Name/Title
Arte de proyectar en arquitectura, by Ernst Neufert (Edición Revolucionaria), Sixth Reprint, 1987Entry/Object ID
2026.9.2Description
A large hardcover reference book bound in red leatherette over boards, the front cover stamped in black with the title "Arte de proyectar en arquitectura" and author "Ernst Neufert." This is the Cuban licensed reprint of the Spanish-language edition of Neufert's classic architectural data handbook (originally Bauentwurfslehre), issued by Edición Revolucionaria of the Instituto Cubano del Libro. The title page repeats the author and title with the full descriptive subtitle: "Fundamentos, Normas y Prescripciones sobre Construcción, Instalaciones, Distribución y Programas de necesidades, Dimensiones de edificios, locales y utensilios," and bears the Edición Revolucionaria "eR" device.
The verso/copyright leaf records the Cuban reprint history — "Tercera reimpresión, 1977; Cuarta reimpresión, 1981; Quinta reimpresión, 1985; Sexta reimpresión, 1987" — identifying this copy as the sixth reprint of 1987 (the latest listed). It further states that the edition was made under special license: "La presente edición se realiza en virtud de la licencia especial No. 314 de 8 de diciembre de 1986, otorgada por el Centro Nacional de Derecho de Autor, de conformidad con lo dispuesto en el Artículo 37 de la Ley No. 14 de Derecho de Autor de 28 de diciembre de 1977," with the registration code "SNLC: RF 01.30060.1." The facing page carries a "NOTA A LA EDICIÓN CUBANA" signed by the "Departamento de Arquitectura / Facultad de Construcciones," which frames Neufert's significance: it presents "el Neufert" as the most enduring reference work in the field, situates the author within the 1920s German generation that initiated modern architecture, praises the book's rigor on minimum dimensioning, standardization, and spatial optimization, and notes — with a characteristic ideological caveat — that the inclusion of some architectural programs inapplicable to Cuban circumstances does not diminish the book's usefulness. The interior shows significant foxing throughout.Context
Belonged to Mariela Payán, who used while studying Architecture in Havana and brought them with her when she left the country.Collection
Mariela Payan collectionInscription/Signature/Marks
Notes
Front cover, stamped: "Arte de proyectar en arquitectura / Ernst Neufert."
Title page: author, title, full subtitle; "eR" Edición Revolucionaria device.
Copyright leaf: reprint history (1977, 1981, 1985, 1987); special-license statement (Licencia No. 314, 8 December 1986; Ley No. 14, 1977); "SNLC: RF 01.30060.1."
Facing leaf: "NOTA A LA EDICIÓN CUBANA," signed "Departamento de Arquitectura / Facultad de Construcciones."
No handwritten owner's marks or stamps visible in the images provided.Parts
Single bound volume (large format; original Gustavo Gili editions of this period run ~447 pp., approx. 30 cm tall).Book Details
Author
Ernst NeufertPlace Published
City
HavanaCountry
CubaRegion
Caribbean, Central AmericaDate Published
1987Notes
Maker/Attribution: Original author Ernst Neufert (German architect, 1900–1986). Spanish-language work originally published by Editorial Gustavo Gili, Barcelona. This reprint: Edición Revolucionaria, Instituto Cubano del Libro, Havana, for the Departamento de Arquitectura, Facultad de Construcciones.
Date: Sixth reprint (Sexta reimpresión), 1987; under license dated December 8, 1986. (Original work: Bauentwurfslehre, first German ed. 1936; first Spanish ed. Gustavo Gili, 1942/1958.)
Place: Havana, Cuba.
Edition: Cuban licensed reprint, sixth reprint (1987), in the sequence beginning with the third reprint of 1977.Relationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Mariela PayanNotes
ownerRelated Places
Place
City
HavanaCountry
CubaRegion
Caribbean, Central AmericaNotes
print, usePlace
State/Province
New JerseyCountry
U.S.A.Continent
North AmericaNotes
useResearch Notes
Notes
This volume documents the Cuban state's reproduction of an essential foreign technical reference for the training of architects and construction professionals. Unlike the unlicensed Edición Revolucionaria reprints of the 1960s–early 1970s (which sidestepped reproduction rights entirely), this 1987 printing was issued under a formal special license granted by Cuba's Centro Nacional de Derecho de Autor under the 1977 Copyright Law (Ley No. 14) — reflecting the more regularized copyright framework Cuba had developed by the 1980s. The book was prepared for university use, as indicated by the note signed by the Department of Architecture, Faculty of Construction. Neufert's handbook — continuously updated and translated worldwide since its first German edition of 1936 — was the standard dimensional reference for generations of architects internationally, and its sustained reprinting in Cuba demonstrates the centrality of this canonical Western technical text within Cuban architectural education throughout the revolutionary period. The introductory note's framing of Neufert within a Marshall-inflected narrative of modern architecture's social mission illustrates how imported technical knowledge was ideologically contextualized for Cuban students.Notes
The original is Ernst Neufert, Bauentwurfslehre (first German edition 1936), published in Spanish as Arte de proyectar en arquitectura by Editorial Gustavo Gili, Barcelona (first Spanish edition 1942/1958, with many subsequent editions). The Gustavo Gili Spanish edition is the basis for this Cuban reprint.
This copy is specifically the sixth reprint (1987), the most recent printing named in the copyright leaf; the reprint series shown began with the third reprint (1977), implying earlier Cuban first/second reprints not listed here.Created By
María A. Cabrera ArúsCreate Date
June 22, 2026Updated By
María A. Cabrera ArúsUpdate Date
June 22, 2026
