Rebel Architecture - Guerrilla Architect

At the episode's beginning, Cirugeda shows us the Torre Cajasol (aka Pelli Tower, after its architect César Pelli) under construction in the distance, followed by the concrete shells of a few of Spain's 500,000 unfinished homes, a clear sign of the country's economic crisis. By the end, 25 minutes later, we have seen a number of alternatives built in part by Cirugeda and his architectural studio Recetas Urbanas (Urban Prescriptions), which exists to circumvent the country's laws and codes that make it difficult or impossible for citizens to improve their lives through building. In this sense the moniker "guerrilla architect" is an apt one, but as the film shows his approach leads to tenuous constructions.

Per Al Jazeera, "Rebel Architecture is a six-part documentary series profiling architects who are using design as a form of activism and resistance to tackle the world's urban, environmental and social crises. The series follows architects from Vietnam, Nigeria, Spain, Pakistan, Israel/Occupied West Bank and Brazil who believe architecture can do more than iconic towers and luxury flats - turning away from elite 'starchitecture' to design for the majority."

Other films in the Rebel Architecture series: