Donald Gray, in memoriam
Originally from Australia, he arrived in Spain in 1959, falling in love in a few years with its places and its people. Since then he has not stopped painting, measuring, analyzing and drawing his landscapes, his villages, his architectures and even his smallest details, becoming the greatest expert in architecture and urbanism more typical of Andalusia.
He always wanted to learn from the best masters: the craftspeople, and ended up training some of the best who still practice a good number of trades, thanks to the Escuela de Oficios that he founded in Lebrija.
From the 60s he began to design and build the most beautiful urban complexes that have been built in recent decades. From his natural talent and strong principles arose places as famous, attractive and demanded as Pueblo López, in Fuengirola, the Nuevo Pueblo de Mijas, or the complexes of La Virginia and Las Lomas del Marbella Club.
When the mass tourism and the serial, foreign and anodyne constructions that brought with them razed the places that attracted him to those coasts, he took refuge in the still well preserved villages of La Alpujarra granadina. Keeping watch over its preservation and never ceasing to add beautiful buildings in harmony with the tradition of these remote valleys, Gray has continued to work tirelessly until the last day. Works such as the Town Hall of Pitres, the Prado Toro Hotel and many private residences have been carried out throughout the region.
His inexhaustible curiosity and his iron commitment to continue discovering and teaching the essence of our land have been immortalized in his extensive work built, which will always serve as inspiration to future generations of architects.