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Original source: AQUÌ Y AHORA. - ESPACIO DE ARQUITECTOS
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Does modern architecture reflect our true needs, or merely an incessant pursuit of prestige? This analysis challenges common perceptions of the profession and its impact on society.
Norberto Chaves Challenges the Class-Driven Nature of Contemporary Architecture
Norberto Chaves argues that 'The Other Architecture' requires a disruptive subject, in contrast to the majority of society — particularly those with the purchasing power to hire architects — who are deeply immersed in the 'society of the spectacle' and consumerism. Chaves contends that 99% of current architectural work is class-driven in nature, focused on luxury, prestige, and personal display, serving an elite that values ostentation over genuine habitability.
This critique underscores a profound dissonance between architecture's social vocation and its dominant practice, which, according to Chaves, has drifted toward market appeasement and superficial aspirations. The prevalence of architecture oriented around spectacle and individual status — even in residential projects — reflects a broader cultural problem that undermines the discipline's capacity to address essential needs and create authentic environments that transcend the banality of consumption.
"The problem is not with the architect — the problem is with the user. Put another way, this society has produced a subject that the vast majority claim to despise, yet the vast majority are complicit in the society of the spectacle."
Norberto Chaves Calls for a Manifesto in Defense of Dissenting, Honest Architecture
Norberto Chaves presents a manifesto denouncing the 'vulgar architecture' imposed by power as the only viable model — one that, in his analysis, operates as a repressive discourse that pre-emptively delegitimizes any form of dissent. The manifesto advocates breaking the pact of silence and rejecting the 'democratic consensus' that conflates progress with consumer culture. Chaves posits an architecture rooted in a 'vocation for a higher way of living,' free from market logic and the 'architectural guilds' that govern the discipline.
This vision seeks to reorient architectural practice toward principles of authenticity and collectivity, championing a slow, deeply considered approach to building — one grounded in genuine culture. Chaves's proposal goes beyond mere aesthetic critique, mounting an ethical and political challenge to the structures that determine how space is conceived and inhabited. It suggests that the existence of an alternative culture does not require universality, but rather the coherence of its principles and the tenacity of those who uphold them.
"A vulgar architecture, installed by power as the only real and possible kind, has imposed its web of values as a repressive discourse — pre-emptively delegitimizing all dissent and exercising over idea and desire the dictatorship of the fait accompli."
The Ten Attributes of 'The Other Architecture' According to Norberto Chaves
Norberto Chaves articulates the ten fundamental attributes of what he calls 'The Other Architecture' — a proposal that breaks radically from the discipline's hegemonic conceptions. These principles include an architecture that is submissive to the needs of its inhabitants, pure in its intent and free of ulterior motives, quiet in its avoidance of ostentation, anonymous in its rejection of authorial ambition, repetitive in its adherence to the essential, generic as a form of tribal inheritance, natural in its instinctiveness, enduring in its resistance to obsolescence, poetic in its deep beauty, and cultured as the expression of a harmonious way of being.
These attributes outline an architectural vision that prioritizes habitability, authenticity, and connection with the surrounding environment, standing in opposition to spectacle-driven architecture, authorial narcissism, and the imposition of styles. By rejecting novelty and originality as ends in themselves, Chaves advocates for an architecture that integrates organically into people's lives, fostering a more conscious and rooted existence. The proposal offers a profound reflection on the purpose and impact of architecture on the human experience.
"I reclaim this discourse I call poetic: an architecture that is submissive, faithful to its mission, sensitive to the behaviors of its guests — an exact response to the needs of its inhabitants, to the quality and richness of their wants, an expression of their habitat."
Norberto Chaves Demonstrates His Architectural Principles in His Traditional Home
Norberto Chaves leads a tour of his own home in Catalonia to illustrate how his philosophy of 'La Otra Arquitectura' (The Other Architecture) takes shape in a livable space. The dwelling, adapted from a traditional structure, features elements such as vaulted ceilings, rustic beams, and a 'foc a terra' — an open hearth for cooking — highlighting the authenticity of its materials and its connection to ancestral building methods. Chaves notes that the house was likely built by its own inhabitants, making it an organic extension of the people who lived there — akin, he says, to a 'gigantic glove.'
Chaves's home also incorporates a 'petit museu' — a small personal museum of rural artifacts — honoring the history and traditions of rural life. The space not only celebrates cultural memory but underscores the value of reuse and preservation over obsolescence. The house tour serves as a tangible demonstration that his principles are not mere theoretical abstractions, but a practical guide to creating environments that prioritize human experience, history, and sustainability — in direct contrast to the spectacle-driven tendencies of contemporary architecture.
"When you look at a space and cannot put a name to it, it is because you are standing before something that is not architecture. This entrance hall of my house has vaulted ceilings with completely crooked beams — unregularized, built as best they could manage — because these homes were clearly built by the very people who lived in them."
Chaves Advocates for the Architect as Interpreter in Social Housing
Norberto Chaves, in conversation with his host, stresses the importance of architects acting as 'interpreters' of users' needs — particularly in social housing programs. He criticizes the tendency of some professionals to impose their own 'wretched ideas' and use such projects for personal self-promotion, which he regards as a 'genuine obscenity.' Chaves argues that the architect's role should be limited to providing technical knowledge to reduce costs, streamline processes, and improve quality of life — not to dictate lifestyles to future residents.
This argument carries particular weight in the context of social housing, where state intervention is critical to meeting basic needs. Chaves contends that a participatory approach — one that integrates community demands with sound technical guidance — would naturally produce housing that, perhaps surprisingly, mirrors the principles of his 'Other Architecture' through its functional character and grounding in lived experience. His reflections point toward an ethical redefinition of the profession, placing the architect's social responsibility above creative imposition.
"In a social housing program that involves users and the community, the architect must act as an interpreter, not an author. You cannot plug a way of life into people who live a completely different one."
Tato Romero Reflects on Chaves's Manifesto and the Essence of 'The Other Architecture'
Tato Romero shares his reflections on Norberto Chaves's manifesto 'La Otra Arquitectura' (The Other Architecture), praising its unusual, uncompromising approach — one that dispenses with renders and stylistic rhetoric to go straight to the 'pure heart of the problem.' Romero highlights key concepts such as the 'necessity' of the inhabitant, who should truly inhabit architecture rather than merely be a 'buyer of objects' — a critique of the prevailing trend in which acquisition has overtaken lived experience. He interprets 'purity' as resistance to 'threatening architecture,' and 'anonymity' as a rejection of authorship, preventing the client from becoming a 'sponsor for the architect's self-promotion.'
Romero also emphasizes the notion of a 'quiet' architecture that, despite its silence, carries a 'thunderous' eloquence, and the quality of being 'repeated' — not through invention, but through close observation of generic and communal needs. These ideas, Romero argues, extend well beyond architecture to propose an integrative vision of life itself, linking the individual to society and underscoring personal responsibility in building a conscious existence. Both the manifesto and his analysis invite a profound rethinking of the relationship between human beings, their built environment, and culture.
"It is not about inventing — it is about observing generic necessity. What is being put forward has to do with an integrative vision of life's complexity, one that cannot ignore the indissoluble connection between the individual and society."
Norberto Chaves Champions Instinctive, Lasting Architecture Over Planned Obsolescence
Norberto Chaves concludes his presentation by stressing that his home brings him happiness and freedom, having shed what he calls the "charlatanism" of design and modernity. He advocates for architecture that is instinctive, natural, and enduring — one that resists the logic of planned obsolescence, which in his view designs spaces for premature "death." Chaves finds wisdom in ancient constructions, such as the hornero bird's nest, and in the elemental functionality of everyday objects like clay pots, which prioritize utility and longevity over fleeting aesthetics.
This critical perspective stands in opposition to architecture as "commodity" or "spectacle," instead championing a design ethos that honors the passage of time and nurtures a genuine connection with one's habitat. Chaves argues that true quality of life is found in spaces born of necessity and authenticity, free from the tyranny of constant novelty and consumption. His personal experience in his own home serves as testimony that deep life satisfaction is attainable by breaking away from the dictates of the market and the academy.
"If you dare to be unconventional — that is, to transgress the norms imposed by the academy — you achieve spaces of cultural freedom and healthy living, stripped of all the charlatanism surrounding the values of creativity, design, architecture, and modernity."
Norberto Chaves Redefines Architecture Through Pre-Modern Ethnographic Experience
Norberto Chaves recounts how his ethnographic experiences — particularly during his emigration and 44-year residence in Barcelona — fundamentally transformed his understanding of architecture. His focus shifted from the discipline as art and design toward a grounding in the lived experience of pre-modern spaces. Chaves criticizes "academic architecture" and the imposition of "furiously contemporary" styles, arguing instead for respect toward existing urban fabric and historical context, rather than violating the "great house" that a rural village represents.
This conceptual reorientation, documented in his book Ser Posmoderno and his manifesto La Otra Arquitectura, emerged as a response to the "suffocation" produced by urban marketing and iconic architecture in Barcelona, which he believes stripped the city of its identity. Chaves calls for a "healthy architecture" that distances itself from the "tourist avalanche" and the pursuit of "singularity" promoted by those in power. His personal and professional experience in Spain led him to envision an alternative that prioritizes authenticity and integration over novelty and spectacle — elements he contends poison both the built environment and people's perception of it.
"A rural village is a great house, and none of its rooms can be violated. Cornered by the suffocation of the postmodern environment, I set out in search of oxygen and began to imagine a different kind of architecture."
Also mentioned in this video
- Norberto Chávez expresses gratitude, recalling past discussions from the 60s… (3:11)
- His critical approach to architecture stems from a humanistic and philosophical… (4:48)
- His book 'La Otra Arquitectura', proposing a manifesto with values for a… (11:52)
- '10 attributes' of his proposed 'other architecture', emphasizing a… (17:32)
- Images of his own 'casa de payés' (country house) in Catalonia, a humble… (39:51)
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