This research project examines the interplay between architecture, political power and national identity by studying the reconstruction ofMadrid’s Ciudad Universitaria (University City) and its role within GeneralFranco’s regime (1939–1975). The symbolic nature of this university campus during the war and its importance as a public institution made its reconstruction a key exercise that aimed to facilitate the formation of a new social and political identity. Hence, the interplay between its architectural reconstruction and the new political system will be analysed. To do so, this research looks at citizens’ interpretations, at ceremonies and at events in people’s everyday lives. Furthermore, it examines the official processes of selectively shaping social memory in the reconstruction of the campus and how this facilitated the formation of a new social and political identity during the three decades following its reconstruction.

The research methodology is a combination of archival and oral history methods. National, university, and architectural archives will offer graphical and written sources; interviews with former students, university staff and neighbours will serve to interrogate their perceptions. Thus, this thesis intends to shed light on the understanding of the interaction between architecture, political power and national identity through the study of symbolic meaning together with power relations and social memory.