Vitoria dedicates an exhibition to 30 developments that summarise the housing policy in the Basque Country since the transition to democracy
2021 November 17
- The councillor Iñaki Arriola and the regional deputy Ana del Val inaugurate 'Housing the Basque Country', which will remain open in the Amárica hall until 16 January.
- Visitors can see unique buildings from Lakua, Salburua and Zabalgana, and others from Llodio and Salvatierra, with photographs by Luis Asín that portray everyday life in these neighbourhoods.
- The exhibition opens the activities (all free of charge) that the Mugak/ Architecture Biennial will develop in Vitoria this week, together with another exhibition in the Plaza del Machete, a documentary and a conference by Patxi Mangado.
Housing and architecture are intimately linked. The Basque Country International Biennial of Architecture Mugak/ presented today the exhibition 'Housing the Basque Country', which reviews the housing policy in the Basque Country since the Transition. To illustrate it, 30 buildings representing some of the best examples of what has been built over the last 40 years are on display, ten for each historical territory.
The opening of the exhibition today was attended by Iñaki Arriola, the Basque Government's Minister of Territorial Planning, Housing and Transport, who is organising Mugak/; Ana del Val, Álava's Regional Councillor for Culture and Sport; and José Ángel Medina, curator of the third edition of the International Architecture Biennial of the Basque Country.
"The exhibition is a living summary of the road travelled in public housing in the Basque Country since 1981, an unparalleled performance in Spain that has led us to build more than 100,000 homes of different types and that shows the sensitivity we have in terms of housing, which we conceive as a social good rather than a commodity", explained Councillor Arriola.
Ana del Val added that "the Sala Amárica is an exhibition that tells us a success story in the form of housing policies, which is nothing more than the success story of the efforts of all of us, put at the service of those who have needed the official protection resource to be able to enjoy the right to a home that allows them to start life projects. So -she insisted- we are grateful for the success of opening the biennial to the three historical territories, with this exhibition and the rest of the programmed activities".
Since the transfer of powers in 1981, more than 105,000 subsidised housing units have been built in the Basque Country, of which a third, more than 35,000, have been promoted directly by the Basque Government.
On this 40th anniversary, the exhibition 'Housing the Basque Country' is dedicated to public housing, which includes both social housing and subsidised housing, both priced or concerted. It will be open to the public from tomorrow until 16 January, with free access to the Amárica hall in Vitoria.
Of the 30 buildings selected, 10 are from Álava. They stand out for their architectural and aesthetic values, their adaptation to the territory, or their technical and constructive contributions. In Vitoria-Gasteiz, houses from the districts of Lakua, Salburua and Zabalgana stand out, and there are also others from Llodio and Salvatierra.
Each building is explained by means of photographs and original plans, as well as models, which are accompanied by other large-format photographs taken by Luis Asín, which represent a social portrait of the present reality, of how the inhabitants use these spaces. Urban life and the social content of modern neighbourhoods are explained.
'Expo' at the Machete and talk by Mangado
The Mugak/ activities in Vitoria open today. But they will continue this week. Tomorrow an open-air exhibition will open in the Machete square. It will be ephemeral, as it can only be seen for five days, as it will then travel to San Sebastian. Organised by the Habic cluster, it pays tribute to the 'Design Artisans' in the Basque Country. These are eight companies that made design furniture a new industrial sector in the territory in the 70s and 80s, including two from Alava.
On Friday, the BiBat museum will also host a talk by the Navarrese architect Patxi Mangado, author of the remodelling of the 'two-in-one' museum that brings together card collections and archaeology. He will be joined by Paco Valderrama, a local journalist who also brings the World Press Photo exhibition to Vitoria every year. It will take place at 18:00.
