el Vallespir

Construction and rural production in el Vallespir

The construction systems used for the creation of a house are a benefit for the constitution of a determined architectonical type. The application of such processes in a determined territory stems from the knowledge of the master builder in the area and depends on the materials that were on easy supply. These factors lead to the any given structural or building application that is then copied repeatedly throughout the area.

The stone used for the supporting walls or enclosures is mainly small pieces granite used as found in nature. These pieces are stuck together with mortar, a mixture of lime, sand, and water. There are adjacent buildings but these are usually formed using dry stalls.

The more modest and humble homes have very simple finishes, there is no carved stonework or stone wedges round the frameworks of doors and Windows, but there are wooden lintels. Many of the windows remain closed with wooden shutters laid to the flat of the wall, which are typical in mountainous regions. The roofing eaves are made of the simple projecting rafters, with some wooden posts on top to support the tiles.

An architecturally outstanding building is usually achieved using outstanding techniques. When the perimeter of the openings to doors and windows are lined with carved stone then the eaves are usually made from projecting rafters combined with decorated ceramic tiles and appliqués.

Roofing made from wooden joists is more commonly found in the ground floors of houses in el Vallespir. It is rare to see this vaulted, which is a construction technique that requires a much higher level of buying power than for wooden joists (and which is more frequent in la Garrotxa and in el Solsonès) and which offers total separation between floors: it stops the bas smells from the animals from rising upstairs to the human quarters.

Joan Curós i Vilà
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya