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Vernacular architecture in Mallorca

Marjades (dry-stone terraces)

At a glance

Cultivation terraces supported by dry stone walls. They turn a hillside into steps of flat land. They are the greatest exponent of dry stone in the Serra de…

Architecture and engineering
Vernacular architecture in Mallorca
Marjades
Marjades — Desconegut, Sense declaració al registre MDC, Memòria Digital de Catalunya – col·lecció 'El món agrari' (Fundació Mallorca Literària / fons diversos)

What is

Cultivation terraces supported by dry stone walls. They turn a hillside into steps of flat land. They are the greatest exponent of dry stone in the Serra de Tramuntana (Consorci).

##Com works

  • Against erosion: the wall (marge) retains the earth; Without it, the rain would wash her into the sea.
  • Drains: since it does not have mortar, the wall lets excess water pass through and does not burst due to pressure.
  • Stores moisture: flat land infiltrates rain instead of running it off.
  • Site material: the stone that is removed when terracing is what builds the wall. Zero transportation.
  • With water: in Banyalbufar, marjades, siquies and safareigs form a unique hydraulic system with its own distribution (ma'jil) (UAB study, 1996).

Elements and vocabulary

  • marjada (DCVB): piece of land closed by a margin; or large embankment so that the earth does not slide. Derived from marge.
  • marge, marger (builder), terrace, rost, coronament (finish), escaleta (protruding stones to climb; check term)
  • ma'jil (water distribution in Banyalbufar), safareig, siquia

History

  • In the Serra, UNESCO recognizes an agricultural landscape in marjades born from the exchange between Arab water management and Christian territorial control (13th century; criterion II).
  • Banyalbufar: the municipal catalog dates some systems (Son Coll: well with short gallery, canal and safareig) to the medieval Islamic period, due to their structures. Jacqueline Pirenne (1977) related the ma'jil to the hydraulics of southern Arabia.
  • In the Tramuntana alone, more than 19,000 linear km of margins (see pedra file in sec ).

On veure'n

  • Banyalbufar: marjades over the sea; municipal catalog of marjats spaces.
  • Barranc de Biniaraix (Sóller): olive groves and cobblestone path; BIC (monument).
  • Ses Rotes de Caimari (Selva), on the Camí vell de Lluc: marjade slopes declared BIC.
  • Parc Etnològic de Caimari: open-air museum of dry stone constructions (Consorci).
  • Raixa (Bunyola): headquarters of the Escola de Margers del Consell.

Stat

  • World Heritage (Serra, 2011) and intangible UNESCO (stone art in sec, 2018).
  • Risk: agricultural abandonment. A flood without maintenance falls in a few winters.
  • Active training: Escola de Margers del Consell and Gremi de Margers. Tab .

Why is it design

Handmade territory design for centuries. Each wall resolves structure, drainage and soil at the same time with a single local material. Lesson: green infrastructure before the word existed. It is proximity design .

Avui architecture

  • Sert Workshop (Cala Major): Miró's workshop sits among stone marshes.
  • TEd'A : related trade, stone in sec.
  • Can Lis : house on a cliff that works with local stone and its stonemasons.

For the project

  • Workshop with margins in Raixa: raise a section of margin.
  • Atlas: section of marjada (marge, fill, drainage, land) drawn to scale.
  • Map of Banyalbufar: water + marjades as a single system.

Frequently asked questions

What is Marjades (dry-stone terraces)?

Cultivation terraces supported by dry stone walls. They turn a hillside into steps of flat land. They are the greatest exponent of dry stone in the Serra de…

Sources

Working text from the Disseny Indígena knowledge base, machine-translated from Spanish.

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