Caracterización constructiva y estado de conservación de la arquitectura del agua en el Valle de Lecrin (Granada, España) = Constructive characterization and state of conservation of water architecture in the Lecrin Valley (Granada, Spain).

Abstract

— The Lecrín Valley, a region of Granada located on the southwestern slope of Sierra Nevada. This territory recognizes water as a fundamental resource for its technological and social development, being also responsible for the evolution of the landscape and its population. Hydraulic architectures, understood as those constructions that are or have been related to water, either for the purpose of distributing, conducting, storing or using it as an industrial driving force, constitute the main objective of this study. From a total of 72 architectures, attention is focused on determining their location, architectural typology and conservation state. On the other hand, the classification of architectures in different study groups: defensive architectures, mills and other architectures, allows to know as main results the incidence that each of the groups has in the state of conservation as well as other specific qualities. The conclusions obtained through this comparative study have allowed to establish relationships between the architectural typology, legal protection, use and construction techniques, recognizing advanced deterioration in a large number of elements, including some in serious danger of disappearance.