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Vernacular architecture in Mallorca

Aljubs and cisterns

At a glance

Tanks to store rainwater. On an island without rivers, each house, farm or road needed its reservation. The aljub is a wide, shallow, excavated, lined and…

Architecture and engineering
Vernacular architecture in Mallorca
Porch of an inn with two carts and a well
Porch of an inn with two carts and a well — Desconegut, Còpia permesa amb finalitat d'estudi o recerca, citant l'autor i la font: 'Arxiu Fotogràfi, Memòria Digital de Catalunya – Arxiu Fotogràfic del Centre Excursionista de Catalunya (afcecemc)

What is

Tanks to store rainwater. On an island without rivers, each house, farm or road needed its reservation. The aljub is a wide, shallow, excavated, lined and vaulted tank, which collects the water that runs through the ground (DCVB). The cistern mainly collects water from the roof and the patio (distinction of use, please verify in technical source).

##Com works

  • Capture: roofs, cobbled patios, paths and slopes conduct water through channels.
  • Decant: the water enters through a mouth or chamber; The dirt remains before (per verify construction detail).
  • Store in the dark and cold: vault and earth on top. Without light there are no algae; thermal mass keeps the water cool.
  • Waterproof and disinfect with lime: the lime from the lime forns was also used to disinfect cisterns (Consorci Serra de Tramuntana).
  • Complete system in the Serra: preses, siquies, safareigs and aljubs (Consorci).

Elements and vocabulary

  • aljub (from Arabic al-jubb, "the well"; DCVB). In Santanyí and other towns, aujub, sometimes feminine.
  • cistern, cistern coll (verb; to verify), safareig (open pond), canal, volta
  • Manacor's voiceover: «parèixer un tap d'arjub» (DCVB)

History

  • Arabic etymology. Technique reinforced in the Andalusian period (10th–13th centuries) and maintained afterwards.
  • Aljub de Es Baluard (Palma): rectangular tank from 1640, fed by an aqueduct channel; It supplied the Puig de Sant Pere and the boats. Today the museum's exhibition space.
  • Son Gener (Campanet): aljub from the early 1940s that collected water from the streets to irrigate the farm.

On veure'n

  • Aljub de Es Baluard (Palma), visitable with the museum.
  • Aljubs de Llubí (tourist source; to be verified).
  • Jardins d'Alfàbia (Bunyola): vaulted cistern at the top of the garden.
  • Any farm in the Serra: look for cisterns next to roads.

Stat

  • Many are still in use on farms without a network. Others, blinded or abandoned.
  • They return out of necessity: drought and restrictions make it profitable to collect rain again.

Why is it design

Closed-loop design: the roof is also a basin. Lesson for today: architecture that captures and stores its own water, without machines. It is proximity design .

Avui architecture

  • Maria Gelabert Paris: converts the Son Gener cistern (Campanet) into a home, under the original vault, preserving stains and lime; budget ≤ €60,000 (Ara).
  • TEd'A : they designed the assembly of Made in Mallorca in the Aljub of Es Baluard (2020). Tab .

For the project

  • Headquarters: the Aljub of Es Baluard as an exhibition space (precedent Made in Mallorca).
  • Interview with Maria Gelabert about living in a cistern.
  • Atlas: water map of a house (roof canal aljub orchard).

Frequently asked questions

What is Aljubs and cisterns?

Tanks to store rainwater. On an island without rivers, each house, farm or road needed its reservation. The aljub is a wide, shallow, excavated, lined and…

Sources

Working text from the Disseny Indígena knowledge base, machine-translated from Spanish.

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