Architects and Heritage in Aragon (1970–2010). Historical Review and Feminist Critique

In the last third of the twentieth century, Spanish architecture underwent profound transformations, among which the gradual incorporation of women into the profession stands out. This development coincided with a period of legislative and administrative changes in the field of cultural heritage that facilitated the entry of women architects into professional work devoted to the conservation and restoration of historic monuments, a field from which they had previously been largely excluded. Until the advent of democracy, this field was primarily practiced by the "conservative architects of zone" (arquitectos conservadores de zona), a technical body dependent on the Directorate-General of Fine Arts that was composed exclusively of men. These architects were responsible for preparing conservation, repair, and consolidation projects for properties designated as Historic-Artistic Monuments under the Law of 13 May 1933 concerning National Artistic Heritage.

Although some women architects began working in this field during the final years of the Franco dictatorship, including Amparo Berlinches Acín, María Ángeles Hernández-Rubio Muñoyerro, Ana Iglesias González, and Gloria Alcázar Albajar, their presence did not significantly increase until the Spanish Transition, when the number of women graduating in architecture rose and responsibility for cultural heritage was decentralised. Following the adoption of the Spanish Constitution of 1978, heritage management was transferred to the autonomous communities, and the conservative architects of zone were abolished. Furthermore, the adoption of Law 16/1985 of 25 June on Spanish Historical Heritage represented an update in the way national heritage was understood and conserved. This context encouraged the diversification of professionals working in restoration and facilitated the incorporation of numerous women architects into the field, both through the creation of new public-sector positions in cultural heritage and through the opening of numerous public competitions for intervention projects.

Since then, women architects have played a fundamental role in the protection and safeguarding of Spain's cultural heritage. Moreover, the first generations of women professionals played a key role in updating restoration and heritage-protection practices, which had been predominantly historicist during the Franco period, gradually incorporating the theoretical and methodological principles established in international documents such as the 1964 Venice Charter. Nevertheless, their professional contributions and authorship have received limited media and academic attention to date.

This doctoral thesis aims to examine the fundamental role played by women architects in the protection and safeguarding of Aragonese cultural heritage. The study covers the period from 1970 to 2010, a chronological framework extending from the earliest projects identified in the region to the period following the 2008 property crisis. Furthermore, the thesis seeks to explain why it is not coincidental that heritage intervention—a professional field that has received relatively little media recognition—has become a professional pathway followed by a significant number of women architects since this period. This requires understanding the sociological position of women architects in relation to the deeply rooted patriarchal structures of the architectural discipline.

The thesis therefore constitutes a pioneering national study that, on the one hand, provides a historical reassessment of the work carried out by women architects in the field of intervention in Aragonese architectural heritage and, on the other, proposes a historiographical critique, informed by feminist theories, of the social and cultural factors that have contributed to positioning this professional field as one of comparatively lower social value within canonical narratives of architectural history.