{"id":62378,"date":"2026-07-29T04:12:42","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T04:12:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/62378\/"},"modified":"2026-07-29T04:12:42","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T04:12:42","slug":"espai-verd-valencias-brutalist-co-operative-stairway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/62378\/","title":{"rendered":"Espai Verd: Valencia’s Brutalist Co-operative Stairway"},"content":{"rendered":"

An idiosyncratic inventor pitches his dream project at a dinner party; a tussle between a bohemian community and a corporate menace ensues. There\u2019s a cameo by a mysterious cave-dwelling monk and even a mystical plot twist marked by the hand of God. Pitched as a film script, this convoluted story would never have passed the first skim-read \u2013 yet the wild story surrounding Valencia\u2019s residential complex Espai Verd is neither fiction nor far-fetched fantasy. Not only is it very real but this improbable episode also stands as a monument to the power of architecture to reshape reality itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always been a visionary,\u201d says Antonio Cort\u00e9s Ferrando. As the architect behind the building, and a resident ever since, he has an affection for every corner of the 15-storey edifice. Admiring the multitiered entrance fountain he describes how the trickling water creates an internal micro-climate. \u201cArchitecture that doesn\u2019t put people first is merely sculpture,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The 69-year-old has already led us up the central patio\u2019s pine-covered artificial \u201cmountain\u201d (built from soil extracted for the subterranean carpark), waved us through foliage on the upper tropical-garden plateau and identified tree species sprouting from dozens of capacious balconies that seem to ascend like a colossal overgrown staircase. After setting a cracking pace around the third-floor jogging track, running through a wide corridor and circling back past the pool (four laps, we are told, make a full kilometre), we experience an impromptu encounter that provides a colourful insight into quotidian life here.<\/p>\n

Two elderly gentlemen are having an animated discussion about the merits of clear or opaque safety glass for a newly installed handrail. Both are \u201cfounders\u201d who, enticed by a pioneering promise to bridge urban and rural milieu, joined the co-operative in the 1980s. Ferrando listens to their argument, calming the conversation with a reminder that \u201ctruth can be found on both sides\u201d.<\/p>\n

As the men agree to disagree and drift back to their homes, the architect admits that living inside his own creation requires a degree of courage \u2013 especially when 108 apartment dwellers come forth with a barrage of opinions about its brutalist design. \u201cLike all great cathedrals this is still a work in progress, meaning the community constantly seek my opinion,\u201d he says (with a hint of pride).\u201cBut this is not a dictatorial regime by any means; we\u2019re a community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Built in four phases over a decade, Espai Verd (\u201cgreen space\u201d in Valencian) emerged on the urban fringes as a riposte to the 1980s penchant for mass-construction. Conceived as a compact city, it was shaped by ecological, technological, and humanistic principles \u2013 none of which were especially popular when a newspaper advert first asked people to buy into the bold idea in 1981. \u201cIt was Antonio\u2019s passionate vision that won us over,\u201d says founding resident Maite Queratt, recalling the fateful dinner party where a handful of family members and friends agreed to form a co-op to fund the construction. \u201cWe signed up that night.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AGarden terrace<\/p>\n

\"WhiteCascading colour <\/p>\n

\"InteriorTrickle-down effect: the interior fountain cools interior air<\/p>\n

\"BrutalistThe fa\u00e7ade is crowned with uniquely joined apartments<\/p>\n

\"PersonAfternoon yoga on the third-floor tropical garden<\/p>\n

\"BrutalistThe sculpture-like central, exterior stairway<\/p>\n

\"TwoCasual encounter<\/p>\n

\"TwoResidents Mapi Oltra (left) and Juanvi Pascual, both architects<\/p>\n

\"AFounding resident Maite Queratt\u2019s lounge<\/p>\n

\"ArchitectArchitect and resident Antonio Cort\u00e9s Ferrando<\/p>\n

\"FoundingQueratt at home<\/p>\n

\"MinimalistQueratt\u2019s bedroom <\/p>\n

\"ManNearby community orchard<\/p>\n

\"VintageTea time<\/p>\n

The structure took until 1986 to get off the ground. \u201cThat\u2019s when the real adventure began,\u201d says Queratt with a laugh. \u201cThere were constant delays; each meeting with the builders ended with a 10 million peseta price hike.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sensing the financial strain, the construction company offered to fund the final stage themselves with one crucial proviso: the founders would have to forego ownership. \u201cWe were young couples, some of us with children; we had already sacrificed so much,\u201d says Queratt. \u201cWe refused to surrender so easily.\u201d The offer was rejected. \u201cThe newer residents don\u2019t really understand what we all went through because they didn\u2019t live it,\u201d she says, revealing that more than half the original founders are still residents. \u201cBuilding was a democratic process; it forged strong bonds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Up on the 10th floor, in a living room featuring a five-metre-tall ficus tree, Ferrando the architect is banging away on his piano. \u201cI love improvising,\u201d he says with a cheeky smile. \u201cMy architecture professors told me to leave the vegetation to gardeners, so I read and taught myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

This same inquisitive spirit pushed him to incorporate his notional ideas into the building plans. Foundations were turned 45 degrees for optimum sunlight. Apartments were given offices based on his prediction that people would eventually work more from home. Chutes were installed in the walls to accommodate broadband cables (this when the internet was the nascent craze of futurists). He designed artificial-intelligence systems, reducing repetitive calculation times from weeks to minutes, and bought one of Spain\u2019s first mainframes \u2013 huge computers that were used by banks and universities \u2013 to automate his ideas into code.<\/p>\n

Look beyond the impressive technical components and you\u2019ll spot more spiritual musings. The ever-burning Bethlehem candles in Ferrando\u2019s living room and a multifaith oratory built into the side of that artificial mountain are the most visible clues. The architect also reminds observers that the building\u2019s stacked form intentionally leads toward a higher realm. \u201cArchitecture must address the mathematical space for objects and the liveable space for people \u2013 but also the sacred space, to help inhabitants discover divinity,\u201d he says. \u201cFor me the quest to find that sacred place never ends.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under the shade of cypress trees on his terrace he explains how a friendship with a travelling monk from the Catalonian caves of Montserrat inspired the on-site oratory, which hosts monthly multifaith meetings of Buddhists, Muslims, Jews, Lutherans and Catholics. He also tells a more mystical version of the construction company\u2019s takeover attempt. \u201cThat day I was at my wit\u2019s end; feeling defeated, I collapsed on my bed,\u201d he says with a flurry of hand movements. \u201cI had a vision of light coming out of my heart. Filled with peace and strength, I was determined to finish what I started.\u201d His success reinforced deep-seated beliefs: he not only managed to manifest his own universe but has also lived in its epicentre ever since.<\/p>\n

Descending, we visit a lower-level duplex apartment. \u201cBeing surrounded by greenery all day improves your mindset,\u201d says second-generation resident Mapi Oltra, who lives here with her husband and second-generation resident Juanvi Pascual, and five-year-old son Mateo. As architects they appreciate the building both technically and emotionally. \u201cWe invite clients over to see the right way to design a split-level home,\u201d says Pascual.<\/p>\n

As the evening shadows grow, doorman Agust\u00edn is finishing his chores. He doubles as Espai Verd\u2019s Mr Fix-it: gardening, plumbing, even resurfacing the pool. He\u2019s also an architect, casually mentioning that one of his earlier projects showed at New York\u2019s Moma. \u201cI\u2019m over-qualified to be cleaning this fountain,\u201d he says, smiling. \u201cBut my background means I monitor the renovations to ensure the original vision doesn\u2019t unravel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite having to deal with regular repairs he remains aware of the grander concepts at play. \u201cEspai Verd is a synthesis of ideas about creativity, nature, and light,\u201d he says. \u201cThis is a building that was based around functionality, shaped by artistry but realised with contemplation in mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boris Strzelczyk, a German-born architect who grew up in Valencia, gives tours of the brutalist building. \u201cMany Valencianos dismiss it as weird or ugly but I focus on the way feelings are instilled into the elements,\u201d he says, explaining how he designs visits to ensure interaction with residents. \u201cUltimately Espai Verd is a hero\u2019s tale. The moral of the story is that you should fight for what you believe in, showing how people band together when the going gets tough.<\/p>\n

\u201cThankfully there was a happy ending,\u201d he adds amid a chorus of chirping birds. \u201cAsk the people here and they will smile and say living in Espai Verd is still a source of happiness.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An idiosyncratic inventor pitches his dream project at a dinner party; a tussle between a bohemian community and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":62379,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[24999,291,25000,25001,95],"class_list":["post-62378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-valencia","tag-antonio-cortes-ferrando","tag-architecture","tag-brutalist-architecture","tag-community-living","tag-valencia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62378"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62378\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}