De Gran Vía al Distrito CEl patrimonio arquitectónico de Telefónica

Abstract

This dissertation examines the history of the architecture of the telephone business in Spain, comparing it with its counterparts in other countries. The focus is the Compañía Telefónica Nacional de España incorporated in 1924. In contrast with a landscape of State-owned networks in the Old Continent, Telefónica was the subsidiary of an American corporation, International Telephone and Telegraph. From an Art history perspective, we explain how this kind of architecture has played two roles. Telephone exchanges are industrial premises whose primary goal is housing the equipment of the telecommunications networks. These buildings have received very little scholar attention, and we search for the reasons of this lack of interest, Besides this practical purpose, architecture has been a powerful tool of Public Relations in telephony. Exchanges were designed to fit local styles in order to avoid rejection. Main offices were intentionally decorated with expensive materials, sculpture and painting. These artistic resources convey information about the ideology and organization of the owner Companies. The American influence in Telefónica was so strong that its original architectural program was inspired by the Bell System principles. A chronological approach is followed in the exposition of the development of architecture and business, both in Spain and abroad, from the days of first telephone buildings in United States to the present.