With the countdown activated for the events planned by Moncloa to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Francisco Franco, yesterday the Government announced one of its star projects: the resignification of the Valley of the Fallen, the enclave where the dictator was buried until his exhumation in 2019 by Pedro Sánchez, in addition to more than 33,000 bodies of victims from both sides of the Civil War.
The Madrid House of Architecture was the place chosen by the Ministry of Housing to present the winning proposal of the ideas competition that the coalition Executive launched last March. This is the “The base and the cross” initiative, which has as its axis a symbolic “great crack” that runs through the entire monumental complex. The project is the work of the Pereda Pérez Arquitectos studios (Pamplona) and Lignum SL (A Coruña).
To do this, the staircase leading to the basilica will be removed and in its place, a porch will be built at the foot of the temple that will extend from one side of the esplanade to the other. This is how this open “crack” will be generated, while visitors will be able to access from this arcade a circular vestibule to enter both the basilica and the new interpretation center, one of the spaces that was required to explain the history of Cuelgamuros and in accordance with the application of the Democratic Memory Law.
The general secretary of Urban Agenda, Iñaqui Carnicero, defended yesterday that the interventions in the basilica will be “minimal”, so a priori it would comply with the premises established in the negotiation between the Government and the Church to give way to the all-inclusive reform: respect independent access for the temple. In fact, no work is planned to be carried out in the sacred space beyond the installation of some panels. The large 150-meter-high stone cross will not be touched either, despite unfounded rumors that have long spoken of its demolition.
As confirmed by LA RAZÓN, the Church views the winning project favorably, while its resignation is “light” compared to other proposals, especially some of those eliminated in the first screening of the 34 presented. Not in vain, “The base and the cross” has been chosen unanimously, also taking into account that the priest Daniel Escobar Portillo, Episcopal delegate of Liturgy of the Archdiocese of Madrid, was on the jury. Along with him, members of the Government as well as the British architect David Chipperfield and the Spanish artist Cristina Iglesias also voted.
“Nature is given more prominence than architecture and the axiality that had so characterized this monument is broken to produce a large shadow, a crack that facilitates the encounter, which invites dialogue and a more plural, more democratic vision,” Iñaqui Carnicero shared yesterday.
Moncloa plans to spend 30 million euros on this reform, of which 4 million will go as fees to the winning architecture studio, while another 26 million will go towards its execution. The works to transform Cuelgamuros will begin in 2027 at the earliest with an expected execution period of four years.
Of course, as the Ministry of Housing itself recognized last May, the resignation could run into some unforeseen events, among which are the nine administrative appeals that request the precautionary suspension of the entire process.
The Government already dropped then that these appeals before the Administrative Court had been carried out “in a coordinated manner” in order to “disturb the proper course of the contracting procedure, all of which coincide in form, content and date of presentation”, as this newspaper has reported.