2021 Internships: Preventive Urban Planning

Preventive urbanism: Guidelines and tools for the protection of
traditional architecture in Mudejar towns from the perspective of urban planning.

This research internship proposes an analysis and comparative study of the urban planning regulations governing architectural interventions in various locations in the Mudéjar Territory. It does so by generating an overview of the level of protection afforded to traditional architecture through planning, identifying areas for improvement, and proposing a framework document that can be used by both private developers and municipal technicians to improve the compatibility of interventions in traditional buildings. This project continues the research on vernacular architecture initiated during the previous internships.

The work developed is based on general objectives that have been:

  1. To promote appreciation for traditional architecture within the sphere of influence of Aragonese Mudejar art, fostering the perception of construction techniques as a valuable cultural heritage that must be preserved and protected.
  2. To promote the compatible conservation, restoration, and rehabilitation of traditional architecture, offering tools tailored to the specific circumstances of the Aragonese Mudejar influence.
  3. Promote coordination between municipal administrations and private sector initiatives to develop flexible and conservative interventions.
  4. Promote the regeneration of rural areas through their heritage, proposing alternative uses beyond the tourism sector and offering tools that enable the development of interventions that are compatible with and respectful of local cultural identity.

Based on these general objectives, a series of specific objectives have been proposed:

  1. To analyze the state of urban planning and its influence on traditional architecture in the towns that make up the Mudéjar Territory.
  2. Generate reference documentation, in the form of guidelines and conservation objectives, that can be used by local councils to promote and encourage compatible intervention and preventive conservation of local traditional architecture.
  3. Promote social involvement with preventive conservation tools and their appropriation by the community through citizen participation actions.
  4. Raise awareness about the value of traditional architecture through outreach activities that emphasize the irreplaceable nature of this architecture and the importance of its preservation.
  5. Encourage the supply and demand for traditional trades, highlighting the virtues and real costs of these techniques and contributing to the formation of a regional professional network.

The visit concludes with conclusions and guidelines for compatible interventions in the area’s traditional architecture, which will be disseminated among the various interested communities.

LINE OF RESEARCH: New perspectives on Mudejar art; cultural heritage management

AUTHOR: Laura Villacampa Crespo

CONTRIBUTORS: F. Javier Gómez Patrocinio, Ignacio Pérez Bailón.

Stays 2019: Mudejar civil architecture, study of new uses with an impact on the territory

The project Mudejar civil architecture, study of new uses  is a multidisciplinary initiative in which a process of data collection has been developed with two main objectives. On the one hand, to obtain current and technologically advanced material on the civil architecture of the Mudejar Territory that preserves Mudejar elements. On the other hand, to propose phase 0 of a monumental management project 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 villages.

This research is part of one of Territorio Mudéjar’s lines of action, which is to design new uses for heritage spaces: technical visits, teaching specific subjects, internship grants or other types of local activities.

The research is an analytical study, based on the management of Mudejar heritage, in order to establish a real action plan that will become a driving force for the cultural development of the population and an integrating element. To this end, the starting point of the study has been the original state of the cultural assets themselves, their subsequent development and action plans have been drawn up for each of the cases analysed. Specifically, the heritage of Daroca, Ateca, Illueca, Borja and Saviñán has been studied.

During the study, a methodology has been used to recreate monuments in 3D through photogrammetry: images have been taken with cameras and volumetric recordings using drones. Furthermore, the proposed action plans have been designed following the business model using Osterwalder’s Canvas model to develop the idea and Porter’s forces model for the competitive strategy.

In addition, the objectives of the European project “Heritage Houses for Europe. Exchange and Innovate” project based on measuring the positive impact of the preservation of family-owned heritage houses in Europe, analysing innovative and replicable business models, creating tools to support managers for the sustainable preservation of family-owned heritage houses, raising awareness of the family-owned heritage house sector and issuing recommendations to EU institutions to unlock the potential of the sectors.

LINE OF RESEARCH: (3) Cultural Heritage Management.

THE AUTHORS:

  • Ricardo Monreal Lafuente, art historian.
  • Alba Finol, art historian.
  • Daniel Finol, computer technician.

Stays 2019: Vernacular architecture in Mudejar villages: traditional techniques as a trade of the future in the rural world

The project Arquitectura tradicional vernácula, la técnica tradicional de construcción como oficio de futuro en el ámbito rural explains that monumental Mudejar architecture shares materials and techniques with the vernacular architecture of the villages. However, throughout the 20th century, industrial development has led to a strong process of transformation and destruction of vernacular buildings and the progressive abandonment of traditional construction systems. Faced with this situation, the importance of knowledge and appreciation of local traditional architecture and its materials has been raised in order to guarantee its protection by means of an inventory and general diagnosis of materials, techniques, architecture and current use.

This research project proposes that the understanding of local traditional architecture by users avoids its replacement by new buildings and favours the development of activities aimed at its conservation. Furthermore, the projection of this architecture outside the municipality reinforces its appreciation by the local population and favours the economic revitalisation of the villages, allowing them to offer cultural experiences of longer duration than a simple visit to their most outstanding monuments.

The work aims to contribute to the valuation of traditional architecture in the area of influence of Aragonese Mudejar art, promoting the perception of indigenous construction techniques as solvent and sustainable systems, and of the buildings constructed with them as a valuable cultural heritage that must be preserved and protected; to disseminate and enhance the work of the construction craftsmen present in the area, in order to facilitate the survival of the trades and encourage the use of traditional construction techniques in interventions on vernacular heritage; and to promote the conservation, restoration and compatible rehabilitation of the traditional architecture of the area and encourage the development of sustainable and culturally respectful tourism.

To this end, we have worked to identify and study the main construction techniques present in the traditional architecture of the Mudejar villages in the south of Zaragoza, to locate the construction craftsmen present in the area and document their work, to identify and study the dynamics of intervention in traditional architecture caused by tourism, and to draw up guidelines for the compatible intervention of traditional architecture in the area of influence of the Aragonese Mudejar.

The research has been carried out in Aniñón, Ateca, Belmonte de Gracián, Cervera de la Cañada, Cosuenda, Daroca, Longares, Maluenda, Romanos, Saviñán, Terrer, Tobed, Torralba de Ribota and Villafeliche.

LÍNEA DE INVESTIGACIÓN: (1) Nuevas Miradas sobre el arte Mudéjar.

THE AUTHOR: Javier Gómez Patrocinio is an architect with a Master’s degree in Architectural Heritage Conservation and a PhD in Building, Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture from the Polytechnic University of Valencia.

More info:
www.estancias2020mudetrad.territoriomudejar.es/