Tower restoration in Huercal-Overa by Castillo/Miras Arquitectos.

The “Torre de Huercal Overa” dates back to the 13th century: it was built by the Arabs when the Nazari kingdom reigned in the south of the Iberian Peninsula.

The main aim of the project was to make the tower accessible, and encompassed the repair and restoration of the original building. The criteria followed were to preserve as much as possible of the original materials, removing modern elements and resurfacing the original mud wall and brick fabric. Give the archeological importance of the site, new additions are made as removable objects, placed directly onto the ground without foundations and made with contrasting materials with the ones the original structure was built. Instead of reconstructing, the project emphasizes the new additions and states the lost pieces.

The project tries to reuse the existing topography to minimize ground alteration, so the parking area is set at an existing plateau at the end of the access road. A monolithic cor-ten steel box is placed to house the information office. Like a shipping container, it is intended to show its removable, traveling nature. From that point, a pedestrian path was traced with the help of the archaeologists. Together with the guidelines they provided, the topography of the site traced itself the path to follow. The chosen layout looks for a gentle slope and creating flat spaces to rest and look. The trail is paved with pre-casted concrete tiles. Stone like benches are set along the way, emerging like part of the mountain.