A Mirrored City Underground: Air-Raid Shelters as Political Architectures in Barcelona and London, 1936–40
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: This article examines air-raid shelters in Barcelona and London during the late 1930s as architectural embodiments of political ideologies and social dynamics. During the Spanish Civil War, Barcelona became a huge laboratory to test not only new means of destruction but also of protection for the coming World War: a city of shelters emerged underground, mobilizing nature, knowledge, expertise, and community networks. In London, the heated debate on civil defense was informed by the experiments held in Barcelona. Focusing on three types of shelters and the politics that they reflected, the study reveals how wartime protection technologies mirrored the conflicts and hierarchies of the societies they served. By situating these shelters within broader wartime technopolitics, the article highlights the interplay between technological landscapes, social networks, gender constructs, and political ideologies during moments of crisis.
Source: Technology and Culture
Author: Jaume Valentines-Álvarez
Language: English
Subfield: Architecture
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4409460773