Brett Tippey. PHOTO: Manuel Castells

The American architect Brett Tippey has defended the first thesis in English at the School of Architecture of the University of Navarra. The research, entitled 'Richard Neutra and the Spanish transition to modernity', was directed by Professor Miguel A. Alonso del Val.

In his work, Brett Tippey analyzes the influential relationship between Richard Neutra and Spanish architecture in the mid-20th century, and how Neutra facilitated the definitive triumph of modern architecture in the country: "Emerging from the shadow of nostalgia and simplistic traditionalism, Spain at that stage increasingly accepted modern architecture as a uniquely suitable model for the project postwar modernization. Interestingly, Richard Neutra became an essential guide in this business".

For his doctorate, Brett Tippey has consulted nearly 300 sheets of unpublished documents held in the Richard and Dion Neutra Papers at the University of California, Los Angeles. He has also conducted a scientific analysis of the only existing copy of the dossier that Neutra submitted in 1956 to a competition to design housing developments for the U.S. Air Force in Spain, which was never carried out. He has also reviewed texts published by Neutra, contemporary articles from the Spanish press and works produced by various Spanish architects in the mid-20th century.

graduate from Master's Degree at design Architectural

The researcher has uncovered the relationship staff between Neutra and several prestigious Spanish architects of the period and traced the development of Neutra's theory in their works. "His interest in Hispanic architectural traditions, together with his unparalleled presence in Spain during this decisive period, made his speech closer and more attractive to Spanish architects than those of other international modern masters," he notes.

He also notes that the American architect "helped Spanish architects to break the dualism between tradition and modernity that had dominated Spanish architecture during the previous decades, and to arrive at a modernity that represented Spanish tradition and the Spanish people.

Brett Tippey studied the Master's Degree in design Architectural Architecture at the University of Navarra between 2003 and 2005. Upon completion of the postgraduate program, he returned to his home country, USA, to teach at Ball State University. In 2008 he returned to campus in Pamplona to pursue his doctoral degree thesis . He is currently a professor of architecture at Bowling Green State University in Ohio.