The Urban Resilience of Monastic Architecture and the Heritage Management: The Case of Seville’s Saint Augustin Convent

Abstract

The aim of this communication is to develop how to preserve the permanencies and losses of old convents and monasteries after urban transformations, as well as to review the instruments of heritage protection that have failed. It is a common process that has been experimented in many European cities and whose protagonist are the cloistered convents. Pieces that have served to make city and help to build its periphery. But, with the passage of time they were submerged in abandonment, fragmentation, forgetfulness and even loss their memory. This situation remains until a fresh impulse transforms it into a new object of patrimonial value, resource for tourist use, and rejoints the city. The methodology followed is based on the simultaneous use of different 2D and 3D assisted drawing tools, always supported by historical cartography and written documentary sources. In Spain, the city of Seville stands out as one of the settings for the development of religious orders, more than one hundred. As a result of historical events and developments, many of Seville's convents and monasteries have disappeared completely. The number of monasteries that have remained intact, preserving their use value as a religious institution are very small, only 15. However, it is common to find remnants in the present-day city where their remains are still visible. Saint Augustin monastery was founded in the 13th century outside the city walls, 15,016 m2 next to the Carmona Gate. Its location was bounded by the city and the city walls to the west, the aqueduct to the south and the Tagarete River to the east. Both the aqueduct and the river allowed for the location of the building as well as the extensive development of its orchards. The importance of water in the conventual space is due to the need for irrigation and cultivation of the green area. In 1835, the convent was disentailed, and the building was divided up. New dwellings were also built on the site of the former convent, which was in a privileged location. New streets appeared, the site was completely divided and cloisters, parts of the old convent and its church disappeared. The remains of the building have not been adequately protected for decades. The convent of Saint Augustin is an outstanding example of urban resilience, how a building of great importance and size has managed to survive. Some valuable spaces of the original building are still preserved, such as the refectory, the staircase, and the main cloister. The understanding and protection of Seville's convent heritage requires specific planning tools to address the urban condition of the convents. In addition, their determining role in the morphological construction of the city and the configuration of the historic urban landscape will be stablished. Unpublished material of the urban and architectural research process will be provided under a methodological approach of renewed heritage management, clearly useful for European historic cities.