Faculty of Philosophy and Letters of the Complutense University

The Faculty of Philosophy and Letters is a building in Madrid, Spain, part of the Complutense University of Madrid's Moncloa Campus.

Faculty of Philosophy and Letters
Facultad de Filosofía y Letras
General information
Architectural style	rationalism
Classification	Bien de Interés Cultural
Address	Plaza de Menéndez Pelayo
Town or city	Madrid
Country	Spain
Coordinates	40.448846°N 3.730482°W / 40.448846; -3.730482
Current tenants	UCM's School of Philosophy UCM's School of Philology
Construction started	1932
Completed	1936
Inaugurated	1933; 1943
Design and construction
Architect	Agustín Aguirre López

An example of rationalist architecture,[1] it was projected in 1931–32 by Agustín Aguirre López as the southern end of a closed compound intending to gather the academic disciplines of humanities of the Central University.[1][2] The first part of the building was inaugurated in 1933.[2] Figures such as Ortega y Gasset, Américo Castro, Manuel García Morente, Xavier Zubiri, María de Maeztu, Manuel Gómez-Moreno, Claudio Sánchez Albornoz and Elías Tormo taught at the building.[3] While the final part was expected to be inaugurated by 1936, the Civil War aborted such plans, and the building was subject of heavy damage by Francoist artillery as it became the headquarters of the XI International Brigade.[2] It was thus reinagurated after undertaking a reconstruction in 1943.[2] The School of Philosophy and Letters was divided in Geography and History, Philology, Philosophy, and Education Sciences in 1974, and the building currently houses just the schools of Philosophy and Philology.[2]

Described as "the most emblematic [building] at the Ciudad Universitaria and the one that has endured best the past of time, as it has preserved its architectural configuration with no expansions nor substantial modifications", it was declared Bien de Interés Cultural in 2017.[4]