Restoration of walled area of Niebla/ Huelva/ Spain

Abstract

The article expounds the experience of the restoration of the Walled Area of Niebla (Huelva) for the Ministry of Culture. It is an Almohade fortification made of adobe walls of red earth and stone of the area, which was in a lamentable state of abandonment. The singularity of the intervention lies in the methods used for the project and the originality of the material to be restored, which because of its heterogeneousness, made obligatory the making of a new face between 25 and 150 cm of adobe walls of stabilized earth which was sewn to the old ones. The article is introduced through a series of considerations on earth architecture, and after a historical review of Niebla, describes the structure and documents of the project and also gives a description of the works carried out, explaining the details of the material (dosification: 3 parts of red earth, 2 of sand, 3 of minute gravel, 2 of calcium and 1 of cement; plasticity by organoleptical procedures), and the auxiliary means employed (boards of 90 cm to one face, waters not extracted, sewn bv mortisina and metallic legs). The structure of the article is superior to the usual presentation of a work in architectural magazines. It is completed with sufficient bibliography and graphic material, announcing the later presentation of more details.