Drawing and interpreting planimetric surveys: rural landscape and old productive architectures in Sierra de Cádiz

In order to understand and assess rural land-scapes and their architectures, many of which are recognised as Cultural Landscapes, an anal-ysis of their current state is required. Carrying it out from historical cartographies helps to reveal essenƟ al and permanent forms of the territory.The small and old rural producƟ ve architectures, together with roads, canals, crops and other nat-ural elements, are part of the current territorial structure and are essenƟ al elements to draw the cartographic strata that overlap over Ɵ me.It is necessary to record these minor construc-Ɵ ons in historical maps to idenƟ fy, understand and interpret these types of territories and their architectures This approach is applied to the hy-draulic mills of the Sierra de Cádiz (Andalusia, Spain) located in the Planimetric surveys (1873-1874) preceding the fi rst NaƟ onal Topographic Map.The methodology used draws from a detailed reading of the Planimetric surveys; it uses the concept of deconstrucƟ on put forward by J. B. Harley, analyƟ cally fragmenƟ ng the elements-de-scriptors that consƟ tuted the structure of the mill; it is complemented with fi eldwork; and it develops into the elaboraƟ on of current plani-metries of the mill landscape through the super-posiƟ on of the descriptors. The usefulness of the Planimetric surveys is demonstrated by recognising how the territo-ry has been modelled in addiƟ on to discovering values and teachings in these rural architectures, which are currently silenced. Drawing their pres-ent and traces of the past makes it possible to in-tegrate these rural landscapes and their architec-tures into Geographic InformaƟ on Systems (GIS), which opens doors to new research

The Watermills of the Sierra de Cádiz (Spain): A Traditional Open Water Re-circulation System

Traditional hydraulic milling was the main productive activity in the Sierra de Cádiz (Andalusia, Spain), as evidenced by the existence of 85 mills spread throughout the region. Although the date of their construction is unknown, the first documentary evidence of their existence appeared in the 16th century. In the 18th century, a more comprehensive account of the set of mills in the Sierra was drawn up thanks to the Ensenada Cadastre. The majority were operational until the mid-20th century, albeit with some difficulties. The disappearance of this handmade trade has led to the obsolescence and abandonment of its architecture and infrastructure. However, the infrastructure remains there, as traces of a recent past in which it is still possible to see the Circular Water Story that made them work. This article explains the hydraulic system that was used by the mills in the Sierra de Cádiz. Located next to rivers and streams, they formed part of an open water re-circulation system, which captured the water at a specific point in the riverbed of origin, artificially diverted it to the mill and then ended up returning it to the same riverbed of origin, at a different point from the initial one. The methodology used is based on the preparation of graphic documents and photographic recognition to select the riverbanks that show the adaptations and variations of the water re-circulation system according to the hydrographic, topographic, and productive characteristics of each territory. As some of these old artificial riverbeds are still operational, today they are used as a natural resource to supply water to other productive activities, thus proving the usefulness of the system, the suitability of the construction techniques applied, and their consequent integration into the landscape. The research carried out justifies the need to protect and catalogue these architectural hydraulic systems before they disappear completely, in order to benefit from the learning that can be derived from the reading, interpretation, and transformation of the territory and its landscape

Contribution to the kownledge of cultural heritage via a Heritage Information System (HIS): the case of “La Cultura del Agua” in Valverde de Burguillos, Badajoz (Spain)

Modern science is going through a period of important reflection on the role of different agents and multiple disciplines in the management and safeguarding of architectural heritage. This new focus generates a greater amount and diversity of information, so the implementation of a unifying tool in the framework of digital information models would mean a better knowledge of cultural heritage as well as aiding its safeguarding and protection. In addition, it must be taken into account that, for the correct management of information in its broadest dimension, this tool must make it possible to relate alphanumeric data about an item of heritage to its spatial location. In this sense, this article proposes a Heritage Information System (HIS)—understood as a digital knowledge tool—that consists of a relational database and a map manager with Geographic Information System (GIS) technology (a geodatabase). The methodology suggested here sets out the steps that make up the HIS, so that the system can be applied to other geographical elements or realities. For this reason, a study was made of “La Cultura del Agua” in Valverde de Burguillos (Spain), a heritage ensemble that consists of rural architecture and dispersed preindustrial elements, which are currently at risk. The HIS seeks to develop a more complete identification of these elements (individually and as a system) and a justified argument for their being given value and great visibility. This new approach encourages sustainable development in terms of efficiency and effectiveness for the analysis, diagnosis, and reactivation of cultural heritage, always placing importance on the balance of social participation with the territory in which the system is applied, and with global societ

The value of minor architectures: the hydraulic mills of the Parque Natural Sierra de Grazalema in Sierra de Cádiz

Las arquitecturas rurales productivas aúnan relevancia cultural y tradición, aunque en la actualidad se consideren menores y se mantengan inactivas o en ruinas. Los molinos hidráulicos del Parque Natural Sierra de Grazalema han quedado al margen de la valoración y protección oficial por parte de las Administraciones. Poner en valor estas arquitecturas es el objetivo general del artículo. Para ello, se parte del estudio geográfico, histórico y patrimonial de la Sierra de Cádiz(comarca en la que se inserta el Parque Natural). Se continúa con el análisis y la ubicación de la arquitectura molinar en el Parque Natural Sierra de Grazalema para conocer, más pormenorizadamente, estas obras de ingeniería hidráulica. Desde la idea del “saber artesanal” que propone Richard Sennett en El artesano, se completa la investigación con un análisis sobre la localizaciónde los molinos y su interacción con el medio físico, la indagaciónsobre la influencia de las construcciones rurales en otras arquitecturas del siglo XX para, finalmente, desvelarvalores que, junto alpatrimonialqueposeen los molinos hidráulicos, puedan conducir a posibles acciones de protección y reactivación.The productive rural architectures combine cultural relevance and tradition, although at present they are considered minor architectures and they remain inactive or in ruins. Thisis the case of the hydraulic mills of the Parque Natural Sierra de Grazalema which have been left out of the valuation and the official protection by Administrations. Valuing these architectures is thegeneral objective of the paper. For it, we start witha geographic, historical and heritage study of the Sierra de Cádiz (the region in which the Parque Natural is located). We continue with the analysis and location of the mills architectures in the Parque Natural Sierra de Grazalema to know more about these hydraulic engineering works. From the idea of "foundation of craftsmanship" proposed by Richard Sennett in The craftsman, the investigation is completed with an analysis of the locationof the mills and their interaction with the physical environment, the questionsabout the influence of rural buildings on other 20thCentury architectures for, finally, to open upother types of values that, together with the heritage ones, have hydraulicmills and can lead to possible protection and reactivation actions

Antiguas arquitecturas productivas en la activación de entornos rurales. Los molinos hidráulicos de la Sierra de Cádiz

This article reflects on the potential that old productive architectures have in activating rural environments. Despite their obsolescence, they continue to form historical, functional and explanatory networks of the territories, with potential for reactivation. It starts with an approach on the interest that traditional and vernacular architectures have generated since the 20th century. The current regional spatial planning applied to the Sierra de Cádiz and the water mills is reviewed. Their typological, functional and implementation characteristics are analysed. Finally, new scenarios are proposed that take into consideration the recovery of these architectures and the reactivation of their region.Este artículo reflexiona sobre el potencial que poseen antiguas arquitecturas productivas en la activación de entornos rurales. A pesar de su obsolescencia siguen siendo una red histórica, funcional y explicativa del territorio, con posibilidades de reactivación. Se parte de una aproximación sobre el interés que las arquitecturas tradicionales y vernáculas han generado desde el siglo XX. Se revisa la ordenación territorial vigente de ámbito autonómico aplicado a la Sierra de Cádiz y a los molinos hidráulicos, de los que se analizan sus características tipológicas, funcionales y de implantación para, finalmente, proponer nuevos escenarios que contemplen la recuperación de estas arquitecturas y la reactivación de su comarca

Patrimonio industrial del medio rural: recuperación mediante materiales modulares y prefabricados

Productive rural architecture represents one of the more significant building ensembles of the rural heritage. In the region of the Sierra de Cádiz there is a network of more than 70 water mills whose state of abandonment and disuse means that they need an intervention as a preservation mechanism, as they are heritage assets which attest to the historical connections of a community. The challenge is to intervene in these rural architectures, constructed with traditional systems, with the insertion of new small modular systems that allow their spaces to be re-inhabited. This article presents lines of action with new products and their associated construction technologies, typified by light- or self-assembly, and suggests intervention strategies related to the ideas of recycling, lightness, flexibility, modular design and environmental economy. Therefore, it is of interest to explore the capacity of these constructions as a laboratory, where two current themes are combined but which have been unconnected until now: rural heritage and small and industrialised modular systems. This presentation begins with some basic premises on prefabrication and industrialisation. It continues with the choice of systems, in accordance with the new environmental objectives, and the detection of products compatible with the principles and needs of the project, and finally test them in a specific place: the water mill of El Rodezno, proposing some outlines of intervention by means of a small modular system.La arquitectura rural productiva supone uno de los conjuntos constructivos más significativos del patrimonio rural. En la comarca de la Sierra de Cádiz existe una red de más de 70 molinos hidráulicos cuyo estado de abandono y desuso hace que precisen una intervención como mecanismo de preservación, por ser bienes patrimoniales que testimonian las relaciones históricas de una comunidad. Se plantea el reto de intervenir en estas arquitecturas rurales construidas con sistemas tradicionales, con nuevos sistemas modulares mínimos que se inserten y permitan re-habitar sus espacios. Este artículo expone líneas de actuación con nuevos productos y sus tecnologías constructivas asociadas, bajo la economía del montaje ligero o automontaje, planteando estrategias de intervención ligadas a las ideas de reciclaje, ligereza, flexibilidad, modulación o economía medioambiental. Interesa, por lo tanto, explorar la capacidad de estas construcciones como un laboratorio donde se aúnen dos temas vigentes pero hasta ahora inconexos: patrimonio rural y sistemas modulares mínimos e industrializados. Este planteamiento comienza con unas premisas básicas sobre prefabricación e industrialización, continúa con la elección de unos sistemas acordes a los nuevos objetivos medioambientales y la detección de los productos afines a los principios y necesidades del proyecto, para, finalmente, ensayarlos en un lugar concreto: el molino hidráulico de El Rodezno, proponiendo unos esquemas de intervención mediante un sistema modular mínimo

Misión actual de la arquitectura. Semillas para un proyecto de innovación docente

Existen gran cantidad de inmuebles residenciales obsoletos que requieren una profunda actualización. Entre los principales retos a afrontar para llevar a cabo esta misión, detectamos la necesidad de enunciar adecuadamente los problemas a solucionar desde el proyecto arquitectónico, para motivar la innovación en el diseño y el desarrollo de sistemas técnicos adecuados que den respuesta al problema en toda su dimensión y diversidad: edificios obsoletos con o sin valor patrimonial, de uso individual o colectivo, de propiedad pública o privada, sea cual sea el cuadro patológico a solucionar. Además de experimentar modelos de intervención elemental, hay que ensayar procesos de gestión participativos que incorporen al usuario en la transformación y personalización de su vivienda y su ciudad, en lo íntimo y en lo colectivo. A primera vista nada nuevo, sin embargo el drástico cambio de paradigma, demanda nuevos modos de actuación que implican la revisión y ajuste de los conocimientos establecidos al actual contexto, así como una evolución de la formación universitaria.There is a large amount of obsolete residential properties that require a complete update. The first challenge for these architectural projects is to inventory the challenges and problems. This then allows for an overarching creative and innovative approach to be adopted in order to develop and design adequate technical systems. In turn these systems can then address the dimension and diversity of the challenges which include some of the following (regardless of the pathological picture to be solved): obsolete buildings with or without patrimonial value; buildings for individual or collective use; public or private property. In addition to experiencing models of elementary intervention, it is necessary to test participative management processes that incorporate the user in the transformation and personalization of his home and his city, in the intimate and the collective. At first glance nothing new, however the drastic change of paradigm, demands new modes of action that involve the revision and adjustment of the knowledge established to the current context, as well as an evolution of the university formation

The architecture of a productive territory: the water mills of the sierra de Cádiz

Las arquitecturas rurales productivas son partes esenciales de los paisajes con valores patrimoniales y contribuyen a explicar la funcionalidad histórica de los territorios en los que se ubican. A pesar de su estado de abandono generalizado, testimonian y documentan las estructuras socio-económicas y culturales de una región. Se elige como ámbito de estudio la comarca de la Sierra de Cádiz (Andalucía, España), cuyas circunstancias físicas y culturales han favorecido la subsistencia de 85 molinos hidráulicos, que ayudan a abordar la lectura histórica, logística y paisajística del territorio, porque han intervenido el soporte natural creando infraestructuras de comunicación e hidráulicas. Se trata, por tanto, de reconocer y explicar la estructuración de este territorio a través de sus molinos harineros. Interesa interpretar el territorio a partir de estas arquitecturas dispersas en el marco de nuestro tiempo, detectando sus convergencias con las teorías, modernas y contemporáneas, sobre arquitectura, infraestructura y paisaje, y sirviéndonos de los sistemas y técnicas actuales de dibujo y modelado del territorio. Esto permite construir nuevas interpretaciones y elaborar nuevos estratos cartográficos que propician entender cómo la arquitectura transforma el territorio en paisaje, en lugar. Las distintas escalas de aproximación –Sistema General, Sistema Local y Sistema Arquitectónico– se plantean desde la especificidad de las investigaciones pertenecientes al área de conocimiento de Proyectos Arquitectónicos, dando lugar a niveles concatenados de conocimiento que posibilitan una comprensión integral de la arquitectura, de su territorio y de la relación dialógica y participativa que los vincula. Este trabajo trata de desarrollar, por tanto, una metodología de lectura crítica y contemporánea de un paisaje patrimonial resiliente, repleto de arquitecturas anónimas del pasado; arquitecturas tradicionales que, como conjuntos constructivos, han sido objeto de interés desde principios del siglo XX, vertebrando históricamente el territorio y englobando valores y estrategias de diseño que pueden llenar de contenido la axiología arquitectónica. La estructura de esta Tesis consta de tres partes. La primera, referida a contextualización, introduce al lector en el trabajo, presentando los precedentes y las herramientas metodológicas para abordar la investigación. Continúa con un capítulo teórico que sienta las bases de reflexión referida al territorio, al paisaje y a la arquitectura rural productiva. La segunda parte trata el territorio y los objetos específicos de estudio: la Sierra de Cádiz y sus molinos hidráulicos; comienza por presentar el espacio serrano, partiendo del marco provincial y siguiendo con la comarca de la Sierra de Cádiz; desde una perspectiva objetiva y científica, trata su geografía, hidrografía, usos del suelo, etc., continúa con un análisis de su ordenación (urbanística y medioambiental) y de su patrimonio cultural, y finaliza con un estudio histórico-cartográfico. Seguidamente, se acomete el capítulo que focaliza en las arquitecturas del territorio: los molinos hidráulicos. Su estudio se basa en tres procedimientos metodológicos: localizarlos, dibujarlos e inventariarlos, acciones que reafirman su condición territorial y paisajística. La última parte, a modo de conclusiones, trata de sintetizar los aspectos claves de la investigación, las consideraciones finales sobre arquitectura y molinos que se construyen mediante parejas de conceptos afines, imprescindibles en la lectura holística acometida: arquitectura y lugar, valores y patrimonio, territorio y paisaje e infraestructuras y redes. Con un breve epílogo se cierra esta Tesis Doctoral.Productive rural architecture is an essential part of landscapes with heritage values and it helps to explain the historical functionality of the territories in which they are located. Despite their state of abandonment, they bear witness to and document the socio-economic and cultural structures of a region. The Sierra de Cádiz region (Andalusia, Spain) was chosen as the area of study. Its physical and cultural circumstances have favoured the survival of 85 water mills, which help to address the historical, logistical and landscape reading of the territory, because they have provided natural support by creating communication and hydraulic infrastructures. It is therefore a question of recognising and explaining the structure of this territory through its flour mills. It is interesting to get a reading of the territory based on these structures dispersed in the framework of our present time, detecting their links to modern and contemporary theories on architecture, infrastructure and landscape, and using current systems and techniques for mapping and modelling the territory. This allows us to construct new interpretations and elaborate new cartographic strata that make it possible to understand how architecture transforms territory into landscape, into places. Different scales of approach⁠ –General System, Local System and Architectural System– are presented from the specific research in Architectural Projects, giving rise to linked levels of knowledge that enable a comprehensive understanding of architecture, of its territory and of the dialogical and participative relationship that links them. Therefore, this work seeks to develop a methodology for a critical and contemporary reading of a resilient heritage landscape, full of anonymous architecture from the past. These traditional structures have been an object of interest since the early 20th century, historically structuring the territory and encompassing design values and strategies that can fill the architectural axiology with content. The structure of this Thesis consists of three parts. The first part, which addresses contextualisation, introduces the reader to the work, presenting the precedents and methodological tools to approach the research. It continues with a theoretical chapter that lays the foundations for contemporary reflection on the territory, landscape and productive rural architecture. The second part addresses the territory and the specific objects of study: The Sierra de Cádiz and its water mills. It begins by presenting the mountainous space, starting from the provincial framework and continuing with the region of the Sierra de Cádiz; from an objective and scientific perspective, it describes its geography, hydrography, land use, etc., followed by an analysis of its planning (urban and environmental) and its cultural heritage, and ends with a historical-cartographic study. The following chapter focuses on the architecture of the territory: the water mills. Their study is based on three methodological procedures: locating, drawing and inventorying them, actions that reaffirm their territorial and landscape condition. The last part, the conclusion, attempts to summarise the key aspects of the research; the final considerations on architecture and mills, which are built by means of pairs of related concepts, essential in the holistic reading undertaken: architecture and place, values and heritage, territory and landscape and infrastructures and networks. A brief epilogue closes this Doctoral Thesis