The Almendrales Theatre, located in the Usera district (Madrid), promised to be one of the most remarkable elements of a neighborhood in full expansion in the mid-nineties. However, in 1995, the works were suspended due to the bankruptcy of the company responsible, Termac. 29 years later, its destiny is finally reactivated, but with an unexpected outcome regretted by all the actors of the establishment: demolition.
A demolition announced by the Community of Madrid after the Government Council held on August 28. Sources from the Ministry of Infrastructure, Housing and Transport tell this newspaper that “it is a building that is not finished and does not comply with current regulations.” Isabel Díaz Ayuso’s executive is hiding behind a series of unpublished technical reports, which would indicate that the construction exceeds the permitted height limit, according to El País. The original architect of the project, Antonio Lopera, however, assures in a conversation with Somos Madrid that the reasons are different: “It is not a technical decision, it is a political decision.”
“I don’t understand on the basis of which technical reports it is proposed to demolish it, I would like them to be made public. There is talk of an urban planning objection due to a height problem and the fact that it is in ruins, surprising things because it is a lie,” says Lopera. Indeed, he points out that the building was built in a block of facilities that also includes “a health center with the same height and the same urban planning action” that operates normally. “If they start demolishing, they will have to close the health center,” he predicts.
“This is the first time in my career that something like this has happened to me,” laments the architect behind this 1,850 square meter property. “I am 75 years old and my arrogance quota is full, I am not defending my work but a public investment of about 1 million euros that is going to be thrown in the trash,” he adds.
The project was carried out by the Madrid Housing Institute (Ivima), currently called the Social Housing Agency of the Community of Madrid, to house a theatre-cinema and a cultural centre. The budget was precisely 100 million pesetas (600,000 euros, a price not adjusted for inflation). The same entity, dependent on the Department of Infrastructure, Housing and Transport, is now taking charge of the demolition work at a cost of more than one million euros.
Jesús San Vicente, also an architect and president of the NexoCoam group of the Madrid College of Architects, also criticizes the decision to demolish instead of thinking about other alternatives for the building itself: “Considering construction as a traditional way of improving our environment, it is possible to build more and better without doing anything, with actions that guarantee economic, social, cultural and environmental sustainability. He is committed to “reuse, regenerate, reverse, recover, rehabilitate, revitalize, move, restore… valorize pre-existence to regenerate instead of destroying.”
He believes that the theater “cannot be illegal, since it was built in accordance with the urban planning regulations of the Particular Plans for Interior Reform (PERI).” Lopera also highlights “the ecological impact of the rubble,” which is combined with the urban impact. “It is environmental madness,” says San Vicente.
Another aspect is the loss of a space that residents can exploit. “The neighbors are disappointed and it is logical, because they lose a facility intended for their neighborhood,” says Lopera. His professional colleague is even more critical: “The building is an ideal location for all the facilities that the neighborhood needs. That is why everything looks like a public-private operation with companies exploiting land rights.”
Marisa, a neighbor and activist from the Almendrales neighborhood, explained the neighborhood’s desires in statements to El País: “When the neighborhood was renovated, the neighbors asked for a theater, not because it was a theater, but because they offered courses in stagehands inside… costume designers, hairdressers… jobs related to theater, which didn’t exist. Now they’re proposing that we build a cultural center somewhere else. That’s also a lie. ‘They won’t do anything.'”
A star project surrounded by misfortunes
Antonio Lopera looks back at the history of the building and the key moments that prevented its inauguration: “Ivima promoted it as part of the equipment for the renovation of the neighborhood, which had one-story houses in poor condition. The PERI is continuing the replacement with three-story houses, which leads to an increase in accommodation capacity and vacant land. For this reason, outdoor developments are planned in the center of the neighborhood, as well as this other site on the block with the health center and the theater/cultural center.
The bankruptcy of Termac, the company building the theatre, paralysed the already advanced work on this hall designed to seat 300 people (the stage was already finished). This fact coincided with the departure of the PSOE at the head of the Community of Madrid in 1995 and the arrival of the Popular Party. “The new government team does not show the slightest interest in continuing the work”, adds Lopera.
The architect argues that, despite this original function that was never completed, the site can be adapted to other uses and different exploitations beyond the neighborhood: “I thought about making a building with an intrinsic functional value regardless of who managed it, that’s why I made a theater/cinema and other incorporated spaces such as a rehearsal room or administrative offices if the neighbors were not able to manage it.
However, over the course of these almost 30 years, the situation has become entrenched without any plans being made to complete the work and put the place into service. “Two organizations were interested in taking over the theater: the Ministry of Culture, to make it the headquarters of the Young Classical Theater Company, and the Bishopric of Madrid to transform it into pastoral use. Nobody ended up taking over the space,” explains Lopera.
The conversations between the Community of Madrid and the City Council for a municipal transfer have never come to fruition, although now the regional government is considering handing over the land to the executive of José Luis Martínez-Almeida once the demolition has been carried out.
“Almeida and Ayuso are specialists in breaking their word and now they have decided to demolish the ghost theatre of Usera,” protests the spokesperson for Más Madrid at the city hall of the capital, Rita Maestre, in statements to this newspaper. “They committed to launching it and we can already see how they are going to do it: leaving a piece of land waiting to take a big step in urban development.” The councillor recalls that “this theatre is a historic request of the neighbourhood, because it would culturally and socially boost the neighbourhood of Almendrales.”
If the demolition goes ahead, the building will have only been alive for a few months. That was in 2011, when a group of people from the 15M neighborhood assembly occupied it to develop the self-managed project La Osera de Usera, before being evicted in July of the following year.
