Santiago Cifuentes Examines Madrid's Interwar Shop Windows as Vessels of Architectural Modernity
The book *Escaparates de Madrid*, authored by Santiago Cifuentes Barrio and released by Ediciones Asimétricas, examines the introduction of architectural modernism in Spain during the 1920s and 1930s, focusing on storefronts instead of grand structures. It highlights how emerging architects utilized shop windows to promote a postindustrial culture centered around consumption. These storefronts, featuring bright signage and cutting-edge materials, signified a cultural evolution in Spanish architecture towards modernity. Cifuentes, a Madrid native born in 1978, earned a doctorate in Advanced Architectural Projects and a master's in Theory, History, and Analysis of Architecture from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. His thesis from 2023 garnered an honorable mention at the 2024 COAM Thesis Awards, and he co-leads Cifuentes Costales Arquitectura.
Key facts
- Santiago Cifuentes Barrio's book Escaparates de Madrid is published by Ediciones Asimétricas.
- The book focuses on Madrid's shop windows during the 1920s and 1930s.
- It argues that architectural modernity entered Spain through commercial facades, not monuments.
- These storefronts combined technique, construction, and advertising to create a postindustrial culture.
- The design elements included luminous signs, display cases, new typography, and industrial materials.
- Cifuentes completed his doctoral thesis "El Anuncio Construido. Escaparates de Madrid, 1920-1936" in 2023 at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.
- The thesis received an honorable mention at the 2024 COAM Thesis Awards.
- Cifuentes co-directs the Madrid architecture firm Cifuentes Costales Arquitectura.
Entities
Artists
- Santiago Cifuentes Barrio
Institutions
- Ediciones Asimétricas
- Universidad Politécnica de Madrid
- Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid
- Cifuentes Costales Arquitectura
- Premios Tesis COAM
Locations
- Madrid
- Spain
Sources
- Veredes —