Beyond the relics of monumental structures that pronounce the glory of past dynasties, one seldom gets a chance to witness remnants from the past in the form of material heritage. The households of the common public, structures constructed for public usage and modestly sized commemorative monuments are usually the first ones to bear the brunt of developmental projects and the onslaught of newer civilisations and empires. Despite such consternation, when such structures manage to persist through the years, their endurance is commonly attributed to their obscure location or the association of fascinating lores (think: the Khooni Darwaza in New Delhi, India) with the locale. However, despite their endurance, conservation efforts directed their way are scant, ergo, expunging the didactic potential of such material sites.

Hence, coming across Spain-based design practice HUMA Arquitectura’s recent restoration project Torre del Agua or Water Tower, which is humble in both size and decoration, was a welcome surprise. Enunciating upon their affinity for heritage conservation and restoration projects, the architects at HUMA Arquitectura share, "Restoration for HUMA is a way to understand the memory of the place and be able to give it continuity from a current vision. For us, it seems like a learning field for the development of our discipline.” The architecture studio is also currently working on two restoration projects, in the city of Cartagena, Colombia. One of these is the restoration and adaptive reuse of a coastal battery in the Cartagena dock into a museum and the second is the restoration of a 19^th century fort and the transformation of parts of it into an interpretation centre.

As for Torre del Agua, the tower is located in the hilltop fortified town of Aledo in Spain. This region, a witness to the conquest and governance of the Umayyad Caliphate and later, the Abbasid Caliphate, bears the imprints of past times in the form of material remnants. The Water Tower, stationed on the slope of the hilly city, was also originally built by the Arabs. A derivative of a previously built tower on the top of the fortified town, Torre del Agua was constructed as part of the locale’s defence system in the lower part of the hilly terrain. While its precursor served the purpose of defence on higher land, the Water Tower was built primarily to prevent enemy access from adjacent roads and to defend the region’s water spring, which served as the source of water for the entire city. “This system is a defence system, already developed by the Arabs in other places where several constructions are designed that, in addition to protecting the town, protect each other,” shares Jose Amoros Martínez, co-founder of the Spanish architecture studio.

A means of defence for both life and sustenance in the region, the existence of Torre del Agua directs attention towards the natural waterway channel that emerges from within the mountainous landscape, to be stored (and supplied to the inhabitants housed in the upper area of the town), in cisterns placed in the lower area. Martínez predicts the presence of nearly 5,000 inhabitants in the city during the times when the Water Tower actively defended the city and aided the supply of water to each household. Originally, the walls of the tower, constructed on site, were made using wooden formwork and several vernacular materials such as sand, stone and earth, mixed with lime mortar. The reddish tint of the structure comes from the usage of sand that was acquired from the adjacent slopes. This usage of local materials in the erstwhile era helped the tower integrate well with its surroundings, making it appear like a rock naturally emerging from the undulating site.

When asked about the condition of Torre del Agua before HUMA Arquitectura intervened, Martínez shares, “The original state before the intervention was extremely urgent, the water runoff had caused the collapse of the tower, which if there had not been intervention, would have occurred in a short space of time. Hence, the City Council urgently requested intervention to preserve the site in the following years and not lose part of its history.” HUMA Arquitectura utilised construction techniques similar to the original methods to restore the damaged structure. Using the same vernacular materials and building techniques, the architecture studio ensured the reproduction of the original way of construction and akin aesthetics.

While the plinth of the Water Tower retains its claws on the stepped landscape via the masonry and mortar foundation, the recent interventions by HUMA Arquitectura are done using the calicastrated system, which includes the employment of a modular wooden formwork system injected with sand and lime mortar. This methodology, similar to the archaic construction technique, was used to shape the walls. “The holes in the walls correspond to the modulation of the boards used and the walls thus raised tied together by transverse pieces of wood that sew the inside and outside of the wall, leaving the hole on the outside once it is removed,” the studio shares. The new walls by HUMA Arquitectura are raised with a shallow setback from the original walls. The intermediary area and the plumbing lines running through them are shielded with geotextile. The process of setting the wall back from the original one is undertaken with an attitude of respect and reverence for the pre-existing monument.

In addition to restoring the Water Tower, the Spanish architects also cleaned out the surrounding area and reforested it with local plants such as thyme, rosemary, mastic and cistus, in an attempt to bring back the charm of the structure. This not only enhances the experience of this structure but also builds up anticipation for the much grander Villa de Aledo, which lies at the top of the hilly terrain.

The vicinity of the Water Tower also hosts a snail mine—a natural water spring mine on the mountain. A new horn-like door—accessible from an open road that runs to the top of the mountain—allows entry and control of this snail mine. While this subterranean passage remains well-ventilated via the door opening, the space has not yet been rendered visitable. Several points in the passage present the risk of collapse. However, this consternation also opens up the possibility of employing similar restoration efforts, to render the complete district a rich heritage zone, through restoration efforts.

When asked about the current usage of the structure, the architects share, “Currently, due to the advances made in the city, the provision of water is not necessary, so both the water mine and the tower are in disuse, they simply fulfil the romantic function of reminding its inhabitants that thanks to these elements, their ancestors were able to survive for centuries.”