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New Exhibition in Arquerías of Nuevos Ministerios

Madrid:  SPAIN, US, THE CITIES

Paseo de la Castellana, 67, 28071 MADRID 

Opening: 1st March 2007, 12 a. m.

Under the title “Us, the cities,” this montage which represented Spain in the last Bienal of Venice,  join 32 works and designs  of 21 offices, combined with original messages projected on 55 video screens with the reflections of 100 women about their cities.

The exhibition not only presents the words and images of women architects and town planners, but also invites to do so,  to different  representatives of urban professions  as firewomen, women taxi drivers,  newspaper sellers; women managers; women from different groups as immigrants, ecological groups and neighbourhood associations; or urban  tribes as ·pijos”, skaters, “okupas” o gotics.

"Spain presents a pavilion with a feminine face, as the gender of its own name and the generic name of its cities,  in which women  transform  themselves in spokeswomen of their works,  of their companion ´s works and of their own lifes.

Gender Perspective of cities and architecture begin to spread all over the world, explained the event organizers, among them we can point Manuel Blanco, Professor of Madrid  University.

URBAN MAGAZINE

We inform about the number 11th of Urban Magazine which the Department of Town Planning and Territory of  Madrid ETS of Architecture publishes. The 

Monograph includes six articles about Innovating Experiences of Regional and Urban Planning, in addition to Sections of  Present Time as well of other articles.

http://www.aq.upm.es/Departamentos/Urbanismo/public/urban/info.html

THE EFFORTS OF YOUNG PEOPLE IN SPAIN TO OBTAIN A DWELLING,  MEAN 64,3% OF THIEIR INCOMES

According of  the second period of three months in 2006 data of The Youth Observatory of Housing in Spain (OBJOVI), published by the Spanish Youth Council, a young person should have dedicated the 64,3% of his salary to buy a free housing. Its important to mark that among the provinces with most efforts in obtaining a dwelling, are Vizcaya (82,4%), Málaga (79,9%), Madrid (79,6%), Barcelona (79,5%)  and Guipúzcoa (78,5%). In the opposite extreme, with a inferior average cost, very much under the whole media of young population in Spain, we can .point Teruel (33,7%), Ciudad Real (37,2%), Cáceres (38,2%), Lérida (38,2%) and Badajoz (39,4%).

Source:  Spanish Youth Council 

C/ Montera, 24 6º Planta 28013 Madrid

FEMALE ACTIVITY VALUATION IS STILL -IN SPAIN- 21 POINTS UNDER MASCULINE ACTIVITY

CC.OO report on PGE 2007, points up that women progressively participate more in labour activities, and that their incorporation to the professional market, during the recent last years, has been very important. Anyway,  female activity valuation (47,9%) is placed, during the 3^rd last period of three months of 2006, 21 percentage points under masculine one (69,1%), while women unemployment valuation  (11,5%) is 5 points over masculine (6,4%). In accordance to qualitative differences, women (37,2%) suffer more than men (32,2%) contractual temporality, as well as partial time contracts (21% in opposition to 4,2%). Women also receive less salary  than men, not only because they work in less productive works and in inferior labour categories, but also because they suffer salary discrimination. “Around half of the salary differences (15 percentage points) can be attributed to salary discriminations”, affirms CC.OO.

Strength work concept -which is used in this report- does not correspond entirely with the one of active population, but can be defined as the result of employed and unemployed persons with professional experience. 31 % of  feminine strength work is composed by non qualified female workers, been this the most important category. It opposition to it, 16 % of men, which its most important category is manual qualified workers (32%), represent the traditional  working class.

Source: Revista Trabajadora / c. Fernández de la Hoz, 12, 3ª planta /28010 Madrid e-mail: trabajadora@ccoo.es  http://www.ccoo.es/mujeres

  A NEW BOOK ABOUT E1027 ELEEN GREY´S HOUSE

Editions & Bookshop Imbernon 280 bd Michelet

Le Corbusier, 357

F 13008 Marseille

Tél.: 0033 4 91 22 56 84 

Fax : 0033 4 91 71 25 13

e-mail: ed.imbernon13@wanadoo.fr      

www.editionsimbernon.com

Muhammad Yunus

POWER PEOPLE BANKER

MICRO CREDITS AND THE BATTLE AGAINST POWERNESS IN THE WOLD

In 1983, against bankers and authorities of his Government advices, professor Yunus founded Grameen, a bank dedicated to supply minuscule loans for survival of poor people.

Muhammad Yunus (Bengalí: Muhammod Iunus)  and his "Grameen Bank received the Nobel Peace Prize 2006 because of his fight to obtain a just economy for poor classes. The amount of the prize (1,1 million euros) will be destined to continue his work.

  Cruz López Viso in Coruña (Spain). Exhibition of our architect colleague.

  From 12 st to 31 st of January, 2007

Cruz Lopez Viso en Coruña. Exhibition of  our architect colleague

December 2006

German-Spanish Company CONTEXT ENERGY with experience in installation of solar energy , (stand Gea,  Bioculture)  La Coruña, Bilbao, Barcelona, Valencia, 

Sevilla & Madrid .  

Gerhard Meyer / Context Energy.

Tel.: 0034 91.851.24.46 Móvil: 629.389.689  

e-mail: context@ya.com

SINTESIS EDITORIAL has been making -since its foundation- an important effort to give the necessary status to gender studies in  the formation field, regulated

 or not. In this catalogue you can fiend titles as “Women History”, “Spanish Women in Plastic Arts”, Feminism and Philosophy”, “Gender and Globalization”, 

“Women Space and Society”, “Women in the teaching of Social Sciences”, etc.

Sintesis Editorial has translated the International Encyclopaedia of Women, which has been supervised by The Institute of Feminist Studies of UCM, an has 

an adaptation to the Spanish talking market, with the inclusion of openings directed to this idiomatic Area, written by prestigious specialists.

To ask for information or buy books: SINTESIS EDITORIAL

Vallehermoso, 34-1º / 28015 MADRID

Telf: 00 34 91 593 20 98 / Fax: 91 445 86 96 

http://www.sintesis.com 

Our colleague, the architect Carmen Espegel Alonso, has obtained the First Prize MILKA BLIKNAKOV” in its V th Edition, 

because of her book “HEROINAS DEL ESPACIO” This prize belongs to the Poliytecnique University of Virgina (EEUU).

These are the observations made by the Jury: “Carmen ´s book is a brilliant theoretical and historical synthesis based in her investigation published in several

 language as well as a meritorious investigation in original archives. The text has been recognized by the Jury as an enormous effort which is a real help to 

reorder and re-write Modern Architectonical History of XX th Century. The third part of the book consists in a theoretical and general vision of women roll 

development from traditional society to the beginning of European Modernity. The other two thirds are monograph analysis of the work done by the following 

women architects:  Eileen Gray (1878-1976), Lilly Reich (1885-1947), Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky (1897-2000), Charlotte Perriand (1903-1999). Though one can 

think that all we must know about them is already written, Carmen Espegel´s analysis revels new aspects of their work, seen in the context of their 

contemporaneous production. The Jury recommends this book for its translation into English language. There is no other text with these approaches to the 

analysis profundity in the subject and no other one known could be easily admitted as a scholar book of Modern Architecture History. Easy to read an with a 

provocative thought full of excellent and original questions.”

CRUZ LOPEZ VISO.  THE VISIBLE STEM

SALA  ALTERARTE

28th August  to  8th September, 2006

Campus de Ourense. Pabellón 1 s/n.

The architect Carmen Espegel, professor of Madrid School of Architecture, whose doctoral thesis was written on the emblematic house -Eleen Grey´s E1027- published recently her book “Heroins of Space”, in which she makes a route on women architects of early XX century, on their lifes and buildings. 

ANNA CASTELLI FERRIERI 

Died on 27st of June, 2006. 

Ske was one of the most recognized designers in the world of the Italian industry.

She studied architecture in Milan Polytechnical Institute. She began her work in Franco Albini ´s office. After designing the central building of KARTELL (1966), she began to work in this company. In Kartell she obtained recognition by her vital roll in the introduction of plastic in furniture market. Director of Design Department, she worked in Kartell as collaborator with important designers like Achille CASTIGLIONI, Joe COLOMBO, Richard SAPPER and Marco ZANUSO. Her designs included the innovating use of new materials, forms and great architectonic exactitude. She obtained several design prizes, including the important COMPASSO D'ORO. 

In her own words: “It is not certain that what is useful is beautiful. What is beautiful, is useful. Beauty can improve people ´s way of life  and their thoughts.” 

AMELIA VALCÁRCEL: University Professor of moral and political Philosophy, 

ex- Advisor of  Education and Culture of  the Independent 

Community of Asturias Government &  President of the Spanish Philosophy Association  

"Maria Zambrano", has been named elective Advisor of the Spanish  State Council. 

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/8947/

Only three of every ten new students, are women. 

Polytechnical University,Madrid. 

Seven of each ten students registered in the 2005-2006  term in Madrid Polytechnical are men. These data come from "Project Demand", a study of the "Vicerrectorado of Academic Order and Planning Strategic of Madrid Polytechnical University", designed to know the average of students who accede to this University. In spite of the present majority distribution of  women in Spanish society, the report reveals that pupils still are predominantly masculine (73.9% are men opposed to 26.1% women) - 

The girls have better cualifications. 

However, the girls are those who add a superior average note. For example, the percentage of men notes are 6.8%, whereas the women ´s one are 9.1%. The average of sexes in the Superior Technical School of Architecture is 53.3% (women) and in the Agricultural Technical Engineering University School  is 51.3%. In these cases the proportion of women surpasses the one of men. 

Book: Architecture and Gender. Author: Monica Cevedio.

Icaria Publishing, Barcelona 2003.

The world as we nowadays know it, probably would be very different if women and men had coexisted in equality during the last past centuries. In this book, Mónica Cevedio studies the consequences of cancellation of feminine participation in artistic creations, in the development of our economic system and, mainly, in architecture. This book proposes us to reflect on the point of view whereupon we all watch and create. Perhaps, fruit on this reflection, we would have to propose new elements in our cities: the bond architecture-woman-ecology, with the object to create richer and diverse spaces, socially, economically and culturally. More egalitarian, more representative of  people who inhabit them, and more respectful with the environment. 

The 29th of May 2006, was the delivery of the National Prizes of Architecture 2004 in the Galleries of the Housing Ministry in Madrid. 

The prizes were divided in several modalities: ARCHITECTURE, TOWN PLANNING AND QUALITY OF HOUSING. All of them were granted “to those architects whose excellent and continued contribution, -working in Spain- valued with objective criteria, have  emphasized social, economic, aesthetic and technological aspects of architecture”. 

The call has granted the most important prize-THE NATIONAL OF ARCHITECTURE- for the first time, to the first woman architect titled in Spain: Matilde Ucelay. It was retired by his son- Javier Ruiz Castillo- who made a brief semblanza of his mother: a professional, humble and simple woman who worked all her life without considering it something exceptional. It was her vocation and desire. And her way of being in life. She never wanted prizes nor awards. Although, without any doubt, she deserved them. 

The NATIONAL PRIZE OF TOWN PLANNING granted to Jesus Gago Davila and Jose Maria García for the Urban Development of Fuenlabrada (Madrid). In the Municipality exists an Urban Plan arrangement in which, with State aids, the City Council acquires ground, limiting the prices. In the awarded work, the incorporation of green and dotational areas, produces residential surroundings of great quality. 

The PRIZE to the JOURNALISTIC INITIATIVE, given to a women architect María Ruber de Ventós, because of her numerous published articles relative to town planning and landscape, in which “from the treatment of daily subjects it is possible to approach and disclose long-range city-planning questions”. 

The NATIONAL PRIZE of QUALITY OF HOUSING granted to Maria Jose Pizarro and Oscar Wheel for “43 Houses in Madrid”, where they propose flexible houses combining architectonic quality with an adjustment to the urban surroundings, and to Francisco Lacruz and Alexander San Felipe for “101 houses in Huesca”. The building, located in a degraded area, helps to regenerate the surroundings and facilitates the access to young people 

The son of Matilde Ucelay Maórtua, receives the prize by 

the hands of the Minister of Housing. 

SPANISH NATIONAL PRIZE OF ARCHITECTURE 2004

MATILDE UCELAY MAÓRTUA

February 7th , 2006.  Joined  the “Spanish National Prize of Architecture 2004” Jury, they have resolved to award this important prize to Mrs Matilde Ucelay Maórtua.

The Jury considered and valued the professional development of Matilde Ucelay who was the first woman titled in Architecture in Spain.

Born in 1912,  she studied her Primary Studies in the ”Instituto Escuela”, inheritor of the Republican “Institución Libre de Enseñanza” and entered the School of Architecture of Madrid University, in 1931. She finished her studies in June 1936. Her colleagues gave her an homage for being the first woman who obtained this title in Spain. To this homage assisted the  Republican Ministry of Government, Amós Salvador.

She was purged by a Professional Court due to her republican and liberal affiliation, not allowing her to work in her profession, for five years, and not allowing her either to have confidence charges for the rest of her life.

The Jury has considered the professional development of this first woman architect in Spain, who -in despite of prohibitions and difficulties-  maintained a continued and professional activity, designing buildings, specially housing, among which, we can point up  “Casa Oswald” in “Puerta de Hierro “, Madrid, ”Casa Benítez” in Lugo, others in Canary Islands, and Turner and Hispano-Argentina libraries in Madrid.

As many pioneer women who have opened different and new ways in Arts and Sciences fields, Matilde Ucelay also did it in a particular and difficult one, as Architecture is.

CANDIDACY  FOR THE NATIONAL PRIZE OF ARCHITECTURE

Women Who Build Association, through the initiative of Anne Le Maignan (www.generourban.org) and with the collaboration of Javier Ruiz-Castillo (her nephew) 

and Miguel Botella (her son), displayed the official candidacy of the first architect  woman in Spain -Matilde Ucelay- for the Spanish National Prize of Architecture, 

promoted by the Spanish Ministry of Housing.

JANE JACOBS

Author of "Death and Life of Great American Cities", died the 25st of April, 2006 at the age of 89. 

Her priorities were inclined towards communities with diversity of people, types of transport, architecture and commerce. 

Jacobs criticized the New City Planners, and wrote: “they want to have alive centers in the places they develop. And I have seen in their plans and in the places they build, that they do not seem to have a sense of anatomy. They have designed them as if they were commercial centers. They don´t manage the connection”. 

All who read Jacob´s books are infected by her enthusiasm, her love to cities and her celebration to daily life. She articulated her ideas on the design of great cities, thought -not from theories and masterful plans- but from careful observations of daily life. Her ideas are well known by planners, architects and activists everywhere.

J.J. had no formal training in town-planning or either in architecture. In fact, this deficiency is often considered as the secret of its wisdom and innovation.

A SPANISH DESIGN FOR the MONUMENT OF TSUNAMI 

The women architects Ana Somoza and Juana Canet 

Two women Spanish architects adjudged the project of the construction of a Memorial which Thailand will dedicate to thousand of victims caused by tsunami, happened in December 2004. The winners of the international aid summoned by the Thailander Government, are the chiefs of Disc Architecture Office, located in the capital of Spain. The failure of the international jury was made public in the Palace of Government, with the attendance of members of the Executive, diplomatic body and the architects who arrived to the final phase. 680 projects of 47 countries were displayed, 320 passed the first selection, and others arrived to end, designed by different offices of Spain, Finland, the United States, China and Australia. The project displayed by the two Spanish young women,whose title is "The Mountains of Memories", is based on four Buddhist metallic and glassed structures that remember estupas. The Memorial will be built in the  Kao Lak National Park, located near the beach with the same name, in the southwest coast area,  which was the most devastated area by tsunami on 26th of December, 2004.

PICTURE PRIZE "FIRA D´AGOST" 2006

The present Prize is sponsored by the City Couuncil of Xátiva. 

In order to communicate with them: 

City Council of Xátiva - Culture House 

C/ Montcada, 7 - 46800 - XÁTIVA.

Phones: (0034) 96 228 23 04. Fax: (0034) 96 228 98 09

Architect´s Order Madrid - FRESHMADRID -

Exhibition May,  2006-

c/ Piamonte, 23, 28004 Madrid

EXPO BILBAO: Watercolors / Digitized images.

CRUZ LÓPEZ VISO

Order of Architects / Alameda de Mazarredo, 69. 

Bilbao 20006 5th April-15th May 2006 

TV PROGRAM THE  ADVENTURE KNOWLEDGE.  WOMEN AND TOWN PLANNING

The past 7th of March, and because the occasion of Women Day, it was shown in the 2nd chanell of TVE a Program on " Women Architects". In this program 

they  took part, among others, the City Planning Women Group and  Women Who Build Association. 

O.N.G.D. - PEACE and DEVELOPMENT 

LABOR GLOBALIZACIÓN - DISCOVERING a WORLD OF INEQUALITIES

We are starting the project: "Labor Globalización: discovering a World of Inequalities ", thanks the financing of the Excmo. Madrid City council.

In this proposal we approach the Globalización subjet from the labour world perspective, displaying an analysis on the effects  it has for childhood and women. 

We propose the accomplishment of an EXHIBITION, during one week (throughout ten thematic panels and an explanatory video). We count in addition, with a DIDACTIC UNIT  you can ask for, which  proposes differents actions.

Contact: 902,21,144,94 or sensibilizacion@pazydesarrollo.org

Pilar Pineda Zamorano

Coordinator of Education 

ACTIONS: Economic realities in  impoverished 

countries

We want to approach  different labors realities  we can find 

in our world, analyzing the labor situation of  women and 

childhood. 

We will develop theese actions in four sessions centered in: 

1.  Work World-wide reality. 

2. Women in work surroundings. 

3. Infantile work. 

4. Towards a change of situations. 

WOMEN ARCHITECTS ANNA BOFILL and ZAIDA MUXÍ VINDICATE an URBANISM WITH WOMAN PERSPECTIVE

Within the framework of the encounter "Days of Urbanism and Gender", set up in Tenerife (Canary Islands), women exposed the incongruences of spaces and 

services thought by men, in spite of being used mainly by women. "We, women,  need a different concept of citizenship and also need to make decisions on 

the environment design", declared Anna.Bofill, because " it is different to glide with a pencil that to conceive it as a vital experience",The conferences was opened 

by the advisor of the Youth Area, Education and Women of Tenerife Town Hall, Josefa García, who stressed the idea of the necessity to introduce gender 

prespective in Town Planning. 

Since, until now, in spite taht women represent more than 50 % of  population, she said, "security nor accessibility has been not considered ". Zaida Muxí praised 

a  train station designed by A. Bofill because it fulfills "one of the principles of the security, that is to see and to be seen. 

VIRTUAL EXHIBITION OF EUROPEAN ARCHITECTS 

Organized by  ARVHA. www.arvha.net/femmes 

VIRTUAL EXHIBITION ; Architects for change / Women Architects / Society for Black Architects

www.diversecity-architects.com