On the importance of materials in the Monegros colonisation settlements

Abstract

Two central elements converge in the heritage values of Spain’s colonisation settlements in general and of those in the Los Monegros region in particular: the notion of the single unit and the fusion of modernity and tradition. Materials play an important role in both aspects. This analysis seeks to identify the values in the original projects that are essential in order to recognise colonisation settlements as examples of architectural and urban heritage. The premise of this analysis is that the materials used to build these towns and villages have inherent value and, as such, must be maintained and conserved.

This paper forms part of a larger research framework, a doctoral thesis currently underway, in which the present conditions, degree of conservation and causes of deterioration observed in the colonisation settlements of Los Monegros are being analysed. After a series of general reflections on the architectural heritage of the materials, and after subsequent study of their current condition of the materials, guidelines are proposed for the improvement of their conservation. A series of possible criteria are also set out that can serve as a guide for any interventions to be made to the architectural heritage of these settlements, which are part of the overall history of Spain’s agrarian colonisation project.