A strategy for autonomous construction in Seville, the Casa Rompecabeza, or “Puzzle House,” was built on an empty lot with the approval of the landowner. It was not necessary to obtain building permission because the structure was designed to be mobile and not fixed to the site, skirting city building rules. In this way, the Casa Rompecabeza avoids legal restrictions on construction, becoming legally defined as a “movable good.”
Santiago Cirugeda is an architect based in Seville who has proposed semi-legal strategies for housing and urban renovation under the name Recetas Urbanas, or “urban prescriptions,” since 1996. He inhabits gaps between laws, exploiting overlap and oversight to practice autonomous architecture.