A LANDSCAPE OF MEMORY  :  BELCHITE                                                            NOVEMBER 2014  FINAL THESIS PROJECT ETSAB BARCELONA                                                                                                    
The old town of Belchite is in a constant state of flux. With the passing of the years, buildings have slowly crumbled and all but disappeared. It is a place of ruins, of tensions binding past and present. Behind the few remaining walls are the shadows cast by the horrors of war. It was the scene of one of the bloodiest battles of the Spanish Civil War: a place of heavy bombardments, public executions and mass graves; where individuals may have feared a family member in the same room more than an enemy bomber circling above.  

The trauma of war is embedded in the history of this town and its people. More than six thousand people died in Belchite during the Spanish Civil War and, of those, only the remains of two hundred have ever been recovered. The rest are buried in unmarked graves in and around the old town.

As Franco’s demands for the construction of a new town got underway after the war, so too did the destruction of the old Belchite. The landscape soon began to dissolve around its inhabitants and, as the last few left, a disfigured Belchite stood as a testimony to its own neglect since the outbreak of civil war. Franco decreed that the ruins of the old town would be left as a monument and Belchite quickly became a propaganda tool, used to back up Franco’s claims of Republican brutality during the war and mobilize public support for his totalitarian regime.

A lack of materials and the money to build the new town were catalysts for old Belchite’s deconstruction, as masonry and other materials were taken and reused to build a modern version a short distance away. The way in which it was taken apart over time seems to reflect the town’s wish to erase the past, opting to turn their back on old Belchite as they prepared to rebuild their lives after the war.

Since the Second World War, much progress has been made in understanding the psychological damage caused by combat, life in prison camps and the other traumas endemic during times of war. Crucially, it is believed that trauma is trans-generational, so that where an individual’s personal agony goes untreated it can severely affect generations to come.

 “War presents the individual with profound changes in their view of themselves and the world in which they live, and negotiating the transition with which they are thus presented will almost always create difficulties - some of which may be manageable while others will be almost totally overwhelming” (Fussell 1989, Bourke 2000). The suppression and humiliation experienced by people during the war and throughout General Franco’s ensuing dictatorship may have also considerably reduced any possibility for people to come to terms with their trauma. After all, Francoism implemented no plans to pardon or reconcile. Instead, people – predominately those on the defeated side – were condemned to silence and emotional hardship for decades.

The project proposes the idea that a walk around Belchite can give people affected by these traumas the opportunity for a degree of reconciliation and support. Belchite is a sort of open- air museum which doesn’t simply tell a story, but shows it, and any individual who sees some aspect of their own life reflected in the surroundings may be presented with the opportunity to look at their inner world, and even start a process of re-evaluation. For others not affected by these traumas, it is an opportunity to learn about those who have lived through war.

The role of any exhibition is to develop experiences that will resonate with diverse audiences–enabling these targeted audiences to access the messages, stories and objects of the exhibit. The current failures of Belchite lie in its inability to fully do just that. Currently, a walk around the ruins is only possible in the company of a tour guide and a number of areas are off limits. Group sizes vary according to the day and month of the year (August being the most popular time to visit). Ultimately, the nature of the tour does not allow individuals to take in the stories of the town at their own pace. There are no places to sit where you may wish to pause and reflect. Your view of the ruins can be hindered by the sheer number of visitors, whilst those held up at the back struggle to hear the guides every word.

Through a series of carefully considered architectural interventions, a new way of seeing the ruins is possible. New paths, walkways and bridges will open vistas and draw our attention towards areas previously unseen. Texts, photographs and audiovisual content could be strategically positioned to inform and provoke reflection in the most poignant places. The selection of materials could inform our experience through the interplay of aesthetic, social and historical considerations. Both structural and decorative elements have a role to play, whether immediately visceral or working only on a subliminal level (Gingko Press 2013).

Through architecture, new relationships can be forged with the space that surrounds us. “We aspire to leave our mark, inscribing our observations and gestures within the landscape, attempting to translate and transgress the space with which we find ourselves…the landscape functions as a mirror and a lens: in it we see the space we occupy and ourselves as we occupy it.” (Kastner 1998). The artificial environment of exhibition spaces can often serve to reinforce the proposition put forward by the work in question. Singling out an object from its normal context can often help people to understand the object in question, and its very existence. 

The proposition must consider the past, present and future of the town, considering not only the ruins as they stood before and now, but as they deteriorate further. What will be left of Old Belchite if it continues to crumble? What will the lasting memory of the town be if nothing else exists? 

The following work aims to confront the trauma and brutality of war and to encourage a dialogue between those affected by it and their surroundings. Furthermore, it aims to evoke contemplation in those who have been unscathed by war but live in a world shaped by it. It asks people to reflect upon the events that took place, and, ultimately, to remember the thousands who were lost during the battle.