Restoration of the canvas of the wall of the Old Convent of the Carmelitas Descalzas
Located in the historic center of Boadilla del Monte
The Old Carmelite Convent of Boadilla del Monte
It is a building declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in the category of Historic-Artistic Complex, next to the Palacio del Infante Don Luis. Founded in 1670 by D. José González Uzqueta and Dª María Henríquez de Vera Gasca y Barco, the complex remained almost unchanged until the outbreak of the Civil War. The bombings and attacks caused significant damage to the complex, which had to be restored by the National Service for Devastated Regions in the 40s. However, the process of deterioration of the building continued until the 80s, when it was declared National Monument and minor repairs were made.
The original perimeter of the complex has a development of 520 meters in length, closed by a mixed wall and brick factory. The section of wall object of the intervention is oriented to the east, in front of the street of the Mártires. This street was the main axis of circulation in Boadilla, which is why the sign labeled with the name of the municipality accompanied by the shield of the old Provincial Council is preserved on the wall.
Previous state of conservation
The state of conservation of the wall before undertaking the restoration work was very poor, mainly due to two factors: the excessive presence of humidity and the lack of maintenance. Numerous damages and injuries were detected, the filling of the caissons had been substantially lost and the brickwork had a very deteriorated appearance, with significant volumetric losses and disintegrated pieces.
The wall had large stains of humidity and biological colonization as a result of rising by capillarity and also due to the presence of sprinklers that, in all probability, were reaching the wall, contributing to its degradation process. Other damage detected was the invasion of vegetation, mainly on the far right, and the presence of numerous cracks, fractures and landslides that affected the entire wall.
In addition, multiple repairs carried out without any criteria or respect for the original construction technique could be observed: caisson filling with modern brickwork, repairs based on cement mortar, poorly executed grouting, etc. On the other hand, there were a series of elements that distorted the image of the enclosure: a telephone cable that ran the entire length of the wall, a registration box placed on the left side and the presence of a disused telephone pole in the rightmost.
Finally, it is worth mentioning the poor state of conservation of the tile sign, which presented numerous losses and fractures, probably as a result of impacts and temperature changes.
restoration project
In 2021, at the initiative of the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage, the restoration of the outer canvas of the wall of the Old Carmelite Convent was carried out. The fundamental objective has been at all times the conservation of as much as possible of the property, restoring the constructive, aesthetic and compositional values that the bad interventions carried out previously had been removing.
The basic criterion that was followed was the study of all the parts that make up the enclosure to differentiate the additions from the original ones. For the intervention, the most appropriate materials and techniques were used that ensured integration with what existed and did not negatively affect the original materials.
The restoration can be summarized in the following points:
- Solve the humidity problem: To do this, a trench was made in the entire section of the wall, protected with a breathable membrane, a geotextile and filled with gravel of different granulometry.
- Coronation Restoration: Disassembly of the roof and removal of all tiles in poor condition for subsequent reconstruction.
- Restoration of the drawers: Sanitation and removal of disintegrated areas and filling of caissons with mortar, providing an armor of fiberglass rods to ensure grip.
- Restoration of the brick factory: cleaning, sanitation, removal of elements in poor condition or not original, replacement of parts and general grouting.
- Tile Sign Restoration and Relocation: For its restoration, the tile sign had to be transferred to a workshop, where the thick layer of cement with which it had been placed was removed in order to restore all the pieces, by cleaning, stuccoing and chromatic reintegration. The poster was relocated inside the wall, occupying a new location between two rows of one of the drawers.
