Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Fuencisla en el poblado de Almendrales, Madrid, 1961-1964

The observance of the centenaries of illustrious people is but a late version of the tradition of paying homage to the powerful, or a cultivated version of the celebration of children’s birthdays, besides a symptom of contemporary superstitions, which are actually statistical. But sometimes they have the effect of administering some poetic justice – posthumous justice is always poetic – by rescuing from limbo persons who were unfairly treated in life or not regarded with the deference they deserved.

To a large extent this is the case of José María García de Paredes, a highly respected architect who, however, many have perhaps overly circumscribed to his facet as an expert in designing auditoriums, despite a rich and complex career that an excellent exhibition at Museo ICO in Madrid now unearths to give it its rightful place in the panorama of Spanish architecture of the second half of the 20th century...[+]