María Zambrano's Philosophy Applied to Architecture in New Reverté Book

The book 'Zambrano sobre la arquitectura' by Josep Maria Montaner, part of the 'Pensadores sobre la arquitectura' collection from Editorial Reverté, explores the dialogue between the 20th-century Spanish philosopher María Zambrano and contemporary architectural theory. Montaner translates Zambrano's thought into architectural terms, challenging instrumental reason in architecture and urbanism. Zambrano, an exile from Franco's Spain in 1939, lived in Morelia, La Habana, San Juan, and Rome, and her nomadic life influenced her spatial metaphors: the clearing in the forest, the labyrinth, the sphere, the spiral, the bridge, and the house. The book, organized in eight chapters, connects Zambrano's ideas with architectural cases like the works of Barragán and Gaudí, and references thinkers such as Ortega y Gasset, Carmen Revilla, and Octavio Paz. Zambrano's 'poetic reason' opposes Cartesian rationalism, emphasizing embodied experience over domination. The book also highlights Zambrano's interest in dreams, a topic often overlooked, linking her to Gaston Bachelard and Jun'ichirō Tanizaki. Montaner's work suggests architecture should address existential vulnerability and ethical questions, not just technical problems. The book is published in Barcelona by Editorial Reverté in 2026, and the article also references Zambrano's 'Pensamiento y poesía en la vida española' (2014).