Drawings that immortalize the city. The latent and persecuted architecture of the El Cabanyal

Abstract

[EN] After ten years, drawing indiscriminately the neighborhoods of Valencia, for no other reason than to observe and represent every corner of the city, we finally decided to use the communicative capacity of drawing as a tool to reclaim El Cabanyal’s negletic state of abandonment, that has been going through for many years, regardless its political burden. After setting this goal and analysing the morphological and social history of this neighborhood, we decided to travel the streets and rooftops of El Cabanyal, talk to its people, and draw, in situ, those different spaces, shapes, colors, atmospheres ... giving rise to dozens of drawings that immortalize the (still alive) remains of this urban ecosystem. Paper-shaped witnesses sketched with latent architectures, persecuted and threatened by oblivion that will accompany us during the course of this paper. After ten years, drawing indiscriminately the neighborhoods of Valencia, for no other reason than to observe and represent every corner of the city, we finally decided to use the communicative capacity of drawing as a tool to reclaim El Cabanyal’s negletic state of abandonment, that has been going through for many years, regardless its political burden. After setting this goal and analysing the morphological and social history of this neighborhood, we decided to travel the streets and rooftops of El Cabanyal, talk to its people, and draw, in situ, those different spaces, shapes, colors, atmospheres ... giving rise to dozens of drawings that immortalize the (still alive) remains of this urban ecosystem. Paper-shaped witnesses sketched with latent architectures, persecuted and threatened by oblivion that will accompany us during the course of this paper.

[ES] Después de la experiencia acumulada en diez años, dibujando indiscriminadamente los barrios de Valencia, sin otro motivo, que observar y representar gráficamente cada rincón de la ciudad, nos pareció oportuno utilizar la capacidad comunicativa del dibujo como herramienta para reivindicar el barrio de El Cabanyal y la situación por la que atraviesa desde hace muchos años, independientemente de su carga política. Después de, en conjunto, plantearnos este objetivo y analizar la historia morfológica y social de este barrio, nos propusimos recorrer las calles y azoteas de El Cabanyal, hablar con sus gentes y dibujar, in situ, los distintos espacios, formas, colores, atmósferas…dando lugar a decenas de dibujos que inmortalizan lo que perdura de este ecosistema urbano aún con vida. Testigos con forma de papel surcados de arquitecturas latentes, perseguidas y amenazadas por un olvido que nos acompañarán en el transcurso de esta lectura.