Architecture in the heights: the forays of Alejandro de la Sota into the world of aeronautics

Abstract

Alejandro de la Sota is a key figure in 20th-century Spanish architecture. Within his professional career, the result of a tenacious personal search, we can glimpse a decisive factor, the transfer of knowledge from other more advanced fields of technology, stemming from his experience of the aeronautical sector. Based on this, he developed a profound admiration for the problem-solving methods of technology and engineering, focusing on the search for universal solutions through anonymous teamwork. Despite their importance, De la Sota’s forays into the world of aeronautics have barely been researched. This article therefore aims to analyse the marked influence of these forays on the way in which De la Sota understood architecture and approached the development of his projects. In view of this, an initial study carried out on the architect’s connection to the aeronautics sector is followed by a chronological analysis of his projects, and finally, by the conclusions on how this may have impacted the evolution of his trajectory.