this castle in spain isn’t old news anymore, thanks to a structural solution by carles enrich

spain is full of castles and other beautiful pieces of history. the castle of jorba has sat aloft in peaceful solitude for the last 1000 years, but it just got a renovation. a year ago, architect and urbanist carles enrich began restoring jorba’s castle, which overlooks the town of jorba and the royal road that passes through it. the site has been landmarked as an important piece of archaeology and spanish history; for this reason, enrich and his team spent a good portion of 2017 digging up the 300 metric tons of soil that have covered the castle. ‘the whole castle represents a sedimentation of the different uses that it has acquired throughout the centuries,’ enrich describes. 

all images by adrià goula and carles enrich

the region is rich in history, and this castle can be seen as a representation of that. according to enrich, ‘the project is part of a master plan to enhance the collective awareness of the castle’s origin as a place for observing the former border territory of the march of barcelona, a defensive barrier between al-andalus and carolingian empires, and for controlling the ancient route from barcelona to lleida.’

a one year makeover has the castle looking as young as ever

soil had to be cleared away for the new stairwell, carved into the mountainside. due to the delicate nature of the structure, this work had to be completed largely by hand. the project was quite time consuming, but now the structure is unfettered and the beautiful stairwell allows anyone to enjoy this charming castle in jorba.

wooden stairs lead up the hill

over 300 cubic meters of soil were removed to complete this renovation 

behind the castle the vistas of the catalan region are visible

documenting the precise work in reorganizing the ruin 

the weathered side of the old castle

a sunroof installed as part of the renovation lets in light but also sparked controversy in restoration community

overlooking the town of jorba

looking out at the surrounding the countryside

safety rope prevent visters from off-road excursions 

the old castle sits peacefully on the mountainside 

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project info:

architect: carles enrich

collaborators: anna de castro

promotor: servei de patrimoni arquitectònic local (diputació de barcelona) and ayuntamiento de jorba

constructor: pendís bagà sl

technical supervision: servei de patrimoni arquitectònic local (diputació de barcelona)

photography: adrià goula and carles enrich

process photography: carles enrich and mireia sabaté

project: 2016

work: october – november 2017