Vilassar De Mar Country: Spain

C ON TE N TS OF TH E F I L E

Synthesis Architectural typologies present Country’s accepted sites

History and general information Current state of vitality and preservation Transformation process Interventions and rehabilitation programmes Bibliography Lexicon

SYNTHESIS

Municipality in the comarca of El Maresme, situated on the coastal plain between the municipalities of Premià de Mar and Cabrera de Mar. The historic complex of Vilassar maintains an environmental quality and vitality which make it of great interest and it is a clear representative of the validity of the casa de cós, the legacy of Vilassar’s origins as a fishing village. Much of the totally flat municipal district has been built up with urban developments promoted by its role as a holiday resort and its proximity to Barcelona, which also

giv e it a residential flavour, though the old town centre still conserves many Countr map y traditional buildings.

Regional scale Topographical map of the t own of Vilassar de Mar and its environs Local sc ale

Map of the hist oric centre of Vilass ar de Mar. Source: Vilassar de Mar Council

Cases de cós . S ome of t he str eets are v ery unifor m in nat ure. Nor mally t he houses wer e built in the same period, with very f ew years’ differ ence.

ARCHITEC TURAL TYPOLOGIES PRESENT

Grouped habitat on the coast (littoral)

COUNTRY’S ACCEPTED SIGNIFICANT SITES Detail of the urban fabric Salàs Vall de Bianya Torroella de Montgrí Vilassar de Mar Montuï ri Ibiza Puertomingalvo Aledo Detail of a map of t he historic centre of Vilassar de Mar. Source: Vilassar de Mar Cazorla Osuna Guadix Capilerilla Casares Council

This project is financed by the MEDA programme of the European Union. The opinions expressed in this document do not necessarily reflect the position of the European Union or of its member States. 1/4 Vilassar de Mar

HISTORY AND GENERAL INFOR MATION

Vilassar de Mar is a town which came into being in the modern era, as of the 17th century. Before this date, when streets began to be laid out and its centre take form, the population was based in the masos around Vilassar de Dalt. It became an independent municipality in 1784. It was at this time, in the mid-18th century, that Vilassar de Mar acquired its own personality and the particular urban appearance which has to a large extent survived until the present day.

 Surface ar ea of the site 3.9 km²  Geographical co-ordinates Lat. 41º 30’ N, long. 2º 24’ E  Height above sea l evel 10 m

 Lithology

 Population In 1960 it was 4,500 ; in 1981, 9,480 ; in 1991, 12,117 and in 1998, 16,024; the population rose by 8.12% between 1996 and 1998. In This nucleus is situated on the hilly slope 2001, 17,374. where t he houses adapt to the t errain. 2  Population densit y 4,454.8 inhab./km in 1998  Average annual maximum temperatures 21.1 ºC

 Average annual minimum temperatures 13.5 ºC  Averag e of maximum temp eratures 35 ºC during the hottest month for 10 year s  Averag e of minimum temperatur es during 1.5 ºC the coldest month for 10 years 30 150 25 125  Annual rainfall 395 mm 20 100 15 75  (°C) (mm) Averag e number of days of rain p er year 65-85 10 50 5 25 0 0  Specifi c ch aracteri stics -5 -25

 Traditional economic activities Marine activity was fairly important in the 19th century: in mid-century there Graph of average temperat ure and were active shipyards and in 1876 the Col·legi Nàutic-Mercantil was created. precipitati on The original fishing activity can be seen in its historic centre, made up of cases de cós. The traditional crops are irrigation ty pe, using well water, and occupy practically all of the farmland (approx. 280 ha) ; they include potatoes, v egetables and f lowers.  New economic activities These days, the tourist and residential phenomenon has displaced fishing activity (some 32 fishing boats were counted in around 1950) to the point of the latter’s disappearance.

 Site’s communications with its terr itor y Vilassar de Mar is 24 km from Barcelona, to which it is communicated by the national N-II road and the C-32 motorway.

The mass conv ersion of market gardens int o land for development has produced streets of contrasts . The hous es f acing the sea ar e traditional, and on the other side of the street are the modern c ons tructions which hav e gradually occ upied t he old v egetable plots

CURRENT STATE OF VI TALI TY AND PRESERVATION

This is a town which has grown appreciably in recent years as its proximity to Barcelona has meant that many people have moved here. Nonetheless, the historic centre has not been subject to major transf ormation and has conserved the layout of streets parallel to the sea with the succession of cases de cós; this ty pology has adapted to new requirements and resisted intense urban planning pressure.

Cases de cós . We s ee how t hes e hous es have adapted to diff erent needs and s tylistic changes.

TRANSFOR MATION PR OCESS

The urban fabric of Vilassar started to take form in the 18th century on the basis of a network of streets parallel to the sea, along the sea-side of which rows of houses were built facing south. The other side was used for vegetable plots. The perpendicular streets were passages connecting the parallel streets. This urban morphology is the product of a way of life, in which the house, the casa de cós, was connected to a self-sufficient market garden and fishing. The centre of Vilassar was originally divided into very long narrow plots on which the house and garden were laid out. The arrangement of the plot was identical in all cases, between parallel streets, following a sea-mountain direction. The house faced the sea and, to the rear, there was a patio or eixida with a gate at the rear leading to a passage between the two streets and parallel to them, called an androna. Then came a 1777. T opographic map of the municipal district of Sant Ginés de Vilassar. Source: v egetable garden which belonged not to this first house but to the one on the other Reading room of the Arxiu Dioc esà. side of the street above, as the garden of the first house was on the other side of the street onto which the facade gave. In the second half of the 20th century this urban structure was gradually modified as the vegetable gardens were developed, and what was originally a very open nucleus with good sunlighting became very built up. A key moment in this evolution was a tax levied in the fifties on undeveloped urban land. This led to many v egetable plots being sold off and new constructions being built on them, producing a nucleus in which two historical moments and two forms of construction were superposed, that of the casa de cós and the more or less present-day constructions. Today, the streets which correspond to the original nucleus of Vilassar are marked by a dual appearance: the sea side comprises perfectly aligned constructions of cases de cós from more or less the same period (a whole row of houses would usually be built in the space of just a few years) and the mountain side (where the vegetable plots used to be) is occupied by houses built 1849. Plan for t he i mprov ement of S ant J oan between the sixties and the present day with a wide range of solutions and finishes de Vilass ar. S ource: Arxiu Cor ona d´Aragó. and a major change in height, as they usually have three storeys (the casa de cós has two), though they may sometimes be higher. The buildings along the seafront correspond to the first row of vegetable plots, this being the zone to have undergone most radical transformation due to strong market pressure. This is the most obvious transf ormation to Vilassar’s original morphology to date, though there have also been changes to the house itself. There are few substitutions as the house responds to the demands for outdoor space and sunlighting, thanks to its patio, which makes it highly prized today, so its original use continues. Specific transformations are more usual, such as modifications to openings in the facade, a change in finishes of the facade, the creation of larger doorway s for shops and garages, etc.

Engravi ng by Joan-Ernest Vinardell published by "A mics de Vilassar" whic h reconstructs the nucleus of Vilassar de M ar in t he mid-19th cent ury. It s hows t he layout of t he s treets according t o the casa de cós and their main orientation with t he principal fac ade faci ng t he sea and the vegetable pl ot t o t he rear.

INTERVEN TIONS AND REHABILI TATION PROGRAMMES

Vilassar Council is currently working on a plan to protect the central zone of the municipality. At present there are no specif ic regulations except for new construction, and in rehabilitation the standard guidelines for conventional construction are applied.

Aerial phot o of the t own of Vilassar de Mar (El Mares me). Source: Depart ament Polí tica Territorial i O bres P úbliques .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• ESTEVES, Albert; Centre d'Estudis i Divulgació de Patrimoni. Vilassar de Mar. Guia del patrimoni històric-artístic. Vilassar de Mar, 1996 • FEDUCHI, Luis M. Itinerarios de arquitectura popular española. Editorial Blume. Barcelona: 1974-1984. (Volumes III and IV). • FLORES, Carlos. Arquitectura popular española. Aguilar. Madrid, 1973-1977.(Volumes IV and V).

File created: 23/02/01 File last modified: 03/05/01