Abstract

The search for a national modern architecture in Spain and Italy focuses since the 1950s on the anti-monumental character of popular housing. A"ordable housing policies and design at that time tried to make modern rationalization and standardization compatible with a sense of organic growth and structure, the singularity of families and small communities, and the technical realities of unquali ed labor force and traditional cra&manship in both countries. Interesting di"erences in the development of this idea emerge from a relevant yet largely forgotten historical episode: the contact of the Obra Sindical del Hogar (OSH), a Spanish housing institution under the technical lead of Francisco Cabrero, with the architectural guidelines issued by INA-Casa in Italy and some of the Roman neighborhoods related to architectural neorealism. A diversity of positions and inspirations stemming from that connection emerges from the experimental housing development promoted by OSH in Villaverde, Madrid, in 1954-55.