Pedro Muguruza Otaño (1893–1952) was a Spanish architect and

Falangist Falangism () was the political ideology of three political parties in Spain that were known as the Falange, namely first the Falange Española, the Falange Española de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (FE de las JONS), and afterwa ...

politician.

Biography

Born in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

on 25 May 1893, his family came from

Elgoibar Elgoibar () is an industrial town located in the province of Gipuzkoa, in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, northern Spain. Located in a valley, it is traversed by the Deba River, Deba river. El ...

(Gipuzkoa). He earned an architecture degree from the School of Architecture of Madrid in 1916, where he met other future notable architects such as Secundino Zuazo,

Leopoldo Torres Balbás Leopoldo Torres Balbás (23 May 1888, in Madrid – 21 November 1960, in Madrid) was a Spanish scholar, architect, and restorer. He was an important figure in the early 20th century conservation and restoration of monuments. Much of his work focuse ...

Luis Gutiérrez Soto Luis Gutiérrez Soto (1900–1977) was a Spanish architect. He worked primarily in Madrid. Biography Born on 6 June 1900 in the , Madrid, Spain. After earning a degree in 1923, he became Chief Architect of the Ministry of Public Instruction, del ...

. He gained a reputation as an exceptional draughtsman when he studied at the School of Architecture. A sports enthusiast, he played goalkeeper for

Atlético de Madrid Atlético, Spanish for ''athletics'', or Athletico in English, may refer to: Sports Teams Athletico *Athletico SC (Lebanon), a Lebanese football academy *Athletic Bilbao, or Atletico Bilbao, Basque students athletic club (also forming Athletic Cl ...

. In 1917, soon after graduating, Muguruza started to work as lecturer at the School of Architecture thanks to a proposal by

Ricardo Velázquez Bosco Ricardo Velázquez Bosco (1843–1923) was a Spanish architect, archaeologist and scholar. Velázquez's most notable architecture was erected in Madrid, buildings such as the Palacio de Cristal and the Palacio de Velázquez (both in the Parq ...

, and, in March 1920, he finally obtained a Chair of "Projects of Architectural and Ornamental Details". He married Mercedes Peironcely y Puig de la Bellacasa in 1921. They had no issue. Among the projects he authored in the 1920s: the France Station in Barcelona (1923), the Palacio de la Prensa in the Gran Vía (1925), the 40-metre high monument to the sacred Heart of Jesus in

Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...

(topped by a sculpture of

Lorenzo Coullaut Valera Lorenzo Coullaut Valera (1876 – 1932) was a Spanish sculptor. Born in Marchena, he grew up in Nantes where his family had moved. He studied at the Livet Lyceum and returned to Spain in 1893. At Seville, he studied at the studios of and ...

) or the housing project for the Plaza de Rubén Darío (1929). He also led the projects for the restoration of the

Monastery of El Paular The Monasterio de Santa María de El Paular (Santa María de El Paular Monastery) is a former Carthusian monastery (Spanish ''cartuja'', "charterhouse") located just northwest of Madrid, in the town of Rascafría, located in the Valley of Lozoya ...

and the

Prado Museum The Museo del Prado ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It houses collections of European art, dating from the 12th century to the early 20th century, based on ...

. During the Second Republic he authored some markets, such as Santa María de la Cabezas's (1933) or Maravillas (1935). After the outbreak of the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

in 1936, Muguruza fled from the Republican area and joined the Francoist side. Franco entrusted him the task or reorganizing the architecture in the territory controlled by the rebels. Muguruza assumed as member of the

Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando The Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando (RABASF; ), located on the Calle de Alcalá in the centre of Madrid, currently functions as a museum and gallery. A public law corporation, it is integrated together with other Spanish royal aca ...

in 1938. In June 1939, only 3 months after the Francoist victory in the war, he presided over the Assembly of architects in Madrid, setting the ideological foundations behind the architecture of the new regime. Already Chief of the Services of Architecture of

FET y de las JONS The Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (; FET y de las JONS), frequently shortened to just "FET", was the sole legal party of the Francoist regime in Spain. It was created by General Francisco ...

, he was appointed to the leadership of the Directorate General for Architecture, structured along totalitarian lines. Muguruza served in the post from 30 September 1939 to 8 March 1946. Muguruza and his disciple Diego Méndez were the architects who designed the

Valle de los Caídos The Valley of Cuelgamuros (Spanish: ''Valle de Cuelgamuros''), until 2022 Valley of the Fallen (Spanish: ''Valle de los Caídos''), is a monument in the Sierra de Guadarrama, near Madrid. The valley contains a Catholic basilica and a monumen ...

; they aimed to make the site an eternal metaphor of the regime's ideology. He directed the building works until leaving in 1949, reportedly because of a degenerative paralysis; he was replaced by Méndez. Muguruza died on 3 February 1952 in Madrid.

References

; Informational notes ; Citations ; Bibliography * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Muguruza, Pedro 1893 births 1952 deaths 20th-century Spanish architects Architects from Madrid Members of the Cortes Españolas Spanish people of Basque descent Technical University of Madrid alumni Falangist politicians Academic staff of the Technical University of Madrid