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Criticalista

Rafael Gómez-Moriana's architecture blog

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Tag: politics

Not in Our Public Space

Public space belongs to everyone. That’s why the latest proposal to expand the Museum of Contemporary Art of Barcelona (MACBA) … More

Barcelona, macba, politics, public space, Raval

Barcelona, posa’t guarra (get dirty)

Welcome to Carrer Príncep de Viana in the Raval neighbourhood of Barcelona, a small, normally quiet street lined with trees … More

Barcelona, drugs, narco-speculation, politics, Raval, squatters, urban degradation

The Politics of Architecture

Why is supposedly “advanced” architecture appreciated by so many of today’s dictatorial rulers, and what does this tell us about … More

architecture, BIG, Bjarke Ingels, Jair Bolsonaro, politics

A Heroic Architect-Politician Exists

A previously little known architect is the topic of conversation in Spain right now. The discussion has nothing to do … More

countryside, politics, small town, Spain, Teruel existe

Viviendas para vivir

[originalmente publicado en BCN MÉS #79] En las últimas décadas, hemos logrado conectar la ciudad con el mar, hemos creado espacios … More

Barcelona, BCN MÉS, housing, politics, tourism

Electoral Architecture

Elections for the mayorship of Barcelona are coming up later this year, and we’re already being delivered promises in the … More

artificial island, Barcelona, Dubai, electoralism, housing, politics, waterfront

How Much Does Your Conscience Weigh, Mr. Foster?

Dear Norman, I just read the following in the Architect’s Journal: “Amid an escalating crisis over the missing journalist Jamal … More

freedom of expression, lack of conscience, norman foster, politics

A Guide to the Many Flags Visible in Barcelona These Days

[Originally published in Art4d Magazine] Barcelona is currently festooned with flags hanging from apartment balconies. It’s been this way especially … More

Catalonia, design, flags, history, politics, Spain

Archispeak in Political Propaganda

The Catalan independence movement has for years been churning out a great deal of propaganda in order to win over … More

architecture, Catalonia, independence, politics, propaganda

Interview with Daniel Mòdol, Architect and Politician

[Originally published in Mark Magazine #68] In Barcelona, architect and independent politician Daniel Mòdol was recently appointed city councillor for … More

Barcelona, Daniel Mòdol, heritage, Mark Magazine, politics, tourism, urbanism

Award Politics

Architecture’s top award is the Pritzker Prize, as we all know. Often referred to in the media as the “Nobel … More

awards, celebrity, E.U. Mies Award, politics, Pritzker Prize

The Venetian Front

[Review of the 15th International Architecture Exhibition originally published in Mark Magazine #63. Photos by Sergio Pirrone.] Reporting From the … More

Alejandro Aravena, ephemeral architecture, exhibition, Mark Magazine, politics, problem solving, social justice, Venice Biennale

Architecture Only an Artist can Get Away With

New York’s Guggenheim Museum has just announced plans to install a new artwork by Maurizio Cattelan consisting of a toilet made … More

architecture, art, gold, Guggenheim Museum, luxury, Maurizio Cattelan, politics, Toilet

Love-You Architecture

“The envy and hostility of Wall Street leads many to a common goal: to amass enough money so as to … More

corruption, fuck-you money, inequality, love-you architecture, Panama Papers, politics, popular culture, tax havens, Wall Street

Cycling Barcelona versus Copenhagen: an Experiential Comparison

The other day I read an interesting critique of Barcelona’s cycling infrastructure titled “The Arrogance of Space”, by the Copenhagenize … More

activism, automobile, Barcelona, bicycling, Copenhagen, politics, public space, urban mobility, urbanism

New ‘Public’ Space in Barcelona

“The goal is to turn this old, unloved port into the best super marina in the world, to integrate yachting … More

Barcelona, Barceloneta, capitalism, politics, Port Vell, privatization, public space

The Tall Building Politically Reconsidered

The tall building has been an expression of machista one-upmanship since its earliest beginnings. San Gimignano’s stone towers are a built testament … More

Benidorm, politics, tourism, tower, Vals

Radical Architecture at its Most Subversive

This house near Barcelona ranks among the most radical and subversive works of architecture of 2014, and yet it’s not by … More

activism, adaptive re-use, agriculture, countryside, embodied energy, Marcel Fontanillas, oligarchy, politics, radicalism, sustainable design

Drawing Conclusions

Catalonia, drawing, la senyera, politics, representation

Rebel Rebel

Al Jazeera is currently airing a series of architectural documentaries in six parts titled “Rebel Architects“, the first of which is … More

activism, alternative architecture, criticism, DIY, politics, Recetas Urbanas, Santiago Cirugeda, Spain

Reality Check: Spain

[Text originally published in Mark Magazine #50] Revisiting architecture is always a good thing to do, especially when the work … More

architecture, Cloud 9, criticism, history, Jürgen Mayer H., Jean Nouvel, Mark Magazine, media, Peter Eisenman, politics, post-occupancy, Spain, theory

Criticism as Reality Check

As my article titled “Reality Check: Spain” in the current (at time of post) 50th issue of Mark Magazine hopefully makes clear, architecture … More

criticism, Ferrater, politics, Spain, train station, Zaragoza

Some Reflections on Concrete Formwork

Every building material symbolizes something, and the most modern building materials are no exception. Glass, we have been told, is representative … More

architecture, building industry, building materials, concrete, politics

Tourism versus Terrorism

Is tourism a form of terrorism? Some Barcelonins seem to think so. All over the city — especially near tourists sites … More

Barcelona, graffiti, photography, politics, terrorism, tourism

Perspective is Everything

Same place seen from different viewpoints (Pas de la Casa, Andorra). Neon duty-free stores selling discounted liquor and cigarettes to … More

architecture, countryside, infrastructure, landscape, mountains, perspective, politics, small town, tax haven, urbanism

Calatrava May Bleed You Dry, But Who is Ultimately Responsible?

Several Spanish media (such as El Diario and El País) are reporting that Santiago Calatrava is suing Esquerra Unida País Valencià … More

Calatrava, corruption, EUPV, internet, politics, star system

Power, Corruption and Architecture

Transparency International released its annual report some weeks ago, and this year’s corruption perception index, which ranks 177 countries from least to most … More

architecture, branding, building industry, construction, corruption, crap, politics, Spain, spectacle, theory, tourism, urbanism, urbanization

Remembering Marshall Berman

I think it was in 1985. I would have been in my second year of study at University of Waterloo’s … More

Marshall Berman, politics, urbanism

Pseudo-Choice

Potato chips, or crisps, come in a fantastic panoply of artificial flavors. BBQ, Ketchup, or “regular” are standards the world … More

branding, facadism, merchandizing, packaging, politics

Strange Bedfellows

The image at left shows the construction of the “Instant City” during the congress of the International Council of Societies … More

activism, Almería, beach, coast, corruption, crap, hotel, Ibiza, politics, resort, seashore, tourism, utopia

Ill-Fitting: The Balenciaga Museum

  Fashion, Architecture, Politics: Image is Everything The inauguration of a cultural institution is normally a cause for widespread celebration; even … More

ambition, AV62, Balenciaga, Basque Country, competition, Disegno magazine, failure, fashion, media, museology, museum, politics, small town, Spain, topography

Not So Different

“Spain is Different” was a tourism campaign slogan coined in the mid-1960s by dictator Francisco Franco’s Ministry of Information and Tourism (!), … More

Apple, branding, Manuel Fraga, politics

Collective Intelligence or Collective Stupidity?

The above image is circulating on the internet representing all sorts of cities on all sorts of continents, showing us … More

authenticity, cultural identity, ethics, flexibility, interactive, internet, photography, politics, popular culture, site-specificity, social class, urbanization

Power to the People

[originally published in Mark Magazine #29] The office of Andrés Jaque Arquitectos Still on the shy side of 40, Andrés … More

activism, Andrés Jaque, ethics, housing, interactive, Madrid, Mark Magazine, politics, Research, urbanism, urbanization

Interview with Peter Eisenman

[This is an excerpt of an interview I conducted with Peter Eisenman in Santiago de Compostela in May 2010. The … More

architecture, Galicia, Interviews, KLAT magazine, Peter Eisenman, politics, Santiago de Compostela, theory, topographic architecture

City as Landscape

[Originally published in Mark Magazine #27]   Library Is the pleasure of architecture intellectual or sensual? Of the mind or … More

cultural identity, fundamentalism, Galicia, landscape, Mark Magazine, Peter Eisenman, politics, Santiago de Compostela, strategy, topographic architecture

Triumph of the Shell

  [originally published in Mark Magazine #26]   In cinema, there is a common type of architectural scene: a building … More

building envelope, film, Lleida, Mark Magazine, Mecanoo, politics, small town

Ugh Canada

An architect is, by definition, a designer of buildings, right? Well, the government of Canada, a nation whose credo is … More

Canada, cultural identity, Expo 2010 Shanghai, installation, pavilion, politics, spectacle

Less and More

[Originally published in HUNCH 6 / 7  109 Provisional Attempts to Address Six Simple and Hard Questions, in which 109 … More

architecture, education, ethics, HUNCH journal, manifesto, politics, popular culture

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Criticalista collects Rafael Gomez-Moriana's writings on architecture and the built environment. All photographs by the author unless indicated otherwise.

©2014 Rafael Gomez-Moriana. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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