The General Headquarters of the Air and Space Force ( es, Cuartel General del Ejército del Aire y del Espacio, links=no), also known in Spanish as the ''Ministerio del Aire'' (after

the institution ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

it formerly hosted), is a building in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, Spain.

History

Once the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

had ended with the

Francoist faction The Nationalist faction ( es, Bando nacional) or Rebel faction ( es, Bando sublevado) was a major faction in the Spanish Civil War of 1936 to 1939. It was composed of a variety of right-leaning political groups that supported the Spanish Coup ...

's victory and after the requirement of a smallholding for the construction of the Ministry of the Air Force's headquarters in 1939 filed by

Juan Vigón Juan Vigón Suerodíaz, Marquis of Vigón (30 October 1880, Colunga – 25 May 1955, Madrid) was a Spanish general who fought in the Spanish Civil War for the Nationalist faction. Biography Vigón was born in Colunga, Asturias, Spain. B ...

, the plot of land on where the Modelo Prison lied was chosen and ceded as building site. In order to present the project, the architect,

Luis Gutiérrez Soto Luis Gutiérrez Soto (1900–1977) was a Spanish architect. He worked primarily in Madrid. Biography Born on 6 June 1900 in the , Madrid, Spain. After earning a degree in 1923, he became Chief Architect of the Ministry of Public Instruction, del ...

, traveled to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

to study buildings with a similar purpose, elaborating an initial draft reminiscent of

Paul Ludwig Troost Paul Ludwig Troost (17 August 1878 – 21 January 1934) was a German architect. A favourite master builder of Adolf Hitler from 1930, his Neoclassical designs for the ''Führerbau'' and the '' Haus der Kunst'' in Munich influenced the style of N ...

and

Albert Speer Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer (; ; 19 March 1905 – 1 September 1981) was a German architect who served as the Minister of Armaments and War Production in Nazi Germany during most of World War II. A close ally of Adolf Hitler, he ...

's works. His project was reworked several times, discarding the

neoclassicist Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism was ...

elements, and ultimately, pandering to the imperial historicism sought by the

Francoist regime Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...

, it adopted the

herrerian The Herrerian style ( es, estilo herreriano or ''arquitectura herreriana'') of architecture was developed in Spain during the last third of the 16th century under the reign of Philip II (1556–1598), and continued in force in the 17th centur ...

elements, inspired by

El Escorial El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial ( es, Monasterio y Sitio de El Escorial en Madrid), or Monasterio del Escorial (), is a historical residence of the King of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, u ...

. The building was intended to be part of a wider effort to create the image of an "Imperial Madrid". Nonetheless the delusions of grandeur vis-à-vis the so-called "Imperial Cornice" caught up with reality and the scarcity during the Post-War and most of the individual projects ended up either filed, unfinished or mutilated, with the single clear success being precisely the Ministry of the Air. The formal beginning of the construction (undertaken by Huarte y Compañía) took place on 10 December 1943. Although building works did not fully end until 1958, parts of the building were already in use in 1954.

References

; Citations ; Bibliography * * {{coord missing, Spain Buildings and structures in Argüelles neighborhood, Madrid Government buildings in Spain

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Neo-Herrerian architecture Barracks in Spain