Spain combines cultural diversity and a long constructive tradition that is directly reflected in its architecture. The country is home to influential schools, a consistent body of theoretical production, an active generation of architects, and a well-established construction industry with strong capabilities in innovation, standardization, and export. Contemporary Spanish architecture is marked by a plurality of approaches and by the articulation between material tradition, technology, and performance.
In this context, materials play a central role in the conception, expression, and functionality of buildings. Steel, glass, brick, stone, and wood remain essential inputs in architectural practice, but their role goes far beyond raw matter. Once industrially processed, these materials unfold into a wide range of products and systems such as technical panels, ventilated façades, structural components, extruded cladding, and brise-soleil systems.
This transformation significantly expands their possibilities for use and detailing, allowing for both serialized solutions and project-specific strategies. A single material, such as steel, can generate heavy structures, flexible meshes, composite panels or shading components, each with distinct performance, aesthetics, and assembly requirements. These solutions operate at the intersection of design, industry, and regulation, enabling architecture to adapt to different scales and programs.
This article examines how these five materials are being used in recent projects built in Spain, highlighting their technological variations, architectural applications, and links to local industry. The selection aims to show how technical mastery of basic materials can give rise to precise, adaptable architectures in tune with today's demands.
Steel: Versatility and Technical Expression
An industrially produced material, steel is composed of metal alloys that offer high mechanical strength, ductility, and dimensional precision. Its controlled fabrication and modularity make it suitable for a wide range of construction applications, from heavy engineering, such as bridges and walkways, to high-precision components in façades and interiors. In architecture, steel is widely used in ventilated façades, sun-shading systems, metal meshes, movable brise-soleil, and interior construction details, allowing for lightweight and efficient assemblies. Its ease of installation and high degree of customization support versatile solutions adaptable to different scales and programs.
For example, at the Álvaro Cunqueiro Hospital in Vigo, the ventilated façade by Stacbond, composed of aluminum composite panels, meets thermal, durability, and maintenance criteria. As the project description notes: "One of its technological advances is the use of prismatic paint to cover large façade areas. This paint is characterized for its durability and colour intensity, as well as its capacity to change shade depending on the light and the viewing angle."
At UDIMA University, Codina's metal mesh acts as a secondary skin for the façade, filtering direct sunlight and contributing to passive ventilation and visual control, while allowing the underlying structure to remain visible.
In the renovation of Casa Batlló, designed by Kengo Kuma in Barcelona, KriskaDecor's metallic curtains were used as light vertical elements that envelop the interior atrium. Composed of anodized aluminum chains, these surfaces organize the space and guide the eye, functioning as reactive fields for artificial light. As the architects describe: "We imagined this space dressed in aluminum chain curtains that, through their meticulous materiality, catch the light like fishing nets — revealing shines, silhouettes, and shadows." The strategy avoids introducing additional materials and transforms the stair volume into a perceptual field where only light is present.
Glass: Transparency and Environmental Control
A naturally non-opaque material, glass is composed of molten silica and may incorporate additives, lamination, or thermal treatments to enhance its mechanical, thermal, and optical properties. It is one of the most versatile materials in contemporary construction, functioning both as enclosure and as a mediator between interior and exterior environments. In architecture, glass is widely applied in façades, roofs, brise-soleil systems, interior partitions, and solar protection assemblies. Current solutions often involve aluminum frames with double glazing, screen-printed, insulated, or solar-control glass. Its use requires careful balance between transparency, thermal comfort, safety, and energy efficiency.
At the Clínica Ismael Oria in Jaén, the firm Mar Masiá Atelier specified systems by Strugal that integrate glass as an active part of the building envelope. The solution ensures controlled daylighting, airtightness, and thermal performance suited to a healthcare program. Despite its transparency, glass becomes a prominent element within the architectural composition, contributing to the formal clarity and light-filled atmosphere of the interior spaces.
Brick: Between Ceramic Tradition and Industrialized Systems
Brick is one of the oldest and most widespread construction materials in the world, traditionally made from fired clay. In contemporary architecture, its use goes beyond conventional masonry, incorporating industrial systems such as extruded cladding, modular brise-soleil, and ceramic ventilated façades. In today's Spanish architecture, brick and its derivatives are often used to recover vernacular materiality through technically optimized solutions. Its applications range from cladding to structural enclosure, combining aesthetic and functional value.
In the Casa Alba and Oriol, by MP Studio, ceramic tiles from Tejas Borja are used on the sloped roof, arguably the material's most traditional expression. The result is a composition that balances constructive heritage with technical performance.
In the T House, in Barcelona, the Flexbrick modular system is used as a solar filter and shading layer, reinterpreting the logic of handmade brick through an industrial lens. The ceramic mesh blends with the surroundings and allows the architecture to breathe.
The SMG Church, designed by Ramón Fernández Alonso, employs extruded ceramic pieces from Gresmanc to define bold, continuous façades. The system enables precise execution and homogeneous finishes, ideal for religious programs that demand formal sobriety and material robustness. As the authors describe: "The façade solution adopted, using a sandwich panel roof as an intermediate layer between the substructure and the ceramic elements, makes up the entire ventilated envelope that unifies the building's material image."
Stone: Durability and a Sense of Permanence
Natural stone is a geological material whose physical-chemical properties vary depending on its formation (slate, granite, limestone, etc.). In construction, it is valued for its durability, low maintenance, and thermal mass capacity. In architecture, stone is primarily used in ventilated façades, flooring, sloped roofs, and finishing elements. Its contemporary use often combines traditional assembly techniques with concealed fastening systems or industrial modular formats.
One example of stone use in architecture is the housing complex for mining workers in León, designed by ZON-E Arquitectos, where CUPA Pizarras' natural slate was selected for the sloped roof. The material performs well in the region's harsh climate, with minimal visual impact and long service life. The project explores material continuity and its integration into the surrounding landscape.
Wood: Warmth, Lightness, and Sustainability
Wood is an organic, renewable material with excellent structural and environmental performance. In its industrialized forms—such as CLT (cross-laminated timber), glulam, or technical panels—it allows for large-span applications, exposed façades, and interior environments with moisture and temperature control. In projects, wood is used as a primary structure, as flooring and wall cladding, or as a technical component in ventilated façades. Its popularity has grown due to its reduced carbon footprint, thermal performance, and sensory appeal.
At the Alzheimer's Center in Barcelona, the solid timber structure provided by Egoin was adopted to rationalize construction and enhance occupant comfort. Designed by GCA Architects, the project explores the tactile and thermal qualities of wood in a long-stay care environment.
At the IDOM headquarters in Bilbao, Parklex Prodema's technical wood panels form a ventilated façade with low maintenance, natural appearance, and high weather resistance. The system reinforces the building's institutional image through technical clarity and refined material expression.
Based on these and other examples published on ArchDaily, it is clear that contemporary architecture in Spain engages carefully with material selection and application. The projects discussed reveal an approach focused on well-resolved construction systems that combine technical performance, rationality, and contextual adaptability. The five materials analyzed—steel, glass, brick, stone, and wood—show how construction choices directly influence building behavior. The companies mentioned, many of them supported by ICEX, play a key role in this ecosystem, offering scalable solutions for a wide range of typologies and programs.
