The House of Architecture

40°26′36.57466″N 3°41′32.25984″W / 40.4434929611°N 3.6922944000°W / 40.4434929611; -3.6922944000

The House of Architecture
La Casa de la Arquitectura
Map
Former name
Museo Nacional de Arquitectura y Urbanismo
Established29 December 2006 (2006-12-29)
LocationMadrid, Spain
TypeArchitecture museum
Public transit accessNuevos Ministerios
WebsiteOfficial site

The House of Architecture, officially known as La Casa de la Arquitectura, is a museum in Madrid, Spain, devoted to promote, improve knowledge, value, and disseminate architecture, urban planning, and landscaping, with special attention to Spanish works and architects. The museum is located in the Nuevos Ministerios complex. It is one of the National Museums of Spain and it is attached to the Ministry of Housing.

History

The museum was established on 29 December 2006 as Museo Nacional de Arquitectura y Urbanismo. The original idea was designed to have two seats: one in Salamanca dedicated to architecture, and another in Barcelona dedicated to urban planning; in addition to a Documentation Center.[1]

On 14 June 2022, the Cortes Generales approved the Law on Quality of Architecture, the seventh article of which included the constitution of the "Casa de la Arquitectura", a new name for the museum with the aim of relaunching the project after almost a decade without progress.[2]

Inauguration on 18 December 2023, Prime Minister Sánchez (left), Minister of Housing Rodríguez (center)

On 18 December 2023, in an event chaired by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, The House of Architecture was inaugurated as a new National Museum in the arcade of Nuevos Ministerios in Madrid.[3] The following day, the Council of Ministers approved the museum's statutes, confirming its headquarters as permanent with the possibility of secondary sites in other Spanish cities.[4]

Organization

The House of Architecture is attached to the Ministry of Housing and is governed by a Board of Trustees, chaired by the director of the museum and made up of representatives of the Ministries of Housing and Culture, as well as representatives of the official associations of architects.[4]

The museum

The House of Architecture is located in Paseo de la Castellana, in the arcade of Nuevos Ministerios. It is dedicated to promoting, improving knowledge, valuing, and disseminating architecture, urban planning, and landscaping, with special attention to Spanish works and architects. The museum, in addition to the physical space for its permanent collection and the temporary exhibitions, maintains an online virtual museum on its website.[5]

References

  1. ^ "Real Decreto 1636/2006, de 29 de diciembre, por el que se crea el Museo Nacional de Arquitectura y Urbanismo" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish). 10 January 2007.
  2. ^ "Ley 9/2022, de 14 de junio, de Calidad de la Arquitectura" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish). 15 June 2022.
  3. ^ "Sánchez apela a todos los actores para garantizar el acceso a la vivienda en España". ABC (in Spanish). 18 December 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Real Decreto 1125/2023, de 19 de diciembre, por el que se crea y regula la Casa de la Arquitectura" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish). 20 December 2023.
  5. ^ Gil, Isabel (20 December 2023). "A spectacular new architecture museum just opened in this Spanish city". Time Out.