Two years ago, I worked on a project in collaboration with the residents of a village in southern Spain, Llanos del Sotillo, the architecture of which is based on a radical mid-1950s design. The houses and streets are spread over a four-by-four metre graticule and seem to constitute a large sole building.

The project gave rise to a film titled ‘Behind the eucalyptus trees’, in reference to the greenery surrounding the village. These trees are just as much of a mystery as the architecture of the houses assigned by the Francoist regime. When the residents were asked about the village’s unique, unusual design, their interpretations showed how vacuums of institutional information turned into fertile ground for speculation. Architecture became a metaphor for the residents themselves as a community. It was at the origins of a story created by the popular imaginary that enabled locals to soften and resist the harshness of an official imposition.