According to the Spanish Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, the draft Law on the Quality of Architecture was finally approved on the 8th of June, after achieving the backing of a large majority, without any votes against, of the Senate Plenary, thus ending its parliamentary processing with a large consensus.
"It is the first state law that aims to protect, promote and disseminate the quality of architecture as an asset of general interest and aims to promote the protection of architectural heritage, encourage conservation, promote research, innovation, digitisation, industrialisation and creativity and promote the application of the principle of quality in the field of public procurement, among other purposes".
This law promoted by the MITMA, currently under the direction of Minister Raquel Sánchez Jiménez, seeks mainly to promote links that encourage the rapprochement of architecture with society. Iñaqui Carnicero, Director General of the Urban Agenda and Architecture, previously pointed out that this law has also "found its most propitious context at the present time, as it is aligned with several recently promoted European and international initiatives, such as the New European Bauhaus, the Urban Agendas, the Davos Declaration and the Renovation Wave".
Hoy se ha aprobado en el senado la ley de Calidad de la Arquitectura, resultado del trabajo de muchísima gente que entiende la relevancia de esta ley por su incidencia directa en la calidad de vida de las personas pic.twitter.com/F6mNbLcaAd
— iñaqui carnicero (@inaquicarnicero) June 8, 2022
Here are some excerpts from MITMA's communiqué, which elaborates on some of the most important points: the creation of two key bodies to guide action and enhance the role of public authorities.
- House of Architecture
The institution is conceived as a state-owned and managed museum, whose vocation is to become a national and international benchmark for the dissemination of architecture. This body will perform both the functions of a museum adapted to the present day and those more typical of a platform for exchange between institutions and associations linked to the dissemination of architecture. These include the dissemination of the Spanish architectural legacy and its contemporary representations and the positioning of the excellence of Spanish architecture on the national and international scene.
- Council for Architectural Quality
A platform for the exchange of knowledge and participation, as well as for consultation and advice on matters related to the contents of the Law. The functions of the Council for Architectural Quality are grouped into two large blocks. The first of these contains the functions aimed at protecting, promoting and disseminating the quality of architecture and improving governance. The second focuses on matters of public procurement, such as promoting the adoption of standards or measures of a general nature to improve the quality of architecture, or the modification of existing ones.
