ABSTRACT
The cost-effectiveness of jump form systems relies on the significant increase of construction speed and in the decreased dependence of craftsmen – both of their skills and number. In the 1960s Spain, construction time and labour were still low priced, so there were no real incentives for the implementation of such industrial formwork systems. Having been isolated since the end of the Civil War in 1939, Spain wasn't even a member of the United Nations until 1955, when the ideologically motivated autarchy was forced to subsequently open the country to tourism in order to avoid bankruptcy. Two structural engineers, Carlos Fernandez Casado and Javier Manterola played a key role in the development of Torres Blancas. The particular case of Torres Blancas illustrates the dependence of new technologies in concrete construction on the craftsmanship and ingeniousness of experienced formwork carpenters, steel fixers and concrete finishers. This interplay between technological effectiveness and artisanal inventiveness is, inherent to the nature of concrete.
