Roland Castro


Roland Castro is a French architect and political activist.

Biography

Roland Castro was born on 16 October 1940 in Limoges.
By the end of 1966 he was a member of the editorial committee of Melp!, the École Normale Supérieure student association's review, along with Jacques Barda, Hubert Tonka, Pierre Granveaud and Antoine Grumbach.
Melp! helped to articulate the dissatisfaction of students in the lead-up to the protests of 1968.
His thinking integrates political ideas with urban architecture.
He belongs to the concrete utopia movement, which he describes as "an attempt to rebuild and renovate politics around revolutionary values."
He is also the father of Elizabeth Castro, alias Zazon, comedian and actress.
From 2008 to 2009, Roland Castro was appointed by the President of the Republic to lead a multidisciplinary team on the future of Greater Paris.
He argues for the implementation of symbolic high places of the republic and of culture, and to restore intensity and beauty to the "suburbs".

Architectural accomplishments

Roland Castro has had a political career in various left movements:
The concrete utopia movement is a political movement created by Roland Castro and others in 2003. This movement defends "89 proposals to restore social bonds", without revolution transforming society towards more republican equality and justice. These proposals have arisen from the reflection of Roland Castro and his desire to advance "concrete utopias" and is "evolutionary" to give new meaning to politics. In August 2006, he toured from Saint-Tropez to Sarcelles by bus to promote the 89 proposals of the MUC. The candidacy of its leader to the presidential election of 2007 did not succeed. On 12 March 2007 he withdrew due to lack of adequate sponsorship.