El nacimiento de la arquitectura escolar española (1869-1886)

Abstract

By the mid-19th century hardly any village in Spain had a school building, and most of the existing schools were housed in buildings that did not meet the minimum teaching requirements. During the period known as the six democratic or revolutionary years (Sexenio Democrático, 1868-1874), the progressive liberalism promoted school constructions and launched in 1869 a call for project proposals to build public primary schools. The significance of the call could be considered the early dawn of Spanish school architecture, although the procedure and its outcome could be questioned. The 1869 call resulted in the construction of the Escuela Modelo (school model) for Madrid, the Escuelas Aguirre of Cuenca and Madrid and the Jardines de la Infancia, the first Froebelian institution in Spain, also located in Madrid.