GATEPAC

GATEPAC (Grupo de Artistas y Técnicos Españoles Para la Arquitectura Contemporánea) was a group of young architects who assembled during the Second Spanish Republic. Its most important members were: Josep Lluís Sert, Antoni Bonet Castellana, Josep Torres Clavé, José Manuel Aizpurúa, Fernando García Mercadal and Sixte Illescas. The group was formed in 1930 as a Spanish branch of C.I.A.M. The Eastern (Catalan) and founding section of the group, called GATCPAC (Grup d'Arquitectes i Tècnics Catalans per al Progrés de l'Arquitectura Contemporània) was much more successful than the Central or Northern sections, and carried out government contracts during the Second Republic.

GATEPAC was the leading group of architects that introduced modernist architecture and its ideas to Spain during the 1930s. The values they sought to introduce were primarily design elements of buildings that followed function over form and the well-being of the people that used the building. To accomplish these goals, they utilized simple and minimalistic building forms, modern materials, and environmental / natural strategies such as sunlight, ventilation, and shading strategies. They also included and emphasized green spaces in many of their projects for quality of life. Many of the projects they worked on were public buildings and affordable housing projects. Their intentions behind these design ideas were to improve everyday life for the people through architecture and to create better spaces that served the people and the community.

GATCPAC also published the magazine A.C., or Actividad Contemporánea, which remains an important document for the history of Modern Movement in Spain. The magazine ran for 24 issues until the group dissolved many years later after its initial conception and creation.

Most, but not all GATEPAC members fought on the Republican side during the Spanish Civil War. Torres Clavé and aizupuria were killed in action. Josep Lluís Sert went into exile in the United States, where he would teach at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Antoni Bonet established himself in Buenos Aires, Argentina. many other members would go on into exile or would disappear after the dissolvement of the group. Having been associated with the Second Republic, GATEPAC was taboo in Francoist Spain and reference to it was often censored until the 1950s, when their works were taken up by a new generation of Spanish modern architects like the Catalan Oriol Bohigas.

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1. Barrios, Luis G. Without Fear of the Ruins. 1st ed., vol. 1, University of North Carolina Press, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for its Department of Romance Studies. (2024), 2024, pp. 25-70, 1 vol. University of North Carolina published it, Found in Scholarly database JSTOR. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.5149/9781469677705_barrios.6. Accessed 26 Feb. 2026.
2. Burgueno, Maria J. "A.C. The GATEPAC magazine (1931-1937) at the Museo Reina Sofía." Revista de Arte, edited by Maria J. Burgueno, Revista de Arte, 29 Oct. 2008, revistadearte.com/exposiciones/ac-la-revista-del-gatepac-1931-1937-en-el-museo-reina-sofia-2/. Accessed 26 Feb. 2026.
3. Collins, George R. "Spain: A Case Study in Action and Reaction." Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, vol. 24, no. 1, Mar. 1965, pp. 59-65. JSTOR, https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.2307/988282. Accessed 26 Feb. 2026.
4. Mercadal, Fernando G. "EXHIBITION THE GATEPAC AND FERNANDO GARCÍA MERCADA." Library COAM, edited by Fernando G. Mercadal, COAM Library, May 2006. University of North Carolina published it, Found in Scholarly database JSTOR. COAM Library, web.archive.org/web/20110725180039/http:/www.coam.org/pls/portal/docs/PAGE/COAM/COAM_PUBLICACIONES/HTML/mercadal.html. Accessed 26 Feb. 2026.
5. Sanz, Juan L. "Review: [Untitled]." Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, vol. 66, no. 4, Dec. 2007, pp. 520-21. Jstor, https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1525/jsah.2007.66.4.520. Accessed 26 Feb. 2026.

• «La arquitectura contemporánea en España», Cahiers d'Art, 1931, n.º 3, págs. 157-164 (in Spanish)
• «Gatepac y movimiento moderno». In Artehistoria.
• «A.C. La revista del GATEPAC (1931-1937) en el Museo Reina Sofía», Revista de Arte Logopress
• Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, «A.C. La revista del GATEPAC». Pamphlet from an exhibition 29 October 2008 – 5 January 2009
• Colegio Oficial de Arquitectos de Madrid. Exposición «El GATEPAC y Fernando García Mercadal». Information and biographies in Spanish.
• (in Catalan) «El GATCPAC (Grup d'Arquitectes i Tècnics per al Progrés de l'Arquitectura Contemporània) : de l'arquitectura a la revolució» (audio). l'Arxiu de la Paraula. Ateneu Barcelonès, 2014.