Landscape intervention in Caño de Hierro
Caño de Hierro is a steep-sided canyon on top of which is placed Hornachuelos, an Andalusian white-housed town placed between Córdoba and Seville, near la Vera del Guadalquivir.
The caves of Caño de Hierro, formerly used as a refuge and as a warehouse for agricultural surplus, were buried under rune and undergrowth for decades, and they were only kept alive in the memory of the local elders. They are a remnant of old times, a different pace and a different lifestyle. Its enhancement is part of an operation that aims to recover the heritage of Hornachuelos for its neighbours and to point out the enormous natural, historical and architectural richness of the town.
For the enhancement of Caño de Hierro a pedestrian promenade is proposed. This walkway starts at the access road of the town and culminates in the largest of the caves, la Cueva de las Carretas. The operation must span nine meters in height and the surface available to solve this ascension is limited. To this fact we must add the danger of rockfall if the trail gets too close to the canyon wall. So the path layout has to be exact to minimize digging without entering the danger zone. Six retaining walls are drawn as well as six cuts in the terrain, resulting in the pedestrian promenade: a geometric layout that solves the ascent and the transition from a road to a natural, rugged environment.
Caño de Hierro is a raw, beautiful landscape. Its range of yellows turns into brown as the day ticks over and the sun falls. The irregular geometry of this place does nothing but magnify the changing character of this place, submitted to the variations of the sunlight. This landscape has its own torn aesthetic. It is a fragile balance that an intrusive intervention could ruin. The walls, with their colour and texture, recognize the intrinsic beauty of this place. They become part of this great plinth that is Caño the Hierro for Hornachuelos.
At the top of the trail, under la Cueva de las Carretas, the promenade expands itself, offering a viewpoint. From here it is possible to see the opposite slope of the pipe, and in the distance, the orange grove that extends to the horizon. The culmination of this small walk is none other than observing the landscape from the landscape.
Name of the project: Caño de Hierro
Project category: Public Project
Design year: 2018
Year Built: 2019
Architects:
Oriol Ferrer
Ventura Godoy
Maria Megías
Marc Sánchez
Location
Carretera CP-002
14740 Hornachuelos | Hornachuelos
Córdoba | Spain
Agents
Promotor: Ayuntamiento de Hornachuelos
Technical architect: Antonio Durán
Constructor: Construcciones Miguel Rojano S.L
Topography: IMT Ingeniería
Engineering: SEGOS
Manufacturer: Aluminios y Forjas Fernando Lopez
Photograph:
Adriá Goula Photo
Other data
Starting date: June 2018
End date: March 2019
Surface: 729 m2