El artículo resalta el papel de la cuenca del río Tajo como espacio de encuentro histórico entre la arquitectura tradicional de origen europeo y la  arquitectura tradicional de origen islámico y berebere

Puerto García, Adelaida del

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 A. del Puerto García, Int. J. of Herit. Archit., Vol. 1, No. 3 (2017) 279–286 
© 2017 WIT Press, www.witpress.com
ISSN: 2058-8321 (paper format), ISSN: 2058-833X (online), http://www.witpress.com/journals
DOI: 10.2495/HA-V1-N3-279-286
This paper is part of the Proceedings of the International Conference on Islamic Heritage  
Architecture and Art (Islamic Heritage Architecture 2016)
www.witconferences.com
WHERE THE KASBAH MET THE HUT: RIVER TAGUS AND 
THE ENCOUNTER BETWEEN ISLAMIC AND EUROPEAN 
BUILDING TECHNOLOGIES
ADELAIDA DEL PUERTO GARCíA
Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid, UPM &  
Colegio Oficial de Arquitectos de Castilla la Mancha, Spain.
ABSTRACT
The aim of this paper is to highlight the importance of the river Tagus as the place of the most  occidental 
encounter between Islamic and European traditional construction technologies. The research stems 
from a study of Vernacular Architecture in Toledo. The investigation process has included a first phase 
of field work followed by Archives research, once the case studies have been determined. Further 
 literature review about border typologies has evidenced the links among history, landscape transforma-
tions and building technologies. 
Vernacular types of architecture in the Mediterranean fringe are usually studied as a whole. It is a vast 
area of very similar architectural solutions that seem to be born directly from the soil, the climate and cul-
tures coming from the Middle East and northern Africa. But a closer look at this particular territory will 
reveal how traditional Mediterranean architecture is the result of the merging of two very different ways 
of understanding the built space, the relationship with the environment and the construction techniques.
The Kasbah architecture, introduced by Islamic culture and based on a lack of interest of interacting 
with tough environmental surroundings, meets the European style of integrating hut architecture with 
the landscape. Landscapes of cattle pastures meet olive groves, vineyards and wheat fields. The patio 
meets the front yard. Very interestingly mixed wall designs emerge from this convergence of the two 
cultures, but there are also some difficulties when constructing wooden frames and trusses, particularly 
in the southern areas.
This article delves into the relationship among history, environment and mutations in architecture, 
focusing on the middle course of the river Tagus.
Keywords: Islamic, rammed earth, Tagus, vernacular architecture, wooden structures.
1 INTRODUCTION
The footprint of the Islamic conquest in the southern half of the Spanish peninsula mixes 
Islamic and Berber building technologies. The origin of the conquest was Islamic, but an 
important amount of Berber population was in charge of repopulating the conquered lands 
[1]. The Spanish re-conquest timing determined how long the Islamic and Berber presence 
lasted in the different areas. In the north of the peninsula, the presence was shorter and so was 
the influence on the different aspects of culture, including architecture. The South and the 
East coasts of Spain, known as Al-Andalus, were the fringes of territory where the influence 
lasted for many centuries. In the present, architectural contrasts between the north and the 
south are still very visible. The landscape, urban fabrics and traditional architecture evolu-
tions are very different. International studies regarding traditional architecture settle the occi-
dental border between European-influenced and Islamic-influenced vernacular architecture 
in the centre of the peninsula [2, 3]. This research contributes to highlight the presence of a 
natural place for the mixture between both architectural cultures: the river Tagus depression.
280 A. del Puerto García, Int. J. of Herit. Archit., Vol. 1, No. 3 (2017)
2 ISLAMIC BORDERS IN THE MIDDLE AGES AND NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS 
IN WESTERN EUROPE AND NORTHERN AFRICA
Spain and Portugal are located on the fringes of territory between the great European rivers 
depressions and the North African Sahara desert. The size and the length of rivers decrease as 
we descend from France to the north of Morocco (Fig. 1).
The presence of abundant mountain ranges in the peninsula and western Morocco deter-
mine the appearance of watercourses. In the peninsula, river Tagus lies in the middle, right 
between the northern and southern plateaus.
3 THE TAGUS IN THE CHRONOLOGY OF CHRISTIAN CONQUEST
River Tagus, in its middle course, lies between two mountain ranges: Montes de Toledo 
range: 1.220 m. altitude and Gredos range: 2.592 m. In terms of territorial conquest, the north 
border of the Tagus is an important physical barrier. So are the Central and Iberian ranges, in 
the north-east and in the upper reaches of the river. The ranges allowed stabilizing the south 
conquest once it had been gained. From the 8th century until the 12th century, territories at 
the south of these ranges were part of the Islamic world. The Tagus remained close to the 
border and was influenced by both cultures: the European and the Islamic. Islamic influence 
Figure 1:  Map of Islamic borders between the 11th and the 12th centuries and natural con-
trasts between western Europe and northern Africa. Source: the author. Based on 
[2] and [4].
 A. del Puerto García, Int. J. of Herit. Archit., Vol. 1, No. 3 (2017) 281
was coming through the north of Africa. Four centuries of cultural immersion and the mas-
sive arrival of Berbers to provinces like Toledo [1] strongly influenced the urban fabrics, the 
use of land and the architecture.
4 KASBAH BUILDING TECHNIQUES AND ITS INTERACTION WITH NATURE
Desert and semi-desert territories allow us scarcely to obtain raw materials for construction. 
Stone is removed by erosion and the lack of rains hinders the appearance of botanical spe-
cies. Wood has to be used only when it is absolutely necessary [5, 6]. So is the case with flat 
roof structures made of thin trunks. Bearing walls are in all cases except the patio, with the 
vertical structure. Beams are a luxurious option and they are only used when a wider space 
or an angle appears, helping to change the joist’s direction [7]. Bearing walls have a double 
function: structural and climatic. Bearing walls are made of rammed earth and are protected 
by mud or lime [8], depending on the economic development. Their thickness helps reduce 
the absorption of high temperatures into the dwelling.
Interior spaces are arranged around a patio. The patio works as a space distributor and as 
a natural cooling system. Dwellings share external bearing walls, and they usually have no 
more than one external facade [9]. Contact with the exterior spaces is scarce and no contact 
with the surrounding natural environment exists. The house is only perceptible from the 
inside and there is no aesthetic relationship with the landscape. Vegetation, if any, remains 
in the patio. Design concentrations are in the patio, which is the core of human recreations 
[1, 7], compensating the lack of natural liveable spaces.
A small number of roads connects the compact urban fabric with the surroundings. Only 
the Kasbah, as a whole, has facades.
5 HUT-BUILDING TECHNIQUES AND ITS INTERACTION WITH NATURE
The wooden hut, which turned into the palafitte type in some European countries during the 
prehistoric period [4, 10], represents the antithesis of the Kasbah, and is a frequent architec-
tural solution in many areas of central and northern Europe. This is the case in some areas of 
Spain and Portugal too [5].
Hilly territories and great river depressions usually have a common factor: a certain level 
of humidity that allows botanical species to grow and expand profusely. The abundance of 
woody species, and the exposure to cold temperatures in winter, determines the use of wood 
as the main material. It is used as a structure element and also for coating and roofing pur-
poses, due to its good thermal insulation performance. The hut, also known as cabin, is a 
compact building with no interior open spaces and is covered, in general, with two slopes. 
Roof structures may vary from cruck to trusses or joists solutions [4, 11].
The hut is inserted, individually, in a generous landscape. As a result, all facades are exte-
rior and the visual exchange with the landscape is mutual: you can see the outside from the 
inside and the hut is a perceptible element of the landscape, a milestone. Design concentrates 
on the facades and the roof. The access, the lanes, the orchards and the prairies that surround 
it determine a low demand of interior space for human recreation. As exterior spaces are live-
able, the interior space loses intensity if we compare it with the Kasbah. Only the home fire 
space requires special attention, and it is an important element in the case of mountain huts. 
6 BUILDING TECHNOLOGIES ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF RIVER TAGUS
In semi-desert and the desert areas of northern Africa, built volumes that surround the patio 
are covered with flat roofs. Their geometry changes into one or two slopes, keeping in some 
cases anti-climatic solutions [12], as we ascend to the Middle Atlas Range. The southern 
282 A. del Puerto García, Int. J. of Herit. Archit., Vol. 1, No. 3 (2017)
Figuer 2:  Evolutions and encounters of Kasbah and hut types. Source: the author. Based on 
[10–20, 25].
Spanish fringe maintains, in many cases, flat roof solutions. The usage of flat roofs dimin-
ishes as we reach the first mountain ranges of the Iberian Peninsula.
Vernacular architecture is always in strong relation with the use of land and the natural land-
scape. Territories in the south of the river Tagus are characterized by agriculture landscapes.
Olive trees, vineyards and cereals are the main civilizations. The predominance of agricul-
ture is a consequence of the existence of several urban concentrations from Roman times that 
grew intensively during the Islamic conquest. So is the case of Córdoba.
 A. del Puerto García, Int. J. of Herit. Archit., Vol. 1, No. 3 (2017) 283
Figure 3:  Small- and medium-sized countryside buildings related to farming in Spain and 
Morocco – Middle Atlas range. Source: the author. Based on [17, 21–23] and the 
author doctoral Thesis field work.
The Islamic cultural footprint stays clear until we reach the south bank of the river Tagus 
[17, 24]. Especially in the isolated architecture related to farming (Fig. 3) and in the smaller 
urban centres (Fig. 4).
Volumetry [15], the abundance of patio-type distributions [24], the lack and small size of 
windows, integration of massive staircases [17], pitched roof structural solutions for a maxi-
mum of two slopes and the persistent presence of rammed earth bearing walls [3, 25] betray the 
284 A. del Puerto García, Int. J. of Herit. Archit., Vol. 1, No. 3 (2017)
presence of the Kasbah building technologies. Rammed earth walls get reinforced and shaped 
in their vulnerable points with the materials provided by the land: stone, brick or adobe.
Wood is a scarce resource and it is only used for pitched or horizontal structural purposes. 
In general, there is no use of wood integrated in walls from the south bank of the river to the 
south coast of the peninsula in the vertical axis of the Tagus middle course [26].
Figure 4:  Medium-sized urban/rural dwellings in the Tagus middle course, central Spain and 
Algeria. Source: the author. Based on [6, 9, 15, 25].
 A. del Puerto García, Int. J. of Herit. Archit., Vol. 1, No. 3 (2017) 285
7 BUILDING TECHNOLOGIES ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE RIVER TAGUS
Rammed earth examples can be found in the north of river Tagus. Adobe becomes rife in Cas-
tilla y León where earth is the only means for construction. But there is a wooden building 
technology that appears as we cross the river to the north, which can be found only excep-
tionally in the southern area: the wooden frame technology [26]. In the north side, wooden 
framed walls combine with brick or stone in the basement, also with adobe filling the spaces 
between the wooden parts.
So is the case of Cáceres, Ávila, Salamanca, Segovia, Cuenca [16] and Guadalajara [13, 15] In 
the south of the province of Soria, wood is used as vertical structure (Fig. 2) in compact build-
ings with no patio and ground cover, that can reach four slopes even in the poorest cases [21].
In the south of the river, corners between built pieces used to be covered to avoid encounter 
of more than two slopes [17]. The structural solutions seem to be an intuitive evolution from 
flat roofs.
In the Portuguese Tagus low course, wooden structures appear with the Avieiro palafitte 
types, developed strictly on the banks of the river [15].
8 CONCLUSIONS
River Tagus has established itself over time as the space of the occidental encounter between 
rammed earth and wooden construction technologies. A combination of several factors, 
including historical events and environmental characteristics, has determined its role as a 
boundary.
Berber and Islamic technologies that entered the Iberian Peninsula during the Islamic 
conquest are based on compactness, earthen technologies, shared bearing walls, the patio-
type and a clear separation from natural environment. Those types and technologies reached 
Europe through the Iberian Peninsula, mixing with northern solutions in the area of river 
Tagus and in the south of the central ranges of the peninsula.
European wooden framed technologies with compact volumes, external facades and light 
structures reached their southernmost border around river Tagus and its tributaries.
The river Tagus has become the place where domestic joint solutions that originated in the 
Saharan desert meet the architecture born in the green depressions of the greatest European 
rivers: Lands where wood is lavish and the contact with nature is desirable.
As a result of this encounter, hybrid technologies spread along the northern and southern 
areas of the river. Mixtures of wood, rammed earth, adobe, brick and stone create a large 
variety of relationships among architecture, history and the natural landscape.
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Where the Kasbah met the Hut: river Tagus and the encounter between Islamic and European Building Technologies

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