Architecture competitions as an opportunity for young women architects. the case of the competition for rural subsidised housing and the Canarian Magüi González, 1981-85

Delgado Baudet, David (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Pérez-Moreno, Lucía C. (Universidad de Zaragoza)

Resumen: The Spanish democratic transition (1975-1982) was a time when architecture competitions with open and anonymous participation gradually began to appear, a phenomenon that coincided with the progressive incorporation of women architects into the discipline. The first part of this article analyses the situation of these competitions by studying their repercussions in 16 Spanish professional architectural journals belonging to both consolidated and emerging Spanish Architects’ Associations. The participation of women architects is also analysed in order to assess whether these competitions were a source of professional opportunities for them. In the second section, the article studies the Competition for Architectural Solutions for Officially Subsidised Single-Family Housing in Rural Areas (1981-83), a nationwide call with the most significant participation of architecture professionals (more than 1.000) and with a notable number of selected proposals by women architects. This study shows that women architects working in peripheral areas of the Spanish territory had a special presence in this competition, with the Canary Islands being the most remarkable case, for both the good results of its female participants and its ultra-peripheral location. Among the participating women architects, Magüi González stands out for the quality of her proposal and for being the only female professional who eventually obtained a commission from this competition. Finally, the investigation focuses, from a compositional, constructive and design culture perspective, on González’s final built project: 30 dwellings in Juan Grande in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (1983-85), which was, indeed, her opera prima and was eventually awarded an important regional architecture prize.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.14198/fem.2024.44.11

Año: 2024

Publicado en: Feminismo/s (San Vicente del Raspeig) 44 (2024), 302-334
ISSN: 1696-8166

Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/DGA/T37-23R

Tipo y forma: Article (Published version)

Área (Departamento): Área Composición Arquitectónic (Dpto. Arquitectura)