In the collective imagination of Madrid, the figure of the architect Francisco Javier Sáenz de Oíza is intimately linked to the most singular and sometimes controversial architecture of the city, with the iconic Torres Blancas as its main exponent. However, his work in the capital extends beyond that landmark, including another residential complex that also raised a strong debate for its design and social impact.
This other project, the social housing complex popularly known as El Ruedo de la M-30, was an architectural and social challenge that has even been recorded in documents in the Spanish newspaper archive.
The other controversial work of Sáenz de Oíza: El Ruedo de la M-30
The housing complex El Ruedo de la M-30 was built in the Moratalaz neighborhood between 1986 and 1990. The architect, Francisco Javier Sáenz de Oíza, designed the building with an original approach that sought, in his words, to “break up the city” as a philosophical concept. This idea materialized in an unmistakable structure, whose curved exterior façade, with small windows, and interior face with balconies and decorative motifs, evokes the image of a bullring.
The project, which was to house more than 300 families, was carried out under significant constraints. The proposal came to the architect with restrictions already imposed by the rules of a competition of the Consejería de Ordenación del Territorio, which was assumed not to have an abundant budget.
One of the main controversies of the design centered on the functionality of the dwellings. They were duplex apartments of very few square meters for the number of rooms they had. The rooms were so small that it was found that they could not even accommodate a 1.35 meter bed.
The social conflict of design
The complex was intended to house families relocated from shantytowns such as Pozo del Huevo in Vallecas. For these families, many of whom were large in number, the philosophical theory of “breaking up the city” was irrelevant; what affected them was practice and daily life.
On a visit by the architect to the complex, the families expressed their discontent, pointing out that the housing did not fit their day-to-day needs, with problems such as lack of space for their children or the inability to cook comfortably. The architect was confronted directly about whether he had designed apartments rather than family housing.
In short, the relocated families, who were expected to be served by this design, stated that the project, despite its avant-garde design, did not meet their basic needs, preferring their previous homes, which had been demolished.