Javier Carvajal: The architectural project as existential tension. Between organicism and rationalism

We begin with the works of Javier Carvajal, the research he conducted while designing them. We trace the path backward from the finished work to its design assumptions. In it, we discover Carvajal’s intellectual trajectory, not unrelated to artistic currents and the journey from rational postulates and influences of Italian rationalism, with a critical approach to a certain legacy of his training, which brings him closer to the postulates of organicist architecture. Based on the most significant elements extracted in the analysis, we determine the origins, similarities, and influences to understand the seminal idea of ​​Javier Carvajal’s architecture, his way of deepening his understanding of built reality, seeking conclusive evidence that demonstrates the influences on his work, his primary sources, and how he interpreted them in his architecture. Through dialogue and functional relationships in Javier Carvajal’s works, we approach the concept of the architectural project and its antecedents. A critical session is held on the most representative works of his career, from his early works in Madrid, to those executed in Italy, New York, and the rest of his extensive oeuvre that spans the history of Spanish architecture of the last century and this one.