More than ever Madrid demands recognition in the international architectural arena. Since the death of Franco in 1975, the city has witnessed Europe` s largest public housing programme. Libraries, health centres, universities and schools have also been built drawing on the combined talents of established designers and the avant-garde younger generation. The architects constantly strive to fuse traditional idioms with a modernist syntax in the best spirit of new-wave Spanish architecture.
The 1980s saw commercial project mushrooming in the city centre, replaced in the 1990s schemes such as Hollein` s dramatic interior for the Banco Santander, Moneo` s seminal Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, and Philippe Starck` s Teatriz extravaganza. A series of delicate interventions have also left their mark, including Miralles` constructivist interior for the Circulo de Lectores and Podrecca` s delightful A+A gallery.