Centro de Estudios Históricos de Obras Públicas y Urbanismo
The activity of the Centro de Estudios Históricos de Obras Públicas y Urbanismo (CEHOPU) in the year 2001 materialised, as in previous years, in the study and dissemination of the historic patrimony of public works.
The Exhibition Betancourt. The origins of Modern Civil Engineering in Europe
A substantial part of the work was centred, this year in particular, in the conception and preparation of an exhibition to capture, as far as possible, the task of the Ministry of Fomento in the last 150 years, on occasion of the sesquicentennial of the promulgation of the Royal Decree of 20 October 1851 by which the Ministry of Commerce, Instruction and Public Works passed to be denominated Ministry of Fomento, this being the origin of the present ministerial Department.
The exhibition was inaugurated by His Royal Highness the Prince of Asturias on the 22nd October 2001, in the Arcade Hall of the Ministry of Fomento, within the frame of the institutional act commemorative of the said ephemerides organised by the Department.
Without leaving the ambit of exhibitions, now focussed on itinerancies abroad, the following ought to be mentioned:
Betancourt. The Origins of Modern Civil Engineering in Europe.
- It was shown in the Riding School of Moscow (from the 20 February to the 10 March), a building designed by the own Betancourt, under the auspices of the Ministry of Railways of Russia and the Spanish Embassy, also with the collaboration of the Alexander Pushkin Foundation.
Outside view of the Riding School of Moscow, seat of the exhibition on Agustín de Betancourt
The Structures of Eduardo Torroja
- It was exhibited from the 28 March to the 20 April in the Pontifical Catholic University of Santiago de Chile in two of its sites (Central Square - Extension Centre and Comendador Campus - Faculty of Architecture).
- Later on, from the 4 to the 15 June, it was shown in the Faculty of Civil Engineering of Rosario (Republic of Argentina), sponsored by the National University, the Faculty of Pure Sciences, Engineering and Surveying and the Spanish General Consulate.
- Next, also in the Republic of Argentina, the exhibition was shown in Buenos Aires, in the headquarters of the Technical School of Engineering, under the auspices of this institution, the Technical Museum of Buenos Aires and the Spanish Embassy.
- In October, this exhibition begins a periplus through Japan, to be concluded in the year 2002, being presented in several cities in a tour facilitated and coordinated by the Nagoya City Science Museum.
Manila 1571-1898. The Western Orient
- In its first itinerancy (from the 23, of January to the 23 of February) it was exhibited in the Universidade Lusiada of Lisbon.
- In September, an itinerant tour begins through Mexico, whose first stage was Morelia (Michoacán), at the request of the Michoacan Institute of Culture, the School of History of the Michoacan University and the Government of the Michoacan de Ocampo Estate.
- The second stage of this Mexican periplus, whose conclusion is also foreseen for the year 2002, took place in Acapulco (Estate of Guerrero) (from the 12 October to the 30 of November), under the auspices of the University and the Naval Museum of the city.
Hydraulic Works in Colonial America
- It was exhibited in Porto Alegre (Brazil) from the 4 of May to the 6 of June 2001.
On the other hand, the itinerancies of the exhibitions in the national territory were:
Exhibition The Structures of Eduardo Torroja, in the Faculty of Civil Engineering of Rosario (Argentina)
Manila 1571-1898. The Western Orient
- Burgos, in the Arco de Santa María (from the 5 December 2000 to the 10 of January 2001).
- Santa Cruz de Tenerife, in the College of Architects of the Canary Islands, demarcation of Tenerife (from the 7 to the 17 of May).
- Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, in the seat of the Elder Museum of Science and Technology (from the 31 of May to the 29 of July).
Iribarren. Engineering and Sea.
- Almería, in the Patio de Luces of the County Council (from the 22 to the 31 of January).
- La Coruña, in the Maritime Station (from the 13 April to the 6 of May).
- Marín (Pontevedra), in the headquarters of the Caixa Galicia Foundation (from the 7 to the 23 of June).
- Tarragona, in the Platform 4 of the Maritime Station (from the 6 to the 29 of June).
- San Juan de Nieva, Avilés (Asturias), in the enlargement dock of Raíces (from the 24 August to the 8 of September).
- Santander, in the Quay Manor (from the 26 September to the 24 of October).
- Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (from the 13 November 2001 to the 15 of January 2002).
Betancourt. The origins of Modern Civil Engineering in Europe.
- Barcelona, in the Maritime Museum (from the 13 September to the 4 of November).
Special mention deserves the exhibition of the scale model 'Railway Territory', that did have an outstanding presence this year in the workshop on the Plan of Infrastructures 2000/2007 that, under the name of 'VIARIA' was organised by the Ministry of Fomento, together with the local governments of Galicia, Castilla-León and Cantabria, according to the following schedule:
Partial view of the Exhibition Manila 1571-1898. The Western Orient, in the showrooms of the Elder Museum, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
- Viaria Galicia (Santiago de Compostela, 22-24 January).
- Viaria Castilla-León (Valladolid, 27-28 February).)
- Viaria Cantabria (Santander, 22-23 May).
Exhibition Iribarren. Engineering and Sea, in the Café Moderno, building of the Foundation Caixa Galicia in Marín (Pontevedra)
This scale model was also exhibited in the International Trade Fair of Asturias, that took place in Gijón from the 4 to the 19 of August.
There was also participation in the preparation of an exhibition on the works of the architect Rafael Guastavino, made in collaboration with the Institute Juan de Herrera of the School of Architecture of Madrid, that was shown in the Museum of America of the capital city.
As for publications, the edition of the catalogue of the exhibition '150 Years of the Ministry of Fomento. 1851-2001' ought to be mentioned.
As for publications, the edition of the catalogue of the exhibition '150 Years of the Ministry of Fomento. 1851-2001' ought to be mentioned.
The graphic archive of CEHOPU has substantially increased its funds this year, reaching a total of 16.000 documents. This was mainly due to the incorporations occurred as a consequence of the research works developed to prepare the exhibitions '150 Years of the Ministry of Fomento' and 'Public Works in Andalucía'.
The Library 'Juan García Hortelano' continued increasing its bibliographic funds, with an estimated 6.000 volumes on the history of public works and town planning, all of them at the disposal of researchers and scholars on these subjects.
Cover of the catalogue of the Exhibition 150 Years of the Ministry of Fomento
In matter of congresses, there was active collaboration in the celebration of the 'Workshop on the History of the Port of Ferrol', organised in Ferrol by the Harbour Authority of Ferrol - San Ciprián and the Chair 'Jorge Juan' (from the 1 to the 3 of March). In September took place in Morelia, Michoacán (México) the III Congress of the Chair of Hispanic Roads, entitled 'Roads in the Art', that counted with the participation of CEHOPU, being imparted several conferences on the subject.
Artículo monográfico
Exposición 150 Años del Ministerio de Fomento
Arcade Hall of the Ministry of Fomento
Dentro del Acto Institucional preparado por el Ministerio de Fomento para conmemorar el 150 aniversario de la promulgación del Real Decreto de S.M. la Reina Isabel II, por el que se establece aquella denominación para el Departamento Ministerial origen del actual, se dispuso la realización de una exposición relativa a las diferentes actuaciones promovidas y desarrolladas por éste en el último siglo y medio.
La exposición fue encargada al CEDEX para su realización por CEHOPU, designándose Comisario a su Gerente, D. Antonio de las Casas Gómez, y disponiéndose su montaje en la Sala de las Arquerías del Ministerio, siendo inaugurada el 22 de octubre de 2001, bajo la presidencia de S.A.R. el Príncipe de Asturias, acompañado por el Ministro de Fomento, D. Francisco Álvarez-Cascos Fernández y el Ministro de Administraciones Públicas, D. Jesús Posada Moreno.
La exposición constaba de dos partes. En la primera y principal de ellas se daba un panorama de la actividad del Ministerio durante 150 años a través de sus obras, seleccionándose diez de cada década representadas en fotografías, actuales o antiguas, o reproducciones de planos o grabados. Este esquema fundamental quedaba completado con una serie de maquetas, dibujos, fotografías de gran formato y otros documentos entre los que destacaban los álbumes elaborados por el Ministerio para la Exposición Universal de París de 1878 que actualmente se guardan en el Consejo de Obras Públicas.
En la segunda parte se presentaba la actividad del Ministerio en la actualidad a través de una breve presentación de los Centros Directivos y Organismos de él dependientes, e incluyendo asimismo una visión general del Plan de Infraestructuras 2000-2007 como muestra de una proyección de futuro.
En el recorrido por la historia del Ministerio de Fomento, recogido en el Catálogo de la Exposición, se presenta un rápido panorama de la amplísima labor del Ministerio, procurando que estuvieran presentes todas las actividades que actualmente están directamente relacionadas con las competencias del mismo, complementadas, como única excepción, por las obras hidráulicas, dependientes hoy en día del Ministerio de Medio Ambiente, pero sin referirse a las cuales no es posible hablar de la actuación del Ministerio de Fomento durante muchas décadas de su historia.
Bridge of Ayamonte
El territorio español sobre el que ha actuado el Ministerio ha variado a lo largo de estos 150 años y por lo tanto se ha buscado que estuvieran presentes actuaciones llevadas a cabo en lugares que en el presente pertenecen a otros países. Así aparecen obras de Filipinas, Cuba, Puerto Rico o Marruecos.
A través de las obras escogidas puede seguirse qué tipo de objetivos eran en cada momento los que recibían mayor atención y así, por ejemplo, puede verse cómo, en las primeras décadas del Ministerio, se construyeron numerosos faros y ferrocarriles, o cómo, en las décadas centrales del siglo XX, se construyeron numerosas presas o, en los años ochenta y noventa, la actividad constructiva, aunque prestando gran importancia a las autovías, se ha diversificado también hacia otras áreas como puertos o aeropuertos.
Railway station of Canfranc
Como introducción a cada década se dan unos hitos con datos históricos, legislativos, institucionales o sociales, que permiten enmarcar someramente la actividad de cada período.
La exposición, como ya se ha dicho, se instaló en la sala de las Arquerías, adaptándose consecuentemente a su tamaño y condiciones, adecuando a su vez este espacio a las características diseñadas para la muestra en techo, paredes y suelo e incluyendo un mobiliario expositivo a base de paneles metálicos, con el fin de aumentar la superficie disponible.
También se elaboraron cinco documentales sobre otros tantos temas sectoriales de las obras públicas que con una duración aproximada de cinco minutos daban un panorama completo, aunque breve, de la actividad del Ministerio, los cuales fueron integrados en un vídeo para su exhibición en diversos puntos de la sala.
El catálogo de la exposición, elaborado por el equipo técnico y colaboradores de CEHOPU, editado en versión bilingüe español-inglés, consta de un prólogo del titular del Departamento, un artículo de 50 páginas en donde se hace un recorrido por la historia de las obras públicas en los 150 años de vida del Ministerio y una foto de cada obra seleccionada con un breve pie explicativo de la misma. Dada la escasez de publicaciones de este tipo dedicadas a las obras públicas resulta un material útil y atractivo que, al reunir un elenco tan amplio de obras, para el lector no iniciado resulta sorprendente e instructivo.
Cantabrian highway