Re-making “corralas” : spaces for creation and construction of identity in Seville’s historic district

Abstract

Spread throughout the city, the “corralas” are essential pieces of Sevilla’s urban fabric (Spain). These spaces that were particularly shaped for an affordable co-life and craftwork activities have become a referent for contemporary creative communities, which have not just appropriated them but have emulated them. In obsolete industrial spaces, these social groups recreate this traditional way of life around a courtyard: the key element of vernacular residential architecture in this region. Corrala’s project of colife has allowed current creative workers to live and develop their practices, while, in a reciprocal process, they have become protectors of its meaning and mixed forms, an ethnological heritage in danger. This research focuses on the specific case of “El Pelícano”, a former cork factory inaugurated in the decade of the 1920’s, and its suitability for transformation into a contemporary creative venue assuming the corrala concept. The analysis is based on crossed methodologies: direct observation, interviews to the creators, participation in collective meals and other activities. A photo-shoot of El Pelícano by artist Macarena Gross presents its atmosphere and its phenomenological values in an attempt to reclaim the place of the creative corrala in the memory of this city.