of architecture. “Buildings are not better on...

Pioneros de la Arquitectura Moderna (5)

Pioneros de la Arquitectura Moderna (5) 2

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Pioneers (5). Projects for Inhabitance

Fundación Alejandro de la Sota

The 5th Pioneers of Modern Spanish Architecture Congress — the first international edition —, organized by the Alejandro de la Sota Foundation under the title “Projects for Inhabitance”, investigates landmark works of modern Spanish residential architecture. “Architecture is born when it fulfils the purpose of sheltering and organising the surroundings...

Pioneers of Modern Spanish Architecture 4. Architecture as Inclusive Work

Pioneers of Modern Spanish Architecture 4. Architecture as Inclusive Work 2

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Pioneers (4). Architecture as Inclusive Work

Fundación Alejandro de la Sota

The 4th Pioneers of Modern Spanish Architecture National Congress, organized by the Alejandro de la Sota Foundation under the title “Architecture as Inclusive Work”, draws on the concept of the Gesamtkunstwerk or total work of art: the analysis of projects in which the architect imagined, designed and incorporated not only strictly architectural elements...

Pioneers of Modern Spanish Architecture 3. Critical Analysis of a Work

Pioneers of Modern Spanish Architecture 3. Critical Analysis of a Work 2

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Pioneers (3). Critical Analysis of a Work

Fundación Alejandro de la Sota

The 3rd Pioneers of Modern Spanish Architecture National Congress, held in Madrid in May 2016 under the title “Critical Analysis of a Work of Architecture”, delves into emblematic and lesser-known works by the great architects of the modern movement in Spain, taking advantage of the perspective afforded by the passage of time to define the values,...

Pioneros de la Arquitectura Moderna Española (2)

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Pioneers (2). Learning From a Building

Fundación Alejandro de la Sota

The 2nd Pioneers of Modern Spanish Architecture National Congress, organized by the Alejandro de la Sota Foundation under the title “Learning from a Building”, studies works of great interest built by the generation of architects born around the 1910s and 1920s, regarded as pioneers of Spanish architecture. The approach focuses on the design and...

Pioneros de la Arquitectura Moderna Española

Books TC

Pioneers (1). Vigencia de su pensamiento y obra

Fundación Alejandro de la Sota

The 1st Pioneers of Modern Spanish Architecture National Congress, organized by the Alejandro de la Sota Foundation under the title “The Currency of their Ideas and Work”, is devoted to the generations of Spanish architects born around the 1910s and 1920s. Trained amid the economic hardship and cultural isolation of the post-war period, they assimilated...

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