The fortification of Alicante designed by the engineer Ambrosio Borçano

Since the fortification of Alicante was implemented in 1535, the city had not developed any defensive features which could counteract sea attacks. The extramural growth of the city into the suburb of San Francisco seriously hindered its defence, which was proven with the French bombardment of 1691 after more than 150 years of inactivity. By 1677 Grand Master Borçano Ambrosio drew up a plan of a new defence for Alicante that would eventually not be carried out but would be the foundation of the bastion of San Carlos, the only defensive bastion carried out after the bombardment to protect against an attack from the sea

Sea baths as an example of sustainable architecture without an ecological footprint

By the last third of the nineteenth century, many sea bath structures were raised by the Spanish Levante, but currently only San Antonio´s sea bath, jutting out over the Mar Menor in Murcia, remains. The historical documentation about these seashore buildings located in Murcia and Alicante allowed us to study these architecture typologies as an approach to the design process intended to harmonize its products with nature. All the historical maps and plans, drawings and photographs convey a whole process of systematized execution with a minimum use of energy at each stage of the building process, its assembly and erection, in addition to the low maintenance and total future recycling. The adaptation of the architectural design to the coast is one of the most important aspects of these traditional constructions. This paper shows the study of different architectural, structural and constructive solutions characterized by the use of fixed and removable lightweight structures and the evolution of piling systems. The removable feature and the simplicity of the assembly allow us to talk about an example of sustainable architecture without ecological footprints

Reuse of Spanish civil war air-raid shelters in Alicante: the R46 Balmis and R31 Seneca shelter

More than a hundred public air-raid shelters were constructed beneath Alicante during the Spanish Civil war. Their architectural uniqueness and humanitarian purpose render these shelters a tangible testament to our recent history. The Alicante Municipal Archives hold reports written by technicians who inspected the shelters in the 1940s, which were subsequently included in the Special Plan for public shelters in 1953. Half a century later, in 2003, information on the air-raid shelters was included in another Special Plan aimed at protecting Alicante’s archaeological heritage. Thanks to the work of the Municipal Heritage Conservation unit (COPHIAM) and the Special Protection Plan for Urban Archaeology (PEPA), the exact or approximate locations were identified for almost 90% of the shelters known to have existed. This paper describes interventions in two of these architectural spaces using advanced museology techniques. The first concerns air-raid shelter R46, located in the Plaza del Dr. Balmis in the city centre. This was built in 1938, and is rectangular with two entrances. The second is air-raid shelter R31, located in the Plaza Séneca

Temporal Removable and Sustainable Disappeared Architectures. The Sea Baths of the Spanish Levante

The latter third of the 19th Century was the golden age of balneotherapy on the Iberian Peninsula. Sea or wave baths along the Spanish coastline, which have now disappeared and are unknown in the current architectural panorama, are captured on a plethora of postcards and advertising posters that used photography, which was fully developed throughout Spain, as a means of promoting the culture of bathing. Through photography we are now able to see what these absent structures looked like, and to understand the esthetic values of the day, the types of baths that existed, the materiality of the architecture and its structures, and even their temporality

Bath construction at the Spanish Mediterranean seaside: maritime heritage for the coast environment

The construction of buildings holding baths along the Spanish seashore, not only supposed an enjoyment for affluent people but was a way of generating a new tourist landscape. The golden age of Spanish balneotherapy took place around the last third of the nineteenth century. Many sea bath structures were built at the Spanish Levante, but they have all now disappeared. Inside these constructions there were coffee-shops, theaters and casinos. People used to go there looking for therapeutic or medicinal healing, and also to find a place where they could forget their problems and daily routine. This research paper is part of a project conducted at the University of Alicante, and its main target has been to find historical documentation about these Mediterranean seashore buildings (Alicante and Murcia) in order to accomplish a cataloging that allowed us to study these architecture typologies. All the historical maps and plans, drawings and photographs used in our paper, not only offer us a romantic vision, they also convey a whole process of systematized execution. The construction system can be divided into permanent and removable structures. This removable feature and the simplicity of assembly were achieved thanks to the precarious concession carried out by the authorities at the maritime area. This paper shows the study of different architectural, structural and constructive solutions implanted in each one of these typologies characterized by the use of fixed and removable lightweight structures and the evolution of piling systems

Evidence of phyllosilicate alteration processes and clay mineral neoformation promoted by hydrothermal fluids in the Padul Fault area (Betic Cordillera, SE Spain)

Acknowledgements We acknowledge the technical and human support provided by CICT of Universidad de Ja´en (UJA, MINECO, Junta de Andalucía, FEDER). Cecilia de la Prada is especially recognized for helping with the HRTEM work. The access to the HAADF Thermo Fisher Scientific TALOS F200X microscope was facilitated by the Centro de Instrumentaci´on Científica of the Universidad de Granada. The authors are indebted to responsible of the JUMA Quarry and El Mill´on Quarry. Thanks are extended to B. Dubacq and an anonymous reviewer for their critical reviews and helpful comments and suggestions.Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi. org/10.1016/j.clay.2022.106669.Funding This research was supported by the project PGC2018-094573-B-I00 from the MCIU-AEIFEDER and the research groups RNM-325, RNM-200 and RNM-179 of the Junta de Andalucía.Geochemical changes and authigenic clays were detected in the fault rocks of the Padul Fault. An enrichment from the protolith to the ultracataclasites in Si, Al, Fe, Ca, Ti and also Zn but an impoverishment in Mg was detected. Although the protolith (dolostones) and fault rocks are mostly composed of carbonates, the fault rocks are also characterized by the presence of fine-grained clays in the matrix (mainly chlorite and Mg-rich biotite, but also smectite and punctually talc). Neither chlorite nor talc were detected in the protolith. The application of chlorite thermometry gives temperatures around 140–220 °C for chlorites lamellae located on the fault plane. These chlorites are compositionally homogeneous, whereas the chlorites detected in the cataclasites are more variable, although both of them are Mg-rich and have almost no Fe. As well, chlorites from the cataclasites usually include Zn in their composition and, as observed at nanoscale, they are genetically related to biotites, which come from the protolith. Talc grains (< 1 μm) are always found between dolomite and calcite. These observations point to clay mineral reactions in the fault rocks as the chlorite and talc precipitation promoted by circulation of fault-controlled hydrothermal fluids close to 200 °C. Other clays such as smectite are the result of the final step of the hydrothermal activity in the fault. The identification of authigenic clay minerals, which cause weakening mechanisms, is consistent with the geodetic characterization of the Padul Fault, which plays an important role in aseismic deformation.Project PGC2018-094573-B-I00 from the MCIU-AEIFEDERResearch groups RNM-325, RNM-200 and RNM-179 of the Junta de Andalucí

The importance of graphic representation in monastic hydraulics: Saint-Gall, Christchurch and Vallbona de les Monges

In the fourth century Christian monasticism left the anchoritic lifestyle to begin a new monastic organization. These religious communities not only show us an architecture ruled by a monastic life, but also reveals some impressive hydraulic systems occasionally reflected in valuable drawings. From the first graphic document of Saint-Gall abbey, until the parchment of the Corb River (exclusively photographed at the scriptorium of Vallbona monastery), this work demonstrates that graphic representation of water supply systems has played a very important role throughout time. Thanks to these graphic documents we can currently know about other important aspects such as irrigation rights, water supply channels, hydraulic systems to pump water, etc. All these elements have become the only witnesses of an invisible architecture located under the ground, which has almost disappeared nowadays

Decision-Making Processes in Controlling Exposure to Sunlight Supported by Simulation Tools: A Case Study in Warm Weather

Improving the energy performance of existing buildings is one of the main strategies defined by the European Union to reduce global energy costs. Amongst the actions to be carried out in buildings to achieve this objective is working with passive measures adapted to each type of climate. To assist designers in the process of finding appropriate solutions for each building and location, different tools have been developed and since the implementation of building information modeling (BIM), it has been possible to perform an analysis of a building’s life cycle from an energy perspective and other types of analysis such as a comfort analysis. In the case of Spain, the first BIM environment tool has been implemented that deals with the global analysis of a building’s behavior and serves as an alternative to previous methods characterized by their lack of both flexibility and information offered to designers. This paper evaluates and compares the official Spanish energy performance evaluation tool (Cypetherm) released in 2018 using a case study involving the installation of sunlight control devices as part of a building refurbishment. It is intended to determine how databases and simplifications affect the designer’s decision-making. Additionally, the yielded energy results are complemented by a comfort analysis to explore the impact of these improvements from a users’ wellbeing viewpoint. At the end of the process the yielded results still confirm that the simulation remains far from reality and that simulation tools can indeed influence the decision-making process.This research was funded by the University of Alicante, with a grant financed to promote the integration of junior researchers in research teams, and it was also supported by a grant from the Networks-I3CE Programme for research in university of the Institute of Education Sciences of the University of Alicante (2020–21). Ref.: 4978

Energy Efficiency of Mexican states: A Stochastic Production Frontier Approach

Mexico’s goals of reducing carbon emissions and improving the Energy Efficiency (EE) cannot be attained if EE indicators are not estimated. Nevertheless, given the lack of information at state level, there are not yet indicators at regional or state level. Using a Stochastic Production Frontier model this paper offers an estimation of EE for 29 states and identifies energy inefficiency determinants. The main findings are threefold: first, most states have improved their EE, except for Jalisco, Baja California and Veracruz. Second, three variables are identified as energy inefficiency drivers, namely, population density, market potential and high presence of materials industries. Third, electricity demand is not deterred through the price. Upon these results, we recommend that EE policies must incorporate the regional component, based on the mentioned variables. This work contributes with the first estimation of EE indicators for states in Mexico, its main limitation is that due to data availability, the estimations only include electricity as primary energy input.Eficiencia Energética por estados de México: Aplicación de un modelo de Frontera de Producción Estocástica Los objetivos de México de reducir las emisiones de dióxido de carbono y de mejorar la Eficiencia Energética (EE) no pueden lograrse si no se hacen estimaciones de EE. Sin embargo, dada la falta de datos por estado, no hay indicadores por regionales. Utilizando un modelo de Frontera de Producción Estocástica este artículo ofrece una estimación de EE para 29 estados e identifica determinantes de ineficiencia energética. Las conclusiones principales son tres: primero, la mayoría de los estados han mejorado su EE, excepto Jalisco, Baja California y Veracruz; segundo, se identificaron tres variables como determinantes de ineficiencia energética que son: densidad de población, potencial de mercado y alta presencia de la industria de materiales; tercero, el consumo de energía no disminuye con aumentos en el precio. Con base en estos resultados, recomendamos que las políticas de EE se regionalicen en función de las variables aquí mencionadas. Este artículo contribuye con la primera estimación regional de EE en México, su principal limitación es que, dada la disponibilidad de información, las estimaciones sólo incluyen a la electricidad como fuente primaria de energía

Energy performance improvement and cultural enhancement of the Andalusian rural heritage: case study – “El Cortijo del Fraile”

The renovation of old cortijos, haciendas or lagares is a topical subject within the context of enhancing the Andalusian agrarian architecture. The abandonment of these unique farmhouses structures due to the industrialisation of the harvesting process has already drawn the administration’s attention to the importance of encouraging its maintenance. The Public Works and Housing Office and the Culture Office of the Andalusian Government, as well as local administrative bodies, have promoted its identification, examination and analysis to manage rehabilitation policies that facilitate the adaptation of these spaces of architectural heritage to new uses. This research paper gathers the methodology for the energy renovation of these constructions, enhancing their characteristic infrastructures and most significant assets. Various strategies support the traditional existing facilities of the “cortijos” inserting new technologies to supply the needs of the new programmes, optimizing the existing resources. Increasing rainwater collection surfaces and storage; improving the filtering and recycling methods to recycle rainwater, grey water and sewage; and increasing the effectiveness of solar and wind energy collection with new technologies that complement the old passive knowledge with updated designs or active systems. The main goal of this paper is to find strategies to extrapolate its application in similar cases among the Mediterranean European context. The application of this methodology in a case study shows the energy performance improvements proposed for the “Cortijo del Fraile”, located on the southeast of Nijar (Almería), inside the Natural Park of “Cabo de Gata-Nijar”