August 28

Projects by the Príncipe de Viana Foundation at the Church of Santa María de Los Arcos

José Luis Franchez Apecechea,
architect at the Príncipe de Viana Institution

Part of the “ work ” project, which I carried out as an architect for the Príncipe de Viana Institution, consists of designing and overseeing restoration projects on buildings that form part of Navarre’s architectural heritage. Drawing on the experience I have gained over the years, I will first outline some basic criteria regarding the architectural “ evaluation ” of these buildings and the restoration process, and then I will describe the restoration work carried out by the Institución Príncipe de Viana on one of Navarre’s most magnificent and monumental parish churches, the Church of Santa María de Los Arcos—a building with a long construction history spanning from the late 12th century to the 20th century, which was designated a Site of Cultural Interest in 1993.

As an architect, I must be aware that a restoration project should not rely on the thoughtless copying of architectural forms from the past; nor should forms be altered or invented unless based on a thorough study and thoughtful, documen knowledge —and always with caution. For each specific case, we must consider the criteria that may prove fruitful, striking a balance between a conservative and an interventionist approach. For this reason, restoration projects involving cultural heritage are generally not spectacular, since the architect must resist the temptation to impose a personal style at the expense of the monuments. Stepping back from the limelight has always been, is, and will remain difficult. Humility, even in the practice of architectural restoration, is a virtue. As with so many other things, the solution lies in a difficult, conciliatory balance. But, of course, this balance must not sacrifice the ability of good contemporary architecture to coexist with the architecture of the past as part of a creative process that ultimately becomes part of the building’s construction history—because, final, the architecture we admire today as historical heritage was built in the modernity of its own time. 

Assistants

And all this without forgetting that the monument—the building—is by and for the people. Architectural restoration is not an end in itself; rather, it should aim to make the building understandable, usable, and enjoyable for all of us who inhabit it, while preserving its cultural value. The goal at final is to preserve our built cultural heritage for future generations as a valuable architectural legacy we have received.

But let’s focus on the Church of Santa María de los Arcos. The church’s origins date back to the late 12th century, and construction must have been completed by the following century. From this church, which was begun during the Romanesque period, we can still see the reused pillars in the lower choir and the pointed arch at the entrance to the upper choir. In the second half of the 16th century, during the Renaissance, major remodeling and expansion work was carried out. The cloister—though its architectural design is Gothic—the high choir and its side chambers, the choir loft, and a chapel in front of the Eulate Chapel, as well as the six side chapels, all date from this period; and on the exterior, the entrance on the Gospel side and the church’s stately tower. During the transition from the 17th to the 18th century, Baroque renovations were carried out, affecting the current “ Wayside Cross ” (the altar of the Holy Sacrament) with its dome and the vaults of the naves and chapels. The current neoclassical portico, which precedes the entrance to the church, dates from the first third of the 19th century.

The result of all this construction is the current monumental church, which features a Latin cross plan consisting of a single nave flanked by two rows of chapels set between buttresses, followed by a Wayside Cross —which is not prominent in the floor plan but is so in height—and a pentagonal apse. 

Since its founding in 1940, the Príncipe de Viana Institution has carried out three major restoration projects at the parish church of Los Arcos, each with very specific objectives. The first, between 1942 and 1947, was to repair the Gothic cloister. The second, between 1985 and 1991, was to restore the Renaissance tower. And the third, between 1995 and 1996, was to replace the church’s roofs and repair the atrium. A detailed description of these projects has been the primary focus of * lecture*, which I summarize briefly below.

The Construction of the Cloister (1942–1947)

The consolidation and restoration of the cloister, under the direction of the Institution’s architect José Yárnoz Larrosa, was prompted by the threat of collapse caused by the structures built on top of it in the 17th and 18th centuries, which placed excessive weight on the Gothic tracery—a structure that had already begun to show signs of strain—compounded by inadequate foundations. Added to this were other damages caused by the passage of time, moisture, and the “ withdrawal ” due to a lack of funds for repairs.

The first step taken during this restoration project was to shore up all the vaults, buttresses, and arcades that were at serious risk due to the deterioration of their masonry or the damage they had sustained. Test excavations were conducted in the garden, revealing defects in the construction of the foundations, which were subsequently reinforced. Next, the structures built atop the cloister were demolished, thereby relieving the load on the entire masonry. Some of the vaults and arcades that were excessively warped or had collapsed were dismantled piece by piece and reassembled, as can be seen in the photographs on the Institution’s web file . The roof was rebuilt up to the level of the cloister’s cornice. At the same time, various repairs were made to the stonework, with decayed stones being replaced.

 
Los Arcos. Photo of the cloister construction site (file , Architectural Heritage Section of the Príncipe de Viana Institution)

The Restoration of the Renaissance Tower (1985–1991)

Work on the tower began in 1985 in response to the danger—long-standing but exacerbated in recent years—posed by erosion and the detachment of pieces of stone from the balustrades and cornices. The tower’s deterioration is caused by the poor quality of the stone—a sandstone with very pronounced grain, sometimes laid against the grain—and by inadequate drainage. In addition to surface subject , some cracks had formed due to water penetration, the disintegration of the interior masonry, and what appears to be long-standing ground settlement.

The restoration, for which the “ project ” and construction management were handled by Javier Sancho Domingo’s firm “ position ,” an architect with the Institución Príncipe de Viana, was intended to structurally reinforce the building, address the exterior facades, repair the masonry, resolve drainage issues, enhance the interior spaces and the perimeter circulation areas on each floor, and address a number of other minor issues.

The system established by work , after the scaffolding was erected in 1985, was to begin repairs at the top and work downward as each level was completed. The work proceeded slowly, due both to the difficulty of the task and to the fact that only a small issue team could work on it; it was carried out in seven consecutive phases—one per year—and was completed in 1991.

Roof Construction (1995–1996)

Once the restoration work on the tower was completed, the church’s roofs—which had been damaged during that work—still needed to be repaired. However, the rest of the church’s roofs were not in good condition either.

That is why the “ project ” and the construction work—which I was able to oversee as the architect for Príncipe de Viana—included the replacement of the church’s roofs, including that of the entrance portico-atrium, given their poor state of repair. A new structure of steel trusses and beams was installed to replace the wood structure, which had been damaged by woodworm and was removed. The roof slope was constructed using ceramic panels with a concrete layer, and as the roofing material, curved ceramic tiles were installed—some new channel-shaped tiles and some old, reused tiles from the dismantled roof, laid in overlapping courses. The western section of the portico’s brick vault, which had been dismantled during previous work on the tower, was also rebuilt. 

Other works and programs of study

The presentation “ lecture ” also covered other smaller-scale projects funded or subsidized by the Príncipe de Viana Institution, such as the consolidation of the stucco work and paintings on the dome, carried out in late 1996, and projects such as the creation of architectural drawings and the preparation of a historical-artistic study, carried out in 2012 and 2013.