SPANISH STEPS TO SUCCESS

Walter Burley and Marion Mahony Griffin, Alison and Peter Smithson, Elizabeth Diller and Ricardo Scofidio… the fact that these names are so familiar indicates perhaps that they were the exception that proved the rule. Couples working in architecture in the early and mid parts of the 20th century were fairly rare beasts. And in Spain following the Civil War and World War II even more so, as the country found itself isolated politically and economically under the repressive regime of General Franco.

Following Franco’s death in 1975 and the country’s return to democracy, however, the conditions were ripe