On the occasion of the 5th edition of the Open House Madrid festival, in which more than one hundred buildings and urban spaces will be open to the public during the last weekend of September, from METALOCUS we want to present the Parroquia de Nuestra Señora Flor del Carmelo de Miguel Fisac

Inaugurated in 1990 in Madrid, it is one of the most important works of the late period of the Fisac's work, it highlights the reinvention of the ecclesiastical space, with an irregular pentagon plant with square cover and the unique use of metallic beams.

The Parroquia de Nuestra Señora Flor del Carmelo, of the Carmelitas is the last of the great religious projects commissioned to Miguel Fisac. The Carmelitas Fathers had a very clear idea of ​​the program they wanted to develop, which differed from other more conventional ones, they wanted a community space, without rigidity and very bright spaces.

The church, with an irregular pentagon-shaped plant and a square roof, is located at one end of the plot at the back of the courtyard after an access cloister surrounded by a series of classrooms and spaces for the community.

It was conceived as a geometric space of pure lines of cubic origin to which spaces have been added or deleted. The exterior ornamentation is similar to the one in the interior of the temple, a set of geometric figures on the surface of the walls.

CONSTRUCTION DEVELOPMENT

In this work, Fisac's relentless search for answers led him to a breakthrough solution in the context of a religious space, the use of industrial construction materials, employees, always with a poetic touch of where the roof is resolved with some metal plates on a series of Vierendeel beams that generate rotated forms one respect to the previous one, superimposing the lower one until reaching the smaller square of the upper part of the roof.

The use of light as a project element is appreciated, using the perforations in the roof beams so that a calculated light penetrates and tightens the space of the Sunday assembly hall.

It is possible to find in this parish some symbologies. In the cloister two trees represent the meaning of the Christian faith: an olive tree reminds the horizontality of the Christian faith, while the verticality of the cypress recalls hope in the hereafter. The eight-pointed star, symbol of the Carmelite shield is present in the white concrete slabs of the facades, made with Fisac ​​patent flexible formwork.

The character of this parish can be synthesized as a space between the mundane and the metaphysical, where a low-cost metal beams typical of industrial architecture coexist with white concrete walls and a bright prayer space.

More information

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Architect
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Venue
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Avenida del Ferrol, 49. Madrid. Spain.
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Project: 1983
Opening: 1990
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Miguel Fisac ​​Serna, born in 1913 in Daimiel, Ciudad Real and died in 2006 in Madrid. He was an essential figure in Spanish architecture in the second half of the twentieth century. He enrolled at the School of Architecture in Madrid, and after hectic studies interrupted by the civil war, in 1942 he graduated with the end of his career award from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando.

He was always interested in vernacular architecture. In addition, he was inspired by the Nordic organicism of Gunnar Asplund's work that together with Frank Lloyd Wright will influence his concept of architecture.

His first project was commissioned by the CSIC; He transformed the old auditorium of the "Colina de los Chopos" in Madrid in the Capilla del Espíritu Santo.

Miguel Fisac ​​in his career projected numerous religious works. Its ecclesial production stands out for the personal interpretation of religious aesthetics, the use of light and the spatial dynamism and poetics in its forms, with curved walls, converging and tensioned surfaces.
The Parroquia de Santa Ana in Madrid (1965) is considered one of the most important projects. Built in exposed concrete, it manifests an atmosphere of humble simplicity.

His architectural style evolved in relation to the new materials of the time. From abstract classicism, to brick, to the exclusive use of concrete. Fisac ​​researched a lot about this material and patented his “bone beams”. Prefabricated pieces of prestressed concrete that allowed to obtain large lights and control lighting. In 1960 they were used for the first time, in the construction of the Centro de Estudios Hidrográficos in Madrid.

Later, he experimented with various techniques to give texture to concrete, including in his work a more emotional character. His dissatisfaction with the limits of traditional wooden formwork, led him to patent, in 1973, an innovative solution for the time: the "flexible formwork" that could be implemented in the Mupag Rehabilitation Center (Madrid) and in many others later works.

His activity was not reduced only to the field of construction, but his creative ability led him to write articles, books, and design furniture. He made exhibitions, also of art presenting 60 of his paintings in Madrid.

Miguel Fisac ​​built more than 350 projects, including the emblematic "Pagoda" in Madrid, which unfortunately was demolished in 1999. On the contrary, many of his works are protected and cataloged. Some examples are the Church of Pumarejo de Tera (Zamora), the Church of the Apostolic College of the Dominican Fathers (Valladolid), and in Madrid works such as the Parish Center of Santa María Magdalena (1966) or the IBM Building (1967).

All these activities culminate with the obtaining in 1994 of the Gold Medal of Architecture, and three years after the Antonio Camuñas Prize. In 2002 he received the National Architecture Award. Since 2006, the College of Architects of Ciudad Real manages the Fisac ​​Foundation that is responsible for cataloging all documentation, as well as promoting and safeguarding the work of the Spanish architect, urban planner and painter.

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