Spain's remarkable 20th-century architecture evolved against a turbulent background of revolution, civil war, dictatorship and transition to democracy. Architecture played a key role in Spain's struggle out of poverty and isolation, and its search for identity in the modern world.

This new account examines Spanish architecture from the roots of Modernism in the 18th and 19th centuries to the present, analysing significant figures and their works in relation to their political, social and cultural contexts, as well as their contributions to architecture as a whole. From the austere, local Modernism to the influence of international trends, 'Organicist' Modernism and the flourishing public architecture of the late twentieth century and beyond, Spain provides a penetrating account of the country's rich and varied built environment.