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

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

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

Modern Fortification and Warfare: Graphic Analysis of the Siege of Fuenterrabia (1638)

Fuenterrabía, one of the most outstanding strongholds of the Basque Country, has historically been a strategic checkpoint on the land crossing between France and the Iberian Peninsula. Due to its military interest, it was many times besieged between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries for its possession and territorial control. The siege of Fuenterrabía of 1638 is framed within the Franco-Spanish War (1635-1659) fought parallel to the Thirty Years War (1618-1648). It had essentially a Religious character but it was used as a method of territorial expansion. This permanent state of war allowed a great development of the fortification, transforming the one existing in the Middle Ages by what is now known as Modern Fortification, adapted to the new defensive requirements. This paper attempts to analyse through the contemporary chronicles how the siege process was developed and the behaviour of the fortification as a war machine facing the enemy offensive. There is no profound analysis of this siege from a heritage point of view. The attacks caused different severity of damage, and the besieged tried to reconstruct their defences and build new elements that hinder the work of the enemy. By graphing the city walls, hypothesis of the consequences are suggested as well as the works the defenders built to compensate them

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

Assassing the defensibility of the pre-colonial defensive architecture in Algeria: case study on the medieval fortified villages

[EN] Algeria’s pre-colonial towns of the medieval period still exist in different typologies, ranging from the isolated buildings (forts, castles) and town enclosures to whole urban units (fortified villages, defensives towns). Indeed, the constituent of these fortresses was their defense system, characterized by its large dimension, constituted essentially by the enclosure wall, and architectural features of defensiveness correlated with the outside and the inside of the fortresses. This paper aims to evaluate the relationship between physical landscape, built defensive features and cultural values of the medieval fortified villages in Algeria, two medieval fortified villages in our case “Kalaa of Beni Abbes” in Bejaia and “Kalaa of Beni Rached” in Oran, that we identified as an evolved landscape and interpreted as complex system (both defensive architecture and continuing cultural landscape). This current study consists of quantifying the defensiveness degree of these sites situated within different contexts, in fact, this method ensures to identify the strategy adopted to be protected against different invasions. However, in order to achievethis we calculate a spatial defensiveness index (DI) of these sites. The parameters of our choice are related to the implantation site, the elevation, the visibility and the geometrical shape, which allow us toestimate the defensiveness degree of the defense system of our case studies.Oulmas, M.; Abdessemed-Fouda, A.; González Avilés, ÁB. (2020). Évaluation de degré de défense de l’architecture défensive pré-coloniale en Algérie : cas des villages fortifiés. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 1311-1318. https://doi.org/10.4995/FORTMED2020.2020.11376OCS1311131

Iridescent Techniques in Ceramics: Physico-Chemical Analysis and Colorimetric Characterization of the Headquarters of the Botín Foundation in Santander

In recent years, the use of porcelain stoneware in building envelopes has opened new lines of research and innovation favoring energy efficiency and the reduction of environmental impacts. However, there has been little research on its relationship with light vibration and reflectivity, visual perception, and integration in the urban environment and landscape. In this study, an analysis was conducted on the production and application of crafted pieces of porcelain stoneware, shaped in spherical caps, at the headquarters of the Botín Foundation in Santander (Spain). Various enamels with an iridescent-nacreous finish and metallic reflection were applied to the stoneware to generate a vibrant skin that would constantly change with natural light and the environment. A vitrification and metal deposition process were designed through successive applications of enamels and firings. The physico-chemical properties of the enameling and the microcracking factors that produced the iridescent effect were characterized. A colorimetric characterization was performed evaluating the goniochromatic or iridescent colors, measuring the spectral radiance factor of the light, and comparing these results with other ceramic pieces.This research has been funded by the project “Generation of knowledge on the multisensory interaction of the human being with the environments for the development of new products and services in the ceramic sector (4 SENSES)”, reference PSE-020400-2007-1, of the Ministry of Science and Innovation (Spain), of the Single Strategic Plan (2007–2009)