Set in a Castilian village, the book written by Manuel Ocaña stems from a commission given to an architect to transform a dilapidated pigsty into a small family gathering space. In the spirit of DIY—“Do it yourself”—Susana, the estate’s caretaker, takes it upon herself to carry out the work independently.

The architect would not set foot on the site until the project was completed, for practical reasons related to resource optimisation. Instead, he provides a series of detailed instructions via chat to guide the process remotely. Susana and the narrator thus embark on a shared journey that reveals two sides of the same coin: while she becomes a builder, he distances himself from an academic world where construction is no longer taught.

“To draw a circle and build it is the wisdom of architecture. To narrate it as Manuel Ocaña does is pure literature.”

David García-Asenjo.

Oh, Susana! by Manuel Ocaña unfolds as a rich, intelligent, and suggestive dialogue between the architect and the “new builder” through WhatsApp, filled with architectural diagrams and YouTube tutorials. At the same time, it offers an introspective narrative—with echoes of Carrère, Bobin, or de Waal—where life memories and personal eccentricities intertwine with film scenes, architectural works, and literary fragments.

It's hard not to be captivated by Manuel Ocaña's agile writing, suggestive in its references, and full of architectural ingenuity, architectural culture, and technique, especially the latter, which he aptly displays. And yes, a book with far more ingenuity, knowledge, and technique than many achieve after teaching and compiling lectures over six years of study. I'd even say more: a book, a single text, that accumulates more intelligence than the dozens of articles that many professors submit for their official accreditation and that no one reads.

“A book as charged with intelligence as it is with tenderness, marked by a sharp, refined, and deeply personal perspective. A tribute to the encounter between distant worlds (the city dweller and the rural inhabitant, the academic and the craftswoman, the thinker and the maker), where each is transformed by the other.”

Jesús Carrasco.

¡Oh, Susana! by Manuel Ocaña.

¡Oh, Susana! Una novela técnica by Manuel Ocaña.

In this epistemological short circuit, Ocaña explores, beyond what architecture is for him, what it is that we do to become who we are. It leaves the question of whether a project should begin with a single brick or, on the contrary, be inaugurated with a farewell.

"I called Esperanza the week after the meeting and returned the call, requesting three conditions to maintain the context of the challenge:

1. The work will be carried out by Susana. Without rushing and without help.
2. Materials available within a fifteen-minute drive will be used.
3. There will be no in-person site visits or a preliminary project. Communication will be exclusively via WhatsApp.

Esperanza said yes, with the request that I come and inspect the work at the end. She gave me Susana's contact information. Her profile picture looked like her wedding photo. Her WhatsApp status was "I couldn't be happier."

The book now being presented is in its second edition. The first hardcover sold out in just a few weeks after its release early last summer, in 2024, becoming a collector's edition.

A new paperback edition is highly recommended.

More information

Label
Title
Text

¡Oh, Susana! Una novela técnica.

+ + copy Created with Sketch.
- + copy Created with Sketch.
Label
Author
Text

Manuel Ocaña.

+ + copy Created with Sketch.
- + copy Created with Sketch.
Label
Dimensions / Pages
Text

Number of pages.- 216.
Dimensions.- 14x21x1,1 cm.
Paperback book.

+ + copy Created with Sketch.
- + copy Created with Sketch.
Label
Dates
Text

12.05.2025.

+ + copy Created with Sketch.
- + copy Created with Sketch.
Label
Languages
Text

Spanish.

+ + copy Created with Sketch.
- + copy Created with Sketch.
Label
Edition
+ + copy Created with Sketch.
- + copy Created with Sketch.
Label
ISBN
Text

978-84-10483-14-9.

+ + copy Created with Sketch.
- + copy Created with Sketch.
Label
Price
Text

€ 21,90.

+ + copy Created with Sketch.
- + copy Created with Sketch.
Manuel Ocaña. Born in Salamanca (Spain) in 1966, being transferred to in the same year to Madrid. Architect from Madrid Technical School of Architecture  (ETSAM), where he graduated in 1992, founded the practice Manuel Ocaña Architects in Madrid in 2000.

In addition to working as an architect, he has also worked as a road manager for a pop group from the 90s, as well as a steelworker, carpenter, and photographer. He has been an associate professor of architectural projects and a member of the Master Habilitation Committee at the Technical University of Madrid, where he has published books such as “Madrid Monumental: Exorcity”. He has also taught and served on juries at the European University, IE University, the School of Architecture at the University of Alicante, and PUCP in Lima, Peru. He has published his texts and projects in national and international architecture magazines. The Foundation of the Official College of Architects of Madrid has published a monograph on his work entitled "Risky Business", and the Coam-EA Cultural Foundation (Ediciones De Arquitectura) a compilation in the monograph "eXcepto 18".

Among his projects, the Santa Rita Geriatric Center in Ciudadela stands out, an assisted housing building configured on one floor with 60 rooms arranged in a clover shape that face a system of gardens, Ocaña de España, a controversial housing development with a dramatic scenography in Ocaña, Toledo, and the headquarters of Casa Mediterráneo in the former Benalúa station in Alicante (2010-2013). Ocaña also represented Spain at the 14th International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia.
Read more
Published on: May 21, 2025
Cite:
metalocus, JOSÉ JUAN BARBA, AGUSTINA BERTA
"Intelligence Writing on Architecture. ¡Oh, Susana! A technical novel by Manuel Ocaña" METALOCUS. Accessed
<http://www.metalocus.es/en/news/intelligence-writing-architecture-oh-susana-technical-novel-manuel-ocana> ISSN 1139-6415
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...