The Pavilions at the Alhambra's Court of the Lions: Graphic Analysis of Muqarnas

Abstract

This research documents and graphically analyzes the pavilions muqarnas at the Courtof the Lions in the Alhambra in Granada, a World Heritage Site. In order to cast some light on theunderstanding and preservation of these 14th century architectural elements, after a brief reportof historical data on catastrophes and restorations, a novel methodology for the case study basedon three complementary graphic analyses is presented here: First, there is a review of outstandingimages ranging from the 17th to the 20th centuries; subsequently, new CAD (computer-aided design)drawings from pavilions muqarnas testing the theoretic principles from their geometric groupingare accomplished for the first time; and finally, a 3D laser scanner is used to understand the precisepresent-day state from the point cloud obtained. Comparing drawings allows us to assess themuqarnas relevance while proving, for the first time, that the muqarnas of both pavilions have distinctconfigurations and different amounts of pieces. Besides, this process reveals geometric deformationsexisting in the original Nasrid muqarnas compositions, identifying small pieces hitherto unknown,plus additional deformations resulting from adjustments after important threats that both pavilionsand their muqarnas overcame for centuries, despite their fragile construction.