Regine July 15, 2006 architecture

After the house has gone

Medianeras. That’s the name given in Barcelona to the walls still standing after an adjacent house has fallen apart or has been destroyed (think real estate speculation.) The walls bravely stay there and reveal snippets of the history and intimacy of the defunct house: silhouette of staircases, wallpapers slowly peeling off, shadows of the wardrobes, remains of bathrooms, plugs, etc.

UPDATES (in case you don’t read the comments): Javier notes that “medianera” is a Spanish word for the wall that is shared with another building. It is not necessary for the second building to be not present.
Another reader informs that he started a sister group (the unconscious art of demolition) just a few days ago without knowing about the medianeras pool.

Image gallery and Flickr group about the medianeras.
Via elastico text by José Antonio Millán. Image of the post Marika: intervention in Barcelona by Swiss artist Marika.

10Comments

Add yours

1

xenmate on July 16, 2006 at 4:03 am

Funnily enough I started a sister group just a few days ago without knowing about the medianeras pool.
Looks like these siblings will be reunited thanks to you.
2

Javier on July 16, 2006 at 7:32 am

Hey Reg,
Just one small linguistic correction the noun “medianera” is a Spanish word for the wall that is shared with another building. It is not necessary for the second building to be not present. This project is really *exposed* medianeras, but most buildings in Barcelona, Madrid or Sevilla have at least two medianeras with the buildings next door.
I am eating with JA Millán today, he will be chuffed as hell to learn you have linked to his text!
3

Roger Shepherd on July 16, 2006 at 12:56 pm

“Medianera” is “Party Wall”. I couldn’t find it in the on-line dictionaries I tried but I notices that JA Millán’s pages use the phrase now.
4

Ramón Villamrin on July 16, 2006 at 10:14 pm

In Colombia we call to those closed buildings sides that became very interesting after the neighbor´s demolition CULATAS
5

Fargo on July 16, 2006 at 11:24 pm

Back in the 80s, Japanese artist Akasegawa Gempei dubbed these sorts of things “Atomic Thomassons.” The “Thomasson” part of the name takes some explaining, but “Atomic” is because he said they reminded him of how people’s sillhouttes were burnt onto the walls of houses in Hiroshima when the bomb fell. Pretty morbid name:
http://www.st.rim.or.jp/~tokyo/thomason/database.cgi?sline=33&print=1&keys4=%92%B7%8D%E8%97%F9%8A%A2%93%5C%82%E8%8C%B4%94%9A%8C%5E%95%A8%8C%8F
6

Ramón Villamarin on July 17, 2006 at 1:29 am

Actually shared wall is not correct, each building has its proper wall, medianera or Culata is just a concept refereed to the side of those buildings erected one against the other side to side. Depending on the type of structure and its conditions, parts of the demolished one keep glued to the neighbor, sometimes there is noting left but the traces of the older one because the the younger only finished the surface of the medianera that was left around by that time.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/47536605@N00/191181531/
7

emit on July 18, 2006 at 7:01 pm

Er…. It’s actually “medianerias”, unless they use a different term in Catalan. Remember a similar washbasing hanging 20 meters up in the air in Lavapies (Madrid) a few years back.
I think the actual meaning of the word has more to do with engineering – it’s (one of) the wall(s) that actually buttresses the building up, thus it is tricky to open up large windows, etc. on it. So if you see a wall with funny, small, prison cell-like windows, it’s normally a “medianeria”. + There’s a custom in Madrid to use them for trompe l’oeill murals.
Just my two pesetas, sorry, cents.
Kamen
8

Dr. Zoiberg on July 19, 2006 at 3:00 am

I took a picture of exactly this medianera just a month ago, in the Raval.
9

eis on July 21, 2006 at 4:50 pm

the medianeras are very interesting as “unconscious art of demolition”, but the photograph you show is not one of these. it is a (very conscious) installation art work by artist Marika, from switzerland. there is a plaque below the artwork that tells this information. this is explained in josé’s text you linked to (in spanish), but i think not made clear in the blog entry. maybe you could give credit to the artist who’s work you’ve shown here.
10

Paolo on August 31, 2006 at 6:25 am

Funny the story of the standing walls!
I was just wondering since the theme of the discussion, if anyone would give me an impression of the young photographer that I host on my site
He does only black and white, he is a young architect and so is all about buildings and perspective. I don’t think he does realize his potential
You can search for Antonio Merlin on Google, or simply click my name
Feedback would be much appreciated
Thanks

·Comments are closed.

Share this: