With the experience that accumulates as far as religious work, Miguel Fisac recreates an ecclesiastical milestone in 1965, making a parish with features not seen until now: the use of materials and the feeling with which he treats them, and the organization of the services of the Set with respect to the Church.

Located in the Moratalaz area of Madrid, what was thought as a neighborhood church; small, humble and sentimental, it has become the perfect summary of Fisac's work between the decade of 1960 and the beginning of 1970.
One of the main features that distinguishes this project designed by Miguel Fisac is the relationship between the Church, the main piece of the Set, and the rest of the services. Although Miguel Fisac in previous projects (such as the San Pedro Mártir Theological Set) makes the church the main piece, singular and with specific geometries for it, in Saint  Ana we distinguish a single language: same materials, same constructive elements and a clear intention to homogenize all the pieces and give unity to the Set.

As a result, a series of buildings all raised in concrete "in situ" and crowned with the same roof sewn with its famous bone beams.

The main conditioning factor with which Fisac dealt in this case was the change of regulations given in the Second Vatican Council on religious art and the transformation that took place in the celebration of the Eucharist: the celebration of community acts and participation was requested active of the faithful. The masses were no longer in Latin or with their backs to the audience.

This completely changes the relationship of spaces within the church:
 
«This is the first church that I designed with the liturgical guidelines issued by the Second Vatican Council. The spatial approach was completely different, almost opposite to that of the previous provisions. There was not a single focus, the altar, but a moving focus »

The new situation transforms the relationship between the faithful and the priest, and their disposition in the church. This need is met by the peculiar shape of its oval plant, embracing the "meeting" in which the faithful are to be organized with respect to the altar. In addition, special attention is paid to the fact that they do not meet around a specific point (a single fixed focus), but rather around the path configured by the Sanctuary-Table-Ambo axis.

In this project Fisac has the collaborations of the sculptor José Luis Sánchez and the painter Agustín Úbeda:
 
«I also looked for the way for my collaborators to be artists who could carry out a really positive work. In this sense the collaboration of the sculptor José Luis Sánchez was very positive (...) I was very pleased. It was necessary to do some small thing in the reserve of the Blessed Sacrament and in the place of the baptismal font, there intervened Agustín Úbeda, a painter of the first rank and professor of Fine Arts, etc. I make some very interesting stained glass windows.»

The work of the sculptor, designed for the three concavities head of the church were made in metallic cement, getting an aspect very similar to that of concrete, remaining in harmony with the temple. However the painter in the realization of its two stained glass windows (occupying the Sanctuary and the Bapistery) is recreated in the multitude of colors and abstract forms, contrasting with the monochrome of the rest of the church.
 
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Architect
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Miguel Fisac Serna (1965)
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Collaborators
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Sculptor.- José Luis Sánchez. Arstist.- Agustín Úbeda
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Constructor
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URBIS
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Clients
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Casimiro Morcillo (then archbishop of Madrid-Alcalá)
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Dates
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Project.- 1965. Inauguration.- 1966
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Location
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Calle de la Cañada, 35, 28030 Madrid, Spain
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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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Published on: October 10, 2018
Cite: "Parochial Set of Saint Ana and The Hope in Moratalaz, Madrid, by Miguel Fisac" METALOCUS. Accessed
<https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/parochial-set-saint-ana-and-hope-moratalaz-madrid-miguel-fisac> ISSN 1139-6415
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