Nuestra Señora del Recuerdo School by Luis Laorga, Madrid, 1957-1958

Abstract

Objective

Nuestra Señora del Recuerdo School designed by Luis Laorga synthesizes the common concerns of school architecture at a moment of intense activity in the study of typology and it stands out as an exemplary work as well. The research identifies the values and contribution of this building and determines its relevance in the history of the Spanish architecture.

Methodology

This work places Nuestra Señora del Recuerdo School in its historical context, analyzes the building in detail using original documentation and determines its impact in the architecture journals of the period.

Conclusions

The project was created on the basis of rationalist patterns and offered particular concepts that contributed to the development of typology. This design became a point of reference for later projects due to its diffusion in specialized journals that, with these publications, put a Spanish school on the level of international vanguard for the first time.

Originality

Although the Laorga’s school building was valued in its time, it has not been enough heeded by historiography mainly as consequence of its demolition. Therefore, the study of this project in depth is considered proper to highlight its contribution as an architecture work. This paper is not only writing to researchers but also to all architects by the current validity of its architectural principles.