Spain is at the forefront when it comes to preserving its heritage and has won more prestigious European awards than any other country. The projects range from reviving ancient craftsmanship techniques that can provide solutions to current challenges, to using advanced modern technology for conservation purposes. Until 5 September, you can vote for your favorites among 24 exciting conservation and dissemination projects – Find Your Spain presents the Spanish candidates for Europa Nostra’s «People’s Jury Prize». Our presentation of the candidates for 2021 continues.
Among this year’s 24 winners of the Europa Nostra award, as many as five were won by projects in Spain. The prize, which is supported by the EU, is awarded to projects that, in an excellent but quite different way, safeguard Europe’s common cultural heritage. This year was the 19th time the prize was awarded, no country has in these years run away with as many of the awards as Spain.
This year’s winners come from 18 countries and include both individuals and large projects – from an almost 80-year-old Italian woman who makes the most exquisite lace, to a large-scale project to restore the park at Fredensborg Castle in Denmark. In 2021, Spain won awards in the categories Conservation, Research, Dedicated service and Education, training and awareness-raising. Among these winners, maybe you will find ideas for excursions to new places and destinations?
Materials and construction techniques from the past for the future?
In the category for conservation projects, we also find Mas de Burot – a country house built in the 19th century in what is now Els Port’s nature park. The park, which is about 60,000 hectares, covers parts of Catalonia, Valencia and Aragón and is located in a limestone massif that offers visitors a dramatic landscape with a bustling wildlife.
Utilization of local resources in the best possible way, whether it was locally grown food or production using what one had on hand nearby, was an obvious choice in earlier times. The limestone in the national park was used for house construction. Lime mortar and plaster were easy to apply, providing buildings that “breathe” and surfaces that inhibit growth of bacteria and fungi. It is precisely such properties that modern paint manufacturers like to market their products with in order for today’s houses to be better protected against the challenges that one imagines that, among other things, climate change may entail.
The restoration of the Mas de Burot farmhouse extended over many years and involved the local community in various ways. And they went to great lengths: From 2004 to 2015, old and traditional buildings in the nature park were mapped. The Spanish countryside has long suffered from depopulation and a strong urbanization trend – causing a number of buildings in Els Ports to be abandoned and exposed to prolonged decay.
Experts studied traditional building methods and materials from as many buildings as possible and obtained information about the way of life and the history of the area through this work. In 2016, the study resulted in a handbook on how to best use old building techniques and materials to preserve the rural architectural heritage.
Only after such extensive mapping Mas de Burot was selected as a restoration object. Today, houses of this type are often called “healthy buildings” because only local and natural building materials are used here. The building was chosen because it is a typical traditional farmhouse from the area – and the condition of the house gave those who worked on restoring it a true challenge. Consequently, the team gained a lot of experience where the previous thorough studies would really come in handy. The building had been abandoned for a number of years, the roof had collapsed, the interior suffered major water damage and walls, floors and stairs were gone.
The completely restored house is part of the nature park’s commitment to sustainable tourism. Both tourists and conservation experts are welcome to study traditional Spanish architecture up close. You can read more about Mas de Burot here: www.masdeburot.cat.
The People’s Jury: Vote for your favorites
But the last of the Europa Nostra Prizes for 2021 has not yet been awarded. Until 5 September 2021, you can help decide which of the 24 prize winners will be awarded the People’s Jury Prize for this year’s best European conservation project. You can find a presentation of the candidates and can vote here: https://vote.europanostra.org/.
You must vote on three projects, but only one from each country. You give three points to your favorite project, two to what you think is the second-best and one point to your third and final candidate. Following your vote on Europa Nostra’s website, you will receive an email asking you to confirm your vote. On 23 September, the winner of this year’s People’s Jury Prize will be announced. Do you have a Spanish favorite for this prize?
Find Your Spain!
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