El Croquis

El Croquis is a Spanish architecture journal and publishing house whose title means “The Sketch.” It is recognized internationally for producing carefully edited, visually rigorous monographs on contemporary architecture. Rather than functioning primarily as a general-interest news magazine, El Croquis presents substantial bodies of work by individual architects or practices, often combining drawings, plans, photographs, project documentation, interviews, and critical texts. This format has made the publication an important record of architectural practice from the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. The journal was founded in Spain by Fernando Márquez Cecilia and Richard Levene. Its editorial model emphasizes selectivity and depth: a selected architect may receive a substantial issue or sequence of issues that documents projects across a period of practice. For established architects, these volumes can operate as near-comprehensive surveys of their work. The publication has featured prominent figures and practices associated with international architecture, including Rem Koolhaas and OMA, Kazuyo Sejima, Herzog & de Meuron, Álvaro Siza, and Rafael Moneo. It has also helped give international visibility to younger or less established architects, for whom inclusion in El Croquis is widely regarded as a significant professional distinction. El Croquis is particularly influential because it sits between an architectural periodical, an archival record, and a collectible design publication. Its editions are valued by architects, students, researchers, libraries, and institutions for their documentation of buildings and design processes. The publication’s reputation rests on editorial judgment, consistency of presentation, and the quality of its visual and technical material rather than on mass-market circulation. The organization has also developed book publishing beyond the periodical. Its catalogue includes Spanish-language editions of writings, lectures, interviews, and autobiographical material by major architects and architectural thinkers, including Adolf Loos, Otto Wagner, Le Corbusier, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Bruno Taut, Frank Lloyd Wright, Alvar Aalto, Luis Barragán, Erik Gunnar Asplund, Louis Kahn, and Moisei Ginzburg. These publications extend the brand’s role from documenting contemporary practice to making foundational architectural texts available in edited book form. El Croquis Editorial is additionally associated with an exhibition gallery in El Escorial, in the Madrid region. The gallery houses and displays a large collection of architectural models, with exhibitions changing over time. This physical presence reinforces the brand’s archival and curatorial identity and connects its printed publications with three-dimensional architectural representation. The journal’s international standing has been acknowledged through professional and cultural recognition. In 1992 it received the Gold Medal for Exports from the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, an unusual distinction for an architecture journal and an indication of the publication’s international reach. In 2014, editors Fernando Márquez Cecilia and Richard Levene received an International Fellowship from the Royal Institute of British Architects. Commentary in the architectural press has credited the editors with maintaining exceptional publication quality and supporting promising architects. El Croquis remains active as a specialist architecture publishing brand, with its influence extending well beyond Spain through international readership, distribution, libraries, and architectural education.

El Croquis was established in Spain by Fernando Márquez Cecilia and Richard Levene as a specialist architecture publication. From its early development, the journal differentiated itself through a monographic approach: instead of focusing mainly on short news items or broad professional coverage, it devoted substantial editorial space to selected architects and practices. The resulting issues combined architectural photography, drawings, plans, project descriptions, interviews, and critical writing, creating detailed records of design activity. This editorial strategy helped El Croquis become an important platform for both established and emerging architects. Its coverage of internationally recognized practices, including OMA and Rem Koolhaas, Kazuyo Sejima, Herzog & de Meuron, Álvaro Siza, and Rafael Moneo, gave the journal a role in documenting major architectural careers. For architects earlier in their careers, appearing in the journal became an important form of professional recognition. Over time, the publication’s accumulated monographs created a broad retrospective map of contemporary architecture from the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. The brand’s international development was acknowledged in 1992, when it received the Gold Medal for Exports from the Spanish Chamber of Commerce. The award was notable because it was given to an architecture journal rather than a conventional industrial exporter. It reflected the circulation of El Croquis beyond Spain and the publication’s emergence as an internationally relevant architectural reference. Alongside the periodical, El Croquis Editorial developed a book programme focused on architectural writings and historical source material. Its catalogue includes editions associated with Adolf Loos, Otto Wagner, Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, Bruno Taut, Frank Lloyd Wright, Alvar Aalto, Luis Barragán, Erik Gunnar Asplund, Louis Kahn, and Moisei Ginzburg. These books expanded the organization’s role from contemporary project documentation into the publication and dissemination of architectural theory, criticism, and first-person texts. El Croquis also established an exhibition gallery in El Escorial, in the Madrid region. The gallery houses a substantial collection of architectural models and presents displays that change over time. The gallery complements the printed catalogue by providing a physical and spatial form of architectural documentation. In 2014, the Royal Institute of British Architects awarded International Fellowships to Márquez Cecilia and Levene. The recognition underscored the editors’ influence on architectural culture and publishing. Architectural press commentary has emphasized the exceptional quality and selectivity of their publications, as well as the role they played in bringing promising architects to a wider professional audience. El Croquis continues to operate as a specialist international architecture journal and publishing house, with its publications used by practicing architects, educators, students, researchers, libraries, and cultural institutions.

1. 2014RIBA International Fellowship

   Editors Fernando Márquez Cecilia and Richard Levene receive International Fellowships from the Royal Institute of British Architects.

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2. 1992Gold Medal for Exports

   The Spanish Chamber of Commerce awards El Croquis its Gold Medal for Exports, recognizing the journal’s international distribution and reach.

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3. 1982El Croquis is founded

   Fernando Márquez Cecilia and Richard Levene establish the Spanish architecture journal and publishing enterprise.

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A premium, selective, internationally oriented architecture publishing brand that combines authoritative project documentation, monographic editorial work, architectural criticism, and archival publishing.

• El CroquisArchitecture magazine1982

  The core periodical is a highly selective architecture journal organized largely around substantial presentations of individual architects and practices. Issues typically function as detailed records of projects, combining visual documentation with drawings, plans, interviews, and critical material. Its monographic format has made it an important reference for contemporary architecture and a professional showcase for both established and emerging designers.

• El Croquis architecture monographsArchitectural monograph

  These volumes document the work of selected architects or practices in extended form. For internationally established architects, the books can serve as retrospective surveys of a body of work; for younger practices, publication provides an influential platform for professional visibility. The series is distinguished by detailed project material and a consistent editorial and graphic standard.

• El Croquis Editorial architectural booksArchitecture and theory books

  The book list includes edited writings, lectures, interviews, autobiographical texts, and theoretical material by major figures in architectural history. Named authors and subjects include Adolf Loos, Otto Wagner, Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, Bruno Taut, Frank Lloyd Wright, Alvar Aalto, Luis Barragán, Erik Gunnar Asplund, Louis Kahn, and Moisei Ginzburg. The programme broadens the brand beyond contemporary magazine publishing.

• El Croquis galleryArchitecture exhibition venue

  The El Croquis gallery in El Escorial, in the Madrid region, houses a large collection of architectural models and presents exhibitions that rotate over time. It gives the publishing brand a physical exhibition and archival dimension, allowing architecture to be encountered through models as well as through printed documentation.

• 2014El Croquis editors receive RIBA International Fellowship

  Fernando Márquez Cecilia and Richard Levene were recognized by the Royal Institute of British Architects with an International Fellowship for their contribution to architectural publishing and culture.

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• 1992El Croquis receives the Gold Medal for Exports

  The Spanish Chamber of Commerce awarded El Croquis its Gold Medal for Exports, recognizing the journal’s international reach and export activity.

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1. El Croquis
2. El Croquis official website