darco magazine

Spain's economic troubles have not stopped Francisco Mangado from overseeing one of the most productive project offices in the country. Of the 23 projects detailed here, most are large and famous buildings housing public collections and services. Mangado's designs share many elements, such as an urban setting, technological innovation, and responsive choices of materials. But alongside these is a rigorous intention to ‘reconsider more intelligent and responsible objectives’ for architecture. Today Mangado advocates designing and building ethically, urging a move away from the display and spectacle that he helped to pioneer, and which he now feels has become insubstantial.