Exhibition “EMPTY AND FORGOTTEN. Values and strategies for the recovery of vernacular architecture in the emptied Spain”.
September 15 to 30, 2022
Foyer of the Higher Technical School of Architecture /UPV
Exhibition included in the congress HERITAGE2022 – International Conference on Vernacular Heritage: Culture, People and Sustainability.
The depopulation that has been affecting many areas of Spain for several decades is linked to aspects such as the crisis of the traditional agricultural system, as well as, in general, to social changes. The most recent data show that barely 6% of the Spanish population lives in municipalities of less than 2,000 inhabitants, and these account for 72% of the municipalities in the whole country, representing around 55% of the surface area. This process of demographic readjustment is accompanied by a progressive abandonment of the traditional architecture (both productive and housing) of these settlements, as well as the accelerated loss of construction know-how and local traditions.
For years, the research group Res-Architecture investigates the dynamics of transformation of vernacular architecture and strategies for its conservation and recovery and its contribution to society through culture and awareness. The exhibition brings together the results of a broad reflection generated through various research projects (RISK-TERRA, 3D Past, Versus+/Heritage for People), commissions (especially within the framework of the National Plan for Vernacular Architecture of the IPCE of the MEC) carried out on the subject, as well as experiences carried out with students of the ETSA (undergraduate and master) during the 2021-22 course and direct experimentations carried out in the Spanish territory and especially in inland areas. The exhibition, always accompanied by real examples, has the following sections: current situation and social and territorial implications; values of traditional architecture (historical, cultural, environmental unsustainability, socio-cultural and socio-economic); problems and risks; recovery strategies.
More info: Research Group Res-Arquitectura