Stays 2020: Mudetrad, vernacular architecture trails in Mudejar villages

The project raises the importance of knowledge and appreciation of the local traditional architecture in order to guarantee its protection. Its understanding and appreciation by users avoids its replacement by new buildings and encourages the development of activities aimed at its conservation. The projection of this architecture outside the municipality reinforces its appreciation by the local population and contributes to linking territories with nearby circumstances. For this preservation to take place in a compatible way, it is essential to provide owners with alternative techniques to the use of generic industrial materials which, like hollow brick or cement, do not correspond to the nature and character of traditional buildings. In this sense, the work of local craftsmen who are knowledgeable about traditional building techniques is key to bridging the gap between conservation theory and their day-to-day reality.

The work previously carried out in zone 1 has allowed the extensive study of the construction techniques present in the local traditional architecture, the analysis of the dynamics of intervention that affect it and the identification of craftsmen and construction professionals present in the area. The results have made it possible to identify a series of needs and opportunities:

  • In general, there is a low appreciation of traditional architecture and a general lack of knowledge of traditional building techniques. This often leads to the systematic elimination of historical elements and their replacement by industrialised solutions that are often hidden behind a stereotypical rustic finish.
  • At the start of projects, developers are often unaware of urban planning regulations and current heritage legislation, as well as the architectural requirements established by the administration to obtain a certificate of occupancy in the case of dwellings or an opening licence in the case of businesses.
  • There are recurrent prejudices that favour replacement over repair and claim that restoring a building is more expensive than renovating it. This belief has little basis in fact, as the higher unit cost of restoration work is usually compensated by a smaller volume of work.

Based on the research and diagnostic work carried out to date, this project aims to develop tools and implement a programme of training and awareness-raising actions to help address the needs identified. In doing so, it aims to meet the following general objectives:

  1. To contribute to the valuation of traditional architecture in the area of influence of Aragonese Mudejar art, promoting the perception of the construction techniques present as solvent and sustainable systems, and of the buildings constructed with them as a valuable cultural heritage that must be preserved and protected.
  2. To highlight the work of construction craftsmen and contribute to an increase in the demand for craft trades, in order to facilitate the survival of the local construction culture and encourage the use of traditional construction techniques in interventions on the vernacular heritage.
  3. To promote the conservation, restoration and compatible rehabilitation of traditional architecture and encourage the regeneration of rural areas through their heritage, proposing alternative uses beyond the tourist sector and offering tools that allow the development of interventions that are compatible and respectful of the local cultural identity.

On the basis of these general objectives, it is possible to propose a series of specific objectives that this work aims to achieve:

  1. Helping developers to improve the compatibility of interventions in traditional architecture by developing accessible and user-friendly tools and offering personalised technical advice.
  2. Encourage the supply and demand of traditional trades, making visible the virtues and the real cost of these techniques and contributing to the formation of a professional network of territorial scope. Vernacular architecture in the Mudejar villages in the south of Zaragoza: Tools and networks for adaptive re-use and compatible intervention.
  3. Improve local communities’ knowledge of the area’s traditional architecture and reduce the perception of its conservation as wasteful. This objective will be developed through direct and indirect actions of dissemination and social participation.
  4. To project the vernacular heritage of the region and generate connections with other territories, making this traditional architecture visible and sharing experiences and resources with regions with similar problems.

LINE OF RESEARCH: Mudejar territory and cultural landscape; cultural heritage management.

AUTHORS: F. Javier Gómez Patrocinio Laura Villacampa Crespo

More information at: www.estancias2020mudetrad.territoriomudejar.es

Stays 2020: Mudejar plaster, an element of identity, knowledge and future opportunities

The project Mudéjar plaster, an element of identity, knowledge and opportunities for the future has had a broad scope with the aim of facilitating knowledge for a compatible intervention in the traditional architecture of Mudéjar villages.

The objectives have been, on the one hand, to disseminate the true role of plaster in traditional Aragonese architecture, carrying out a study and quantification of the construction systems and techniques carried out with traditional plaster in the villages of the Mudejar territory, both in popular architecture and in monumental architecture. And secondly, to study the composition of a plaster that can be manufactured nowadays and that preserves the legacy received, allowing the reactivation of some of the quarries studied and fixing the population in the rural environment, for its reintroduction in contemporary architecture or for restoration and rehabilitation; including the analysis of its economic, social and sustainable viability, returning it to some of the uses it had in the past.

The municipalities that took part in this study were Aniñón, Borja, Calatayud, Daroca, Fuentes de Ebro, La Almunia de Doña Godina, Maluenda, Quinto de Ebro, Ricla, San Mateo de Gállego, Tauste, Terrer, Tobed, Villa de Jiloca, Villafeliche, Villamayor de Gállego and Zuera.

During the study of these municipalities, the construction typologies executed with traditional plaster in old and recent constructions have been identified, locating major aspects that coincide between the municipalities in the versatility of the use of plaster, both in interior cladding, façade applications, exterior decorations, flooring and structural elements until the great change that construction underwent between 1950-1970 with the arrival of modern materials, relegating traditional materials to oblivion.

Mineralogical studies of Mudéjar plaster have revealed the presence of hydraulic phases in Mudéjar plaster (which was fired at very high temperatures), making these plasters much more resistant to stress than modern plasters, which are fired at very low temperatures.

With this contribution of knowledge about this traditional material, the importance of preserving the legacy and knowledge of making Mudejar plaster, a process that remained unchanged until the mid-20th century when the link of knowledge passed down and refined over many generations was broken.

LINE OF RESEARCH: New Perspectives

AUTHORS:

Project coordinator: Pedro Bel Anzué. Environmental Architecture.

Principal Investigators: Marta Monzón Chavarrías (University of Zaragoza), Kerstin Elert (University of Granada), José Manuel López Osorio (University of Málaga), David Sanz Arauz (Polytechnic University of Madrid).

Advisors linked to the project: Ramón Rubio Domene (Alhambra, Granada) and Antonio Almagro Gorbea (Escuela de Estudios Árabes-CSIC).

Stays 2020: Mudejar heritage and agricultural calendar: the poetics of landscape. Design and programming of pilot experiences for visits during the seasons of the year.

The Mudejar heritage and agrarian calendar project aims to complement the current cultural programming in the territory by designing, creating and evaluating events in which this is of special importance. In this way, it allows not only direct contact with it for those who visit it, but also the interpretation of the agricultural landscape as an irreplaceable piece of identity. This also makes it possible to involve the local communities by highlighting the work on the land and the traditional agricultural product. With Aragonese Mudejar art as the guiding thread and with the agricultural landscape and traditional agricultural activities as the thematic criterion for the actions, the agricultural calendar is the backbone that allows the activities to be developed in an orderly manner and with a reasoned criterion.

In this first phase, the project has focused on diagnosing needs and interpreting the work area with a methodology that includes participant observation to identify the possibilities of linkage and the spatial and temporal articulation between the agrarian and architectural heritage assets and the agrarian calendar. This has made it possible – conditioned by the pandemic that has restricted mobility and access to certain localities at specific times when it was sometimes imperative due to the agricultural calendar (flowering, harvesting, etc.) – to know and understand the possible variables of action depending on the areas worked on.

These spaces are unique due to their differences in cultivation and the resulting landscape within the territory, which have so far been determined in a remarkable way with regard to the valleys that make up the Mudéjar Territory area by means of field trips and the production of materials in situ in the Jalón valley (Ricla, La Almunia de Doña Godina and Cabañas), the Ribota valley (Aniñón, Torralba de Ribota and Cervera de la Cañada) and the Huerva valley (Villar de los Navarros and Romanos). Finally, mention should be made of the Jalón-Jiloca valley with the towns of Maluenda, Morata de Jiloca and Villafeliche. Another of the areas analysed, in this case from an exclusively documentary perspective as a way of partially resolving the shortcomings caused by the interruptions in fieldwork mentioned above, was the Huerva valley. In this way, the localities of Cosuenda and Longares were the main object of the bibliographical data collection.

On the basis of this work and the adjustment of future work, especially organised with a view to resolving possible mobility restrictions, the actions aimed at testing and evaluating the first en route projects planned, which are aimed at promoting public access, interpretation and enjoyment of the Mudejar cultural landscape, made up of values such as its architecture, the different areas of agricultural production and the seasonal processes inherent to human activity in them, will now be derived from this work. Likewise, dissemination through Territorio Mudéjar, aimed at a better understanding of the importance of the agricultural landscape as an asset and part of the community, has been rethought from the perspective of anticipation in order to achieve a greater presence in the networks than has been achieved to date due to the current socio-health circumstances.

LINE OF RESEARCH: it can be framed within the double line of research Mudejar Territory and cultural landscape and the management of cultural heritage.

THE AUTHORS:

  • Juan Ignacio Santos Rodríguez, coordinator of the project, holds a PhD in Art History and is a specialist in cultural management.
  • Elvira del Pilar Domínguez Castro has a degree in Art History and is an independent cultural manager.
 

Stays 2020: New models of cultural management and funding for restoration projects of Mudejar civil-monumental buildings in the province of Zaragoza

Taking as a starting point the previous research work of this team Study of Mudejar civil architecture in the regions of Borja, Aranda, Calatayud and Daroca and its efficient management, this new research project, entitled New models of Cultural Management and Financing for restoration projects of Mudejar civil-monumental buildings in the province of Zaragoza, seeks to expand on what has already been studied and develop a preliminary project focused on the practical part.

The core of the work has focused on the house-palace of the Luna family in Daroca, a Mudejar civil building in which Don Pedro de Luna, better known as “Papa Luna”, lived. This building is now in disuse. This research seeks a functional solution for this building that justifies its restoration, respecting its original structure and distribution as far as possible, extending its use over time and allowing it to be a self-sufficient, self-financing and useful building.

After the work of study, research, fieldwork, various proposals and meetings with the Fundación Campo de Daroca (owner of most of the building), the town council of Daroca, and the architect-visitor Javier Ibargüen, the proposal to convert this emblematic building into the new archive-library of the regional capital was accepted. With this decision, the objectives of conservation, utility and self-sufficiency were achieved. The original structure and layout would be maintained, as the available space was more than sufficient, cultural purposes would be promoted as an attraction for the region and, in addition, employment would be created, as cultural activities would be carried out in the centre itself.

In order to carry out this mission, a working methodology has been developed that will address it in several phases:

  1. Study of the building and development of a master plan to verify the needs of the building for its restoration and adaptation to the management project that was decided to be carried out on it. This work was done in collaboration with the architect Javier Ibargüen, and on the basis of the previous studies he had already carried out on the palace.
  2. Study of the possibilities that the building offered for its second life, trying to respect as much as possible its original structure and distribution. The study was carried out in collaboration with the Campo de Daroca Foundation and the local town council. In order to make the best possible decision, the management of this use and the benefits that would be obtained through it were assessed.
  3. Development of the final draft project and calculation of the budget for the work, for which a search for different sources of funding would be sought.
  4. Finally, with the support of public and/or private entities, workers would be hired to carry out the restoration work and those required by the new function of the building.

The work objectives were always twofold: the study of the building and its architectural characteristics and the search for appropriate uses, linked to the historical-cultural interest, and its good management, always pointing out self-sufficiency and self-financing as the main aims, as well as its continued use over time, trying to respect the original structure and distribution.

LINE OF RESEARCH: (3 Cultural heritage management.

AUTHORS:

  • Marta López Veamonte, art historian.
  • Ricardo Monreal Lafuente, art historian.
 

Rooms 2020: Loqui Walls. The walls speak. Podcast to give voice to the territory

The research stay Loqui Walls. The walls speak. Podcast to give voice to the territory has proposed the creation of a communication project of the Mudejar territory through a series of thematic podcasts that promote, encourage and complement the visit to the territory.

The starting hypothesis was that the combination of the unstoppable and undeniable use of mobile technologies with the current health situation meant that some localities needed to be reoriented towards a more autonomous and spaced tourism, both in terms of physical distance and time, so a priori this methodology seemed to be the right one to be able to provide service to travellers at any time of the day and, above all, any day of the week.

These podcasts are in no way intended to replace the experience of a guided tour in situ by a specialist, but given that these are generally limited to the main monuments, they are intended to complement and enrich both the prior preparation and the subsequent experience, proposing a series of routes through the territory and additional information about the localities and the possible activities to be carried out in them or in other nearby places.

To this end, a first phase of research was carried out in collaboration with the internship students of the Desafío Programme, in which four possible thematic axes were identified for structuring the first podcasts, which also served as a pilot for the project.

  1. The birth of Mudejar
  2. The keys to the Mudejar style
  3. Mixed race and border
  4. World Heritage

The idea has been to develop the podcast channel under these three objectives:

  • As an enhancer of “derived” visits. That is to say, that through this medium, localities that receive fewer visitors can acquire greater visibility by offering themselves as a complement to visits to other towns that today have a more developed tourist infrastructure.
  • As a complement to other visits already underway within the same locality and whose effectiveness has been proven. To be able to work along the lines of complementarity within the same locality and increase the number of places visited and the time spent in the localities.
  • Proposing routes between nearby locations, thus creating a network between places with similar communication needs that can benefit synergistically.

In the testing and corrections phase during its implementation, an active collaboration of the inhabitants of the territory was foreseen, but the current health situation has led to transfer part of this work to online formats, with some activities pending that will be carried out as soon as the situation allows.

The fundamental objective has been that this research work and its subsequent implementation, available both through the Territorio Mudéjar website and through different commercial channels, should serve not only to activate this specific initiative, but also to create guidelines that, based on the previous research, the pilot implementation and its start-up, testing, corrections, etc. (which are a fundamental phase of this stay), constitute a reference both in terms of content and at a technical level that can be used in the rest of the towns and villages in the territory. The objective is to promote this communication system which, at the moment, seems to be a possible way of developing sustainable tourism with possibilities for the future.

In this sense, a technical guide has been produced that explains how to convert audio files, how to add metadata to podcasts to facilitate their location in different repositories, how to analyse the commercial platforms available on the market, and how to create guidelines for text style, length and content architecture, to allow for proper voiceover, dissemination and understanding of the content.

RESEARCH LINE: Corresponds to the lines of cultural heritage management and communication and dissemination.

THE AUTHORS:

  • Gianluca Vita, Politecnico di Milano.
  • Irene Ruiz, Politecnico di Torino and University of Zaragoza.
  • Marco Marcellini, expert in new technologies.

More information in:
www.territoriomudejar.es/podcast/

Estancias 2020: Mudejar woodwork. Guide to historic woodwork in the towns of Territorio Mudéjar.

The Mudéjar Wood project presents an online video-publication as an exhaustive guide to all the manifestations of historic carpentry located in the towns of Mudéjar Territory.

The research stay began with a visit to the twelve localities with Mudejar carpentry works: Torralba de Ribota, Tobed, Cervera de la Cañada, Maluenda, Mesones de Isuela, La Almunia, Calatayud, Daroca, Illueca, Aniñón, Alagón and Borja. In this first phase of fieldwork, each of the pieces was examined in depth by Ángel María Martín (Avila, 1963), a professional with more than 20 years of experience in the world of Spanish historical carpentry in the fields of restoration, new works and training.

In a second phase, explanatory videos were made on the technical and stylistic characteristics of the works and photographs were taken to illustrate the online publication. Subsequently, the edition was completed with documentation and research work in the bibliography and archives on the historical trajectory of each work, from its construction to the present day, including the different restoration and conservation processes. Finally, a glossary of key terms in architecture and historical carpentry has been compiled to make it easier to follow the explanations.

The aim of the stay and the resulting publication has been to communicate and highlight the artistic manifestations in wood, authentic hidden gems of Aragonese Mudejar art. Data on Mudejar heritage has been updated and knowledge of the traditional techniques of Mudejar carpentry has been promoted from a structural, constructive and stylistic point of view, in each of the typologies analysed: alfarjes, a ceiling with a framework of limes, two doors and a carrillón.

The project closes with three reflections that seem to us to be unquestionable:

  • Firstly, that despite the progress made and the extraordinary achievements of the last few decades, there is still a need to continue with the task of disseminating and enhancing the value of Aragon’s Mudejar heritage, contributing to its protection and conservation.
  • It is noted that in rural areas, far from large population centres, it is increasingly difficult to understand and value cultural heritage.
  • That wood, along with brick, ceramics and plaster, was also a material used in Aragonese Mudejar art is demonstrated by the valuable examples of its application in a good number of towns in the Mudejar Territory.

LINE OF RESEARCH: (4) Communication and dissemination of Mudejar heritage

AUTHORS: The project team consisted of Myriam Monterde and José Manuel Herraiz, as coordinators; Ángel María Martín, specialist in historical carpentry; Sara Gimeno as documentalist and Emilio Gazo as assistant video and photography technician.

More info: www.estancias2020maderamudejar.territoriomudejar.es/

5 research stays and 1 runner-up awarded for study, resource management and project development in partner localities

Territorio Mudéjar, the network of 34 municipalities promoted by the Diputación de Zaragoza that works to conserve and promote Mudejar art in the province, has awarded 5 research stays and one runner-up for the study, development of projects and management of the natural and heritage resources of its member towns.

This is the second call for these stays, named after Gonzalo M. Borrás Gualis as a tribute to the distinguished professor and expert on the Mudejar. Each of them is endowed with 6,000 euros and will allow the development of responsible, sustainable and innovative research projects with a direct impact on the rural environment and that favour its visibility and knowledge.

This edition has been characterised by the high level of the proposals, which include multidisciplinary teams of researchers from different Spanish and Italian countries, with the advice of prestigious experts. The selected projects will allow the development of projects in areas such as the recovery of building materials such as Mudejar plaster, the conservation of traditional architecture, the design of visits that combine the agricultural calendar and Mudejar heritage, the creation of a podcast channel of Territorio Mudéjar, a guide to the historical carpentry of our villages and the study of new models of cultural management of Mudejar civil architecture.

The aim of these stays is to promote knowledge of the rural territory from its Mudejar identity through innovative approaches that have a positive impact on the villages and promote a network of work on the possibilities offered by the resources of the territory and collaborative and interdisciplinary work. In addition, specifically, the aim is to improve knowledge of the Mudejar as a World Heritage Site and the benefits it brings as an international brand recognised by Unesco.

The selected projects are framed within five lines of research: new perspectives on Mudejar art, Mudejar territory and cultural landscape, cultural heritage management, communication and dissemination of Mudejar heritage and Mudejar heritage and its social function as a key element of territorial development.

The projects one by one

1-“Mudejar plaster, an element of identity, knowledge and future opportunities”.

Traditional plaster is a key material in Mudejar architecture and is used in monumental and popular architecture, but it is largely unknown, as it is often misidentified and confused with lime-based materials. In the 2019 research stay, the architect Pedro Bel exhaustively documented the manufacturing process of traditional plaster in 16 municipalities and drew attention to the difficulties of rehabilitating plaster constructions due to the lack of compatible materials. With the 2020 research stay, he is looking for solutions to the conservation limitations of traditional plaster with ambitious objectives: to learn more about this material, to disseminate its role in traditional Aragonese architecture and to develop a plaster that can be manufactured today and that preserves the legacy it has received. In this way, it aims to reactivate the quarries, to obtain a material compatible with Mudejar plaster for restoration and rehabilitation and to reintroduce it in contemporary architecture.

This project has a strong team of researchers from the universities of Zaragoza, Granada, Malaga and the Polytechnic of Madrid and high-level advisors such as Ramón Rubio Domene, head of the tiled plasterwork restoration workshop of the Patronato de La Alhambra, and Antonio Almagro Gorbea, member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando.

2-“Vernacular architecture in Mudejar villages: tools and networks for adaptive re-use and compatible intervention”.

In addition to monuments of great historical and artistic value, the towns and villages of Mudejar Territory have a more humble architecture, but of great social and ethnological value, integrated into the environment and reflecting the cultural identity of the area. The proper conservation and enhancement of this traditional architecture can be the starting point for economic regeneration based on the use of heritage sites by private individuals, which can increase the attractiveness and competitiveness of historic towns. To this end, it is necessary to balance the conservation of architectural heritage and socio-economic development.

Javier Gómez Patrocinio, PhD in architecture from the University of Valencia, studied the construction techniques and intervention dynamics prevailing in Territorio Mudéjar during his 2019 stay. Now, he is continuing his research and plans to design and implement tools to raise awareness among local communities about the value of vernacular architecture and the importance of its preservation in order to help developers improve the compatibility of interventions on traditional buildings.

More info:
www.estancias2020mudetrad.territoriomudejar.es/

3-“Mudejar heritage and agricultural calendar: The poetics of the landscape. Design and programming of pilot experiences for visits during the seasons of the year”.

Agricultural heritage, considered as a cultural asset and understood in a similar way to intangible heritage, is a reference point for identity and a unique and irreplaceable part of the landscape in which it is framed. With this research stay, the art historians Juan Ignacio Santos Rodríguez and Elvira del Pilar Domínguez Castro will diagnose the degree of representativeness and typology of this heritage, as well as its characterisation and capacity to generate new heritage resources linked to both the agricultural calendar and the Mudejar heritage. The aim is to design a plan of activities that link the agricultural heritage with Mudejar architecture, which is the result of this landscape, and which are linked to the agricultural calendar.

It also includes pilot itinerary tests in order to show the undeniable and unique symbiosis between the land, agricultural production and the materials of the environment with Mudejar architecture and decoration, as well as to strengthen the emotional link of the population with the land, its agricultural economic activity and its products.

4-“Loqui Walls. The walls speak. Podcast to give voice to the territory”.

This communication project consists of the creation of a podcast channel for Territorio Mudéjar to encourage and complement visits to the monuments in our towns. The traveller will be able to listen to these podcasts through mobile technologies at any time of the day or week, which allows us to respond to the needs of sustainable and small-scale tourism.

The content of the podcasts will not replace the experience of visiting the main monument, which should always be explained in situ by a specialist, but will complement it with proposals for tours of the territory that will enhance visits between localities, with additional information about the locality that will complement existing visits, and with suggestions for activities that can be carried out in the area. The project will also help to consolidate the idea of Mudejar culture beyond the monumental. The proposal will be developed by a team formed by Gianluca Vita (Politecnico di Milano), Irene Ruiz (Politecnico di Torino and University of Zaragoza) and the expert in new technologies Marco Marcellini.

More information in:
www.territoriomudejar.es/podcast/

5-“Mudejar wood. Guide to historic carpentry in the towns of Territorio Mudéjar”.

This research project is part of the area of new perspectives on Mudéjar art and aims to promote knowledge and appreciation of the manifestations of Mudéjar art made in wood to the fullest extent: ceilings (alfarjes and file frames), doors, windows, eaves, choirs, organ bases, choir stalls, choir stalls, carillons… It will consist of creating a specialised online publication containing an inventory of the works with descriptions, status and images. It will also include texts by specialists on the techniques and fundamentals of Mudéjar carpentry, a complete bibliography on the subject and special chapters on the most important works of historical carpentry in Territorio Mudéjar.

Myriam Monterde, a professional in cultural management and museology, and José Manuel Herraiz, an audiovisual producer and scriptwriter specialising in the historical and cultural genre, are in charge of developing this research.

More info: www.estancias2020maderamudejar.territoriomudejar.es/

6-Accesit: “New models of cultural management and financing for restoration projects of historic-monumental Mudejar civil buildings in the province of Zaragoza”.

Territorio Mudéjar has awarded a second prize to a research project on Mudéjar civil architecture. The art historians Ricardo Monreal Lafuente and Marta López Veamonte are responsible for this initiative with which they will continue a process of research and data collection begun in 2019. The aim of this work was to obtain current and technologically advanced material on the civil architecture of the Mudejar Territory that preserves Mudejar elements and to document the management model of these buildings. The current 2020 phase will consist of specific work on one of the most important civil spaces in our territory, the Palacio de los Luna de Daroca. Its development will entail defining a working model for this type of Mudejar architecture as well as the analysis of new models for the management of historical-artistic heritage that will allow these buildings to be put to use, thus contributing to their sustainability, their social function and their incorporation into the life of the towns. It will also address how to finance restoration projects for these buildings.

Deadline for submission of proposals for research stays extended until 29 June

Territorio Mudéjar is extending the deadline for submitting proposals for the call for five research stays for the study and management of the heritage and natural resources of its villages until Monday 29 June due to the high number of enquiries received in recent days. This is the second edition of these stays, which bear the name of Gonzalo M. Borrás Gualis in homage to the distinguished professor and expert in Mudejar art who died last year. Each of the grants is endowed with 6,000 euros and all of them will be aimed at developing responsible, sustainable and innovative projects that have a direct impact on the rural environment and that favour its visibility and knowledge. Territorio Mudéjar is an initiative promoted by the Diputación de Zaragoza that brings together 34 municipalities to conserve and promote Mudejar art in the province.

Interested parties can submit their ideas until 29 June 2020 at 23.59 pm (CET). Both novice and mid-career researchers and professionals in heritage management with innovative territorial work or projects that also consider responsible and sustainable uses of local resources are eligible to apply. It will also be essential that they contemplate and justify the permanence for a certain period of time in one or more localities of Territorio Mudéjar. Proposals may be in an initial phase, under development, being tested or being implemented, and must demonstrate the direct impact on at least three associated municipalities, as well as their influence on the rest of the territory.

Applicants may apply as individuals or as a research group; they may be at an initial or intermediate stage of their research career or professional activity; and they must provide proof of higher education related to the areas covered by the call and a minimum of two years of research or professional experience, whether paid or unpaid. However, the professional career may be replaced by a master’s degree in areas related to cultural heritage.

With this second call for Gonzalo Borrás Gualis research stays and projects, Territorio Mudéjar has set itself the objective of promoting knowledge of the rural territory from its Mudejar identity through innovative approaches that have a positive impact on the villages and that promote a network of work on the possibilities offered by the resources of the territory and collaborative and interdisciplinary work. It also aims to create dynamics of social participation in the field of heritage. Furthermore, the specific aim is to improve knowledge of the Mudejar as a World Heritage Site and the benefits it brings as an international brand recognised by Unesco.

Five different lines of research

The first of the five areas on which the projects submitted to the call for proposals may focus is New perspectives on Mudejar art, which includes updating data on this heritage in terms of monuments, urban, ethnographic and linguistic aspects, as well as technical languages applied to this style. Geolocation and cartographies are also included, as well as other aspects that allow the scientific base on this artistic style to be broadened.

A second line of research is Mudejar Territory and cultural landscape. It will assess the action of people on heritage resources, social and natural contexts and the interaction and relationship between landscape and monumentality.

The management of cultural heritage is the third area of action, which encompasses new models of uses in heritage management other than tourism or leisure. It also includes studies of physical, economic or intellectual accessibility, as well as future ideas for conservation and intervention in heritage.

New media discourses and knowledge or information for a general public will be the subject of the proposals in Communication and dissemination of Mudejar heritage.

Finally, in Mudejar Heritage and its social function as a key element of territorial development, projects related to social participation in the enhancement and collective construction of new forms of learning, intergenerational experiences, or emotional ties and roots as a basis for the protection and management of heritage will be considered.

Basis of the call: https://www.territoriomudejar.es/estancias-de-investigacion-y-proyectos-2020/

Countdown to the second call for research stays in Territorio Mudéjar

If you have an idea and a Mudéjar Territory place where to develop it, we are already offering you a preview of the 2nd call for the Gonzalo M. Borrás Gualis Research Stays and Projects 2020, which will open its deadline for applications on the 10th. In the meantime, we have prepared a summary of the key aspects we are looking for in the proposals and a major update of the contents of our website, with a summary of the results of the 2019 call in the projects section, as well as an overview of the localities that make up our entity.

If you need guidance on what kind of proposals you can put forward, from today, our 2019 resident researchers will be explaining their proposals and results through our Facebook, Instagram and YouTube channels.

In addition, an explanatory video is available from the director of Territorio Mudéjar, Victoria Trasobares, on the characteristics of these grants, the requirements and the five lines of research: New perspectives on Mudejar art; Mudejar Territory and cultural landscape; Management of cultural heritage; Communication and dissemination of Mudejar heritage, and Mudejar heritage and its social function as a key element of territorial development. At the end of May we will also open live forums for the resolution of doubts.

Soon we will tell you the details of the call and we will inform you about all the news. We hope you will participate and we will see you at Territorio Mudéjar!

You can find us at

YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNlRwwS3qWi6qmHcEa6UQxQ?view_as=subscriber

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/proyectoterritoriomudejar/

INSTAGRAM: @territoriomudejar

LINKEDIN:@territoriomudejar (company profile)

RULES CALL FOR PROPOSALS: Research stays and projects 2020

2nd Call for Research Stays and Projects Gonzalo M. Borrás Gualis

Territorio Mudéjar announces the second edition of the Gonzalo M. Borrás Gualis research stays and projects aimed at directly supporting the work of researchers and project promoters who want to work on the development of villages based on the responsible and sustainable use of cultural and natural heritage resources.

Territorio Mudéjar was created as an association of town councils, currently thirty-two, whose objective is to consolidate a unified and collaborative management network for the use of the historical-artistic resources linked to the important Mudejar heritage, understanding them as a driving force for the development of the villages and as an element of identity for the maintenance of the communities that make up our territory. Our action plan for the next few years has been designed in accordance with the strategic lines defined by the “Council of the European Union’s Work Plan 2019-2022” which, aligned to the objectives of the Agenda 2030, have as a guiding principle that “the cultural identity of territories will contribute to sustainable social and economic development by differentiating markets and in turn enabling their integration into a diversified economy that can ensure their future success”.

The projects carried out in 2019 have strengthened one of our most important lines of work based on the development of actions that promote the retention and attraction of talent, actions aimed at building highly qualified professional networks linked to the use of historical-artistic and cultural resources, contributing to medium and long-term territorial development.

Dedicated to Professor Gonzalo M. Borrás Gualis, a staunch defender of the management of Aragonese heritage and of the territory, as an action of the people and as an innovative field of work full of future. His work exemplified with perfect coherence the possibility of combining research work of high scientific impact with a commitment to the land and its people. of high scientific impact with a commitment to the land and its people, not only favouring the knowledge, conservation and dissemination of its historical-artistic heritage, but also by modernising work processes and by proposing innovative innovation projects in which natural, cultural and heritage resources are a key element in the future of the towns.

Basis

1/ Subject matter and scope

The purpose of this call for proposals is to award FIVE grants to researchers and professionals in the field of cultural and natural heritage management for the development of a highly innovative research or territorial project within one of the fields of activity or area of work specified below.

Proposals may address zero or preparatory phases, development phases or piloting and testing phases of ongoing projects.

Proposals must include as a fundamental part of their development a justified physical stay in one or more of the localities of Territorio Mudéjar. The projects presented must demonstrate a direct impact on at least three partner towns of Territorio Mudéjar and provide evidence of the influence of this impact on the rest of the territory.

Objectives:

  • To promote the knowledge of the rural territory from its Mudejar identity through innovative approaches whose main purpose is to have a positive impact on the villages.
  • To incentivise work with a high territorial impact developed from the experience of people’s habitability.
  • To help the creation and implementation of a working network under a common vision of the possibilities of heritage, cultural and natural resources that helps to strengthen the rest of the sectors through interdisciplinary and collaborative work.
  • To create mechanisms for social participation in the field of heritage resource management from a territorial perspective.

Specific objectives:

  • To promote knowledge of heritage resources in order to encourage the implementation of projects, contribute to better protection and promote the conservation of the Mudejar heritage of the villages.
  • Contribute to a better understanding of UNESCO World Heritage and the benefits it brings to the territory as an international brand.
  • To give special support to projects that refer to the previous sections and that include two or more localities in the Mudejar Territory.
  • To support projects that serve as a framework for action for a wide range of sites or assets, or that propose solutions and formulas that contribute to improving the sustainability and management capacities of Mudejar Heritage at a general level.
  • Support projects that help to promote the social function of cultural heritage.

The areas covered by the call are the following:

AREA 1. New perspectives on Mudejar art:

– Updating of data and knowledge on Mudejar heritage in all its diversity: monumental, urban, ethnographic, linguistic, agrarian, hydraulic, geography, materials, processes, etc.

– Technical languages applied to the Mudejar: planimetry, photogrammetry and Mudejar 3D.

– Geolocation, cartographies and maps.

– Any subject that allows the scientific base on Mudejar art to be broadened.

AREA 2. Mudejar Territory-Cultural Landscape (definition of cultural landscape)

– Property resources and the actions of individuals

– Natural and social contexts

– Interactions between landscape and monumentality

AREA 3. Cultural heritage management:

– New models of use beyond the classic concept of “tourist or leisure use”.

– Physical, economic and intellectual accessibility studies

– Future models for conservation or intervention.

AREA 4. Communication and dissemination of Mudejar heritage

– Mudejar heritage and the media

– New media discourses

– Interpretation and ways of accessibility to knowledge of the Mudejar heritage

AREA 5. Mudejar heritage and its social function as a key element of territorial development

– The emotional bond as a key element for the care, protection and management of heritage.

– Population contexts: The value of intergenerational experience

– Social participation in the enhancement, exchange and collective construction of knowledge and new forms of learning.

The procedure for awarding grants will be processed on a competitive basis according to the assessment criteria established in the call for applications and, in accordance with Article 22.1 of Law 38/2003, of 17 November, General Law on Subsidies.

2/ Applicants

Proposals may be submitted by natural persons and groups of natural persons without legal personality who fulfil all the requirements of this call for proposals.

The applicant (or group of applicants) may be at an early or intermediate stage of their research career or professional activity and must be able to demonstrate:

  • Higher education related to the areas covered by the call for proposals
  • Master’s degree in Cultural Heritage Management (or similar) or documentary proof of at least two years of research or professional experience -remunerated or not-.

The call is not open to legal entities of any kind: companies, partnerships, associations, communities of property or groups under any other type of legal associative formula.

When the project is submitted by two or more persons, the formula is called “team” and each member of the team must be accredited individually.

If the project submitted is part of a research project linked to a university, public research centre or private (non-profit) centre, this must be indicated in the project report.

The acceptance of the project and the development of the stay is compatible with other professional activities as long as the compatibility mode is specified and justified in the project report.

The project submitted may have other sources of funding as long as they are complementary and are specified in the report.

Total income may never exceed the development costs of the projects.

3/ Requirements

  • Hold a Bachelor’s degree, Graduate or Architect’s degree or equivalent.
  • Master’s degree in specialised heritage and/or in the various related areas or accredit a minimum of two years of research experience and/or professional career in the field in which the proposal is developed (whether paid or unpaid).
  • Be up to date with their tax and social security obligations, as well as accrediting compliance with obligations for the reimbursement of subsidies.
  • Not be subject to any of the causes established in art. 13 of the LGS.

4/ Deadline for submission

The deadline for submitting applications is MONDAY, 29 June 2020.

Proposals sent by e-mail will be accepted until 11.59 p.m. (Spanish time).

If the application contains errors that can be rectified, the organisation will inform the applicant so that, within a period of three days from the date of communication, they can proceed to rectify them as an essential condition for the application to be taken into account in the evaluation process.

5/ Characteristics and conditions

Timeframe: The timetable of projects and placements will run until 24 December 2020. The project completion report must be submitted by 28 December 2020.

Duration: Proposals must be developed within a minimum of THREE months and a maximum of SIX months.

Endowment: Projects will have a maximum financial allocation of 6,000.00 € which must be justified in the project report according to the expenses indicated in the following section.

Expenditure chargeable to the grant: The budget must identify the items subject to and deriving directly from the needs of the project – e.g. fees for carrying out the work, materials, travel, meals, accommodation, etc. – including, where applicable, the corresponding taxes.

In the event that the project has other sources of funding, the following must be specified: Entity, duration, actions financed (object and content) and to which part of the project it is addressed.

Compatibility: The development of the stay is compatible with other work, professional or research activities justified to the organisation. The project must indicate the degree of compatibility and the method of work to be carried out in order to avoid overlapping and non-compliance with the conditions indicated in this call.

Number of calls: Beneficiaries may not be awarded grants in more than two consecutive calls. Therefore, resident researchers who have been beneficiaries in the last two calls will not be eligible to apply for the call and will be excluded if they do so.

Others:

The beneficiaries will be included in the entity’s civil liability insurance.

Beneficiaries shall not enter into any kind of employment relationship with the entity.

All aid shall be subject to deductions and taxes as stipulated in the legislation in force, which shall be deducted from the corresponding financial envelope.

6/ Applications

Applications must be sent to the Asociación Territorio Mudéjar in digital format to the following e-mail address: info@territoriomudejar.es

  1. Application-Basic identification data of the applicant and the project
  2. Copy of ID card.
  3. Summary of the applicant/s professional career (maximum 2,000 characters)
  4. Project/proposal summary (max. 2,000 characters)
  5. Abbreviated academic and professional CV (max. 5 pages)
  6. Five developed works that, in the applicant’s opinion, are relevant as a starting point for the proposal (Summary of each project of max. 2,000 characters).
  7. Report on the project to be carried out, including (max. 5 pages): Title; Background and current status of the subject; Hypothesis, methodology, work plan and timetable; Description of the specific objectives of the project; Locations directly and indirectly affected by the proposal; Location or locations proposed for the stay and expected length of stay; Detailed budget for the research, which will refer to the amount requested.
  8. Optionally, a letter of recommendation from a relevant person in the field of the proposed work may be provided.
  9. In the case of teams, both the application and the award decision must expressly state the implementation commitments undertaken by each member of the team, as well as the amount of subsidy to be applied by each of them, who will also be considered as beneficiaries. A sole representative or proxy of the grouping must be appointed, with sufficient powers to fulfil the obligations which, as beneficiary, correspond to the grouping. The team will undertake not to dissolve the grouping until the limitation period provided for in Articles 39 and 65 of Law 38/2003 of 17 November 2003 has elapsed.

7/ Selection process and criteria

The project selection process will be carried out on the basis of the evaluations of the Scientific Committee and the entity’s management team, which will draw up a ranking according to the following criteria:

  • Curricular profile, training and previous achievements of the applicant: 15%. The orientation of the curricular profile in relation to the area of work chosen by the applicant will be assessed.
  • Quality of the project and innovative nature of the proposal: 35%. The project must be well thought out and presented in a rigorous and detailed manner. The framework of objectives/actions/resources/budget should be well planned. The timetable should be realistic. The project should provide for its evaluation and future viability.
  • Territory of impact / number of localities involved: 35%. The way in which the project acts on the territory will be assessed. It may be a direct present or future impact, but in any case it will be an essential requirement. It will be highly valued to foresee a realistic impact without falling into the tendentious and mediatic.
  • Complementary activities involving the local population: 15%. An activity involving the local population in the development of the project will be assessed. Involvement does not necessarily have to be through a cultural activity. The introduction of activities that have an unconventional cultural impact will be valued.

8/ Evaluation and resolution

The decision on the grants will be communicated as of Wednesday 1 July 2020.

The call may be declared totally or partially void and the decision of the commissions shall be final.

Once the call has been resolved, the list of beneficiaries and the composition of the evaluation commission will be published on the Territorio Mudéjar Association’s website www.territoriomudejar.es.

In no case will individualised information on the applications received or on the deliberation of the evaluation committee be provided.

9/ Formalisation, justification and payment of aid

Formalisation: Beneficiaries must sign before the start date of their project, according to the calendar, and at the latest before 1 August 2020, the acceptance commitment that will act as an indispensable document for the receipt of the aid. Once the acceptance document has been signed, they must join the project on the date indicated in the calendar.

Payment: The grant will be paid in three instalments: 40% at the start, once the acceptance commitment has been signed; 40% halfway through the project; and the remaining 20% on delivery of the final project report. These conditions will be general to all beneficiaries unless, exceptionally, the project report justifies the need for a different financial distribution over time.

Justification and presentation of results:

Beneficiaries will be obliged to justify compliance with the requirements and conditions established in this call for proposals by means of: An intermediate report halfway through the stay that allows the progress of the project to be evaluated. A final report on digital support of the project describing objectives, fulfilment of aims and results; and a financial report justifying the cost of the activities carried out.

Financial control:

The interim report shall include a revision of the estimated budget either confirming its continuity or proposing necessary adjustments where justified.

The final report shall include a detailed financial report as follows:

  • A list of expenses incurred indicating the creditor, amount, date of issue and payment. As the project includes an estimated budget, the list of expenses will be classified according to the items of the subsidised project or activity. Where applicable, any deviations that may have occurred in the development of the project must be justified.
  • Proof of payment: Invoices, tickets or supporting documents and proof of payment. If the payment has been made in cash, this must be indicated on the expense document with the concept correctly specified.
  • The justification of fees shall be made by sworn declaration and shall be detailed in the report according to the results developed, specifying the working hours assigned to the actions carried out.
  • The justification of mileage expenses shall be made by means of a sworn statement and a detail shall be included in the report according to the results developed, specifying the journeys made and assigned to specific actions.

Non-compliance:

The aid will be cancelled and the amounts received will be reimbursed when the conditions established in these rules are not fulfilled and in general in the cases established in article 37 of the General Law on Subsidies.

10/ Dissemination of project results

The Asociación Territorio Mudéjar may request the collaboration of the beneficiaries of the grants in activities to disseminate the projects. To this end, the beneficiary will provide the Asociación Territorio Mudéjar with all the information and documentation required and will grant the latter, free of charge, the appropriate rights for the dissemination of the results.

Beneficiaries must mention in materials or results the origin of the aid by means of the phrase “Project carried out with funding from Territorio Mudéjar through the Estancias Gonzalo M. Borrás Gualis 20120 call” and include the organisation’s logo whenever possible.

For its part, the association Territorio Mudéjar will always identify the authorship of the projects.

11/ Acceptance of the rules

Participation in this call for applications implies acceptance of its rules and its decision, which shall be final, as well as the waiver of any type of claim.

Exceptionally and for duly justified reasons, the Asociación Territorio Mudéjar reserves the right to interpret and modify the wording of the rules in order to clarify or specify their content, without this implying a substantial or arbitrary alteration of the same.

For any queries, applicants may contact the Asociación Territorio Mudéjar by e-mail at info@territoriomudejar.es