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José Vela Castillo

Dr. José Vela Castillo is an architect (ETSAM 1992, Phd ETSAM 2000), educator and historian based in Madrid.

His current research interest follows its path across two main intersecting lines, namely historical research and philosophical/critical research. In the last years he focused on postwar modern Spanish architecture, on which he published widely, with special emphasis on the architecture of the US military bases built in Spain in the 1950s, its infrastructural dimension and its wide political and cultural impact in the ‘free world’.

On a wider philosophical context, Vela Castillo is focusing on the redefinition of the relations between fiction, narrative and meaning in the writing of history of architecture.

He teaches courses on Global History of Architecture and Design Studio at IE University (Segovia and Madrid, Spain).

José Vela been positively evaluated by ANECA in the Teaching Staff Evaluation Program and has been awarded three “sexenios” (six-year periods) of research by the CNEAI.

ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE

• Assistant Professor of Architecture, IE University, Madrid, Spain, 2000 – Present

• Professor at Escuela Superior de Arquitectura San Pablo CEU, 1997 – 1998

• Professor at Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid, UPM, 2001 – 2002

• Architect at Aranguren&Gallegos Architects, 1989 – 1997

• Architect at Matos-Castillo Architects, 1997 – 1998

• Architect at Calatrava Valls EURL Architects, 1992

ACADEMIC BACKGROUND

• Architect and M. Arch, Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid, UPM, 1992

• PhD Architect, Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid, UPM, 2000

• DEA Philosophy, Facultad de Filosofía, UCM, 2006

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

• Vela Castillo, J. (2022). Chapter of book: “Shaped from Above: Cartographic Domination and U.S. Military Infrastructure In 1950’s Spain” in Joseph Heathcott, ed., The Routledge Handbook of Infrastructure Design. Global Perspectives from Architectural History. Routledge, London

• Vela Castillo, J. (2022). Chapter of book: “Mediterranean Power. US And NATO Military Bases Network at The Onset of The Cold War” in Carlotta Coccoli, Olivia Longo, Davide Sigurtà, eds., Re-inhabiting Cold War Sites. Gruppo editoriale Tab, Rome

• Vela Castillo, J. (2022). Chapter of book: “Telling Stories (And Not Only About Architectural History)” in Salvador Guerrero and Joaquin Medina Warmburg, eds., Built and Thought. European and Transatlantic Correspondences in the Historiography of Architecture. Lo construido y lo pensado – Correspondencias europeas y transatlánticas en la historiografía de la arquitectura. AhAU, Madrid

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