Manuel Sánchez Arcas

Manuel Sánchez Arcas
Sánchez Arcas in Moscow in 1945
Born	1897 Madrid, Spain
Died	1970 Berlin, Germany
Nationality	Spanish
Occupation	Architect and urban planner

Manuel Sánchez Arcas (1897–1970) was a Spanish Modernist architect. During the Spanish Civil War (1936–39) he served in the Republican government as Undersecretary for Propaganda. After the Republican defeat he went into exile in Moscow, Warsaw and Berlin.

Manuel Sánchez Arcas was born in Madrid in 1897. He studied at the Madrid School of Architecture (Escuela de Arquitectura de Madrid), and graduated in 1921. He went to London for further studies. On his return to Spain he first worked with Secundino Zuazo, then from 1925 worked alone. He was one of the architects known as the "1925 generation" that tried to introduce avant-garde Modernist concepts into Spain.

Modesto López Otero was the director for the Madrid University City (Ciudad Universitaria de Madrid) project. He formed a diverse team of young architects to design the various buildings, including Sánchez Arcas. The engineer Eduardo Torroja joined the group in 1929. He worked with Sánchez Arcas, sharing his interest in new architectural forms that rejected preconceived formulas. The first collaborative work of Torroja and Sanchez Arcas was the pavilion of the Construction Commission of the university city, completed in June 1931. They worked on the heating plant (Central Térmica) and the clinical hospital for the university city. Sánchez Arcas and Torroja designed an enclosed and semi-spherical shell for the 1932 Algeciras market hall. The 9 centimetres (3.5 in) thick concrete roof was 47.5 metres (156 ft) high, vaulted, supported on eight pillars. As an engineering work it is considered Torroja's masterpiece.

Sánchez Arcas and Torroja founded the journal Hormigón y Acero (Concrete and Steel). In 1934 they founded the Instituto Técnico de la Construcción y Edificación (ITCE, Technical Institute of Construction and Building). Other founding members were the architect Modesto López Otero (1885–1962) and the engineers José María Aguirre Gonzalo (1897–1988) and Alfonso Peña Boeuf (1888–1966). The ITCE was a non-profit organization dedicated to developing and applying technical innovations in engineering civil structures.