The prize-winning projects
ANTONIO JIMÉNEZ TORRECILLASCompletion of the Muralla Nazarí
Granada, Spain, 2003-2006Motivation of the Jury:
A minimal and minimalist project developed to close a 40 m breach opened in the late-1800s in the ancient walls linking the Alhambra with the Albaicin quarter. While avoiding slavish or mock historicism, Jiménez Torrecillas used fragments of slabs in local granite to implement a new section of the wall that in turn embodies a "secret" passage ensuring a magical atmosphere thanks to the light filtered through the "porous" double walls.
Description:
The stepped walls built XIV century surround the "Gitano" village of Albaicin, in turn separated by a deep gorge from the Alhambra. The earthquake in 1885 opened a breach of about 40 metres, transforming the site into an open cast tip. Subsequent negligence saw this tip become a stable feature of the site.
The architect limited the project to the simple restoration of pre-existing volumes but introduced an 'invention' that overcame the hypothesis of mere 'historical' reconstruction. After reclamation and planting agave and India figs (prickly pear), the wall was buffered by a series of huge granite slabs having the same dimensions and cross-sections - stacked apparently at random - bonded together by small amounts of high-strength mortar that became invisible in the final installation.
This stratification between slabs incorporates certain voids: a texture of solid rock, shadow and fragments of filtered light that recall the corridors in the ancient palaces of the city.
The breach was closed by 112 metres 3 of granite - a stone that harmonises perfectly with the colour of the Mediaeval "tapial" walls, an ancient construction system based on landfills.
Stone materials used:
granite
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