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/

2021 Stays: The Didactic Mudejar, the guide.

Educational Mudejar, the guide.

2021 Internships: The internship focused on producing educational material for primary and secondary school students that helps them interpret Mudejar art through a combination of illustrations and real images, and helps them learn to appreciate this rich legacy. This educational resource will be available on the Territorio Mudéjar website, will be accessible through all types of devices, and will have an attractive, visual, and dynamic presentation. The online publication will be complemented by routes through maps and games adapted to the students’ level and linked to the work carried out by the “Circular desde la escuela rural” project. This tool can be used in the classroom and with the family. Educational guide.

The development of the online teaching guide that summarizes the results of the research stay has been carried out in the following phases:

Script development and documentation: “The didactic Mudejar”

  • Documentation, idea development, script writing, copywriting, creativity with historical and artistic introductions.
  • Design and production of various resources and teaching materials to adapt them to editorial production.
  • Structure and planning of illustrations as well as trips to create the map/route with photographs and illustrations.

Selection of locations to contextualize the educational guide as a map for exploring the towns of the Mudéjar Territory.

  • Taking photographs to combine illustrations and real images to help children better visualize and understand the content. The combination of reality and illustration is a key resource for this.
  • Photographs for map/route.

Illustrations: DAVID GUIRAO:

  • Illustrations and storyboarding.
  • Digital retouching and adaptation of illustrations to the appropriate size and format for production.

Production and realization of the online publication:

  • Search and selection of still images. Includes photo retouching and photomontages.
  • Design and layout of an interactive PDF with a map/plan showing routes for families and educational purposes.
  • Motion graphics. Creation of moving graphics (maps, layered photographs, titles, text).

The result can be consulted through the following button:

SEE DIDACTIC GUIDE

LINE OF RESEARCH: Communication and dissemination.

AUTHORS: Myriam Monterde, Elisa Plana, José Manuel Herráiz and David Guirao.

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.

The first students of the Desafío 2020 Programme arrive at Territorio Mudéjar

The first students of the Desafío Programme, funded by the DPZ and managed by the University of Zaragoza, are already in Territorio Mudéjar learning and putting into practice applied cultural heritage management models. This is the third edition of an initiative that allows young university students to do work experience in towns in the province of Zaragoza and that seeks to help young people with ideas to reach – and stay – in rural areas.

“By showing students how we work with the heritage in these towns, we pave the way for them to choose how they want to focus their careers in the future, and we hope that this future is closely related to our region,” explains Victoria Trasobares, director of Territorio Mudéjar.

The team of Art History students participating in the Desafío Programme – María Foradada, María Domínguez, Elena López and Sarai Salvo – have been living since the beginning of August in the organisation’s headquarters, Tobed, where they are getting to know the work system. They are joined by Eugenia Gallego, María Irazabal and Derry Holgado, who are working from a distance.

The program’s first phase consists in an introduction to the entity and its working methods, familiarizing the students with the networking system and the partners involved: city councils, culture officials and individuals in charge of cultural and heritage dissemination programs, combining classroom learning with fieldwork. In addition, the students are being trained in the cultural heritage management project methodology by professionals in diverse disciplines such as project design and assessment, awareness of the applied management models implemented in our region, and in the fields of project dissemination management and communication.

The Challenge Programme – now in its third edition – is aligned with Territorio Mudéjar’s strategic objective of promoting curricular or training internships and professionalising profiles linked to heritage in order to boost employment in rural areas, attract professionals and develop projects that involve the conservation of our heritage and investment in our villages as a differentiating element.

What is special about Territorio Mudéjar? It is framed in the rural environment, it works in a network with 34 municipalities and with interdisciplinary professionals, it also works with an international brand such as the UNESCO World Heritage declaration of three of the monuments of its member towns and with a model that is committed to professionalism, scientific rigour, vanguard and sustainability and that makes the inhabitants of the villages an essential part of its projects.

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/