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Vernacular architecture in Mallorca

Escars and boathouses (varadors)

At a glance

Stone huts by the sea to store fishing boats, especially wooden llaüts. With their pier (ramp) they form groups of coves such as Cala Figuera, Port des…

Architecture and engineering
Vernacular architecture in Mallorca
Scars of Cala Figuera — Cala Figuera - panorama
Scars of Cala Figuera — Cala Figuera - panorama — Bengt Nyman, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

What is

Stone huts by the sea to store fishing boats, especially wooden llaüts. With their pier (ramp) they form groups of coves such as Cala Figuera, Port des Canonge or s'Estaca.

##Com works

  • Just enough shade and humidity: the sun is lethal for llaüt wood. The escar protects it from the sun and the weather.
  • Barrier, not door: the portal facing the sea is closed with a slatted barrier. It ventilates, and the humidity from the sea keeps the wood in good condition.
  • Vault or rock: many have a vault; Sometimes they take advantage of a cave or excavate the bottom in the rock.
  • Varador: boat route between sea and escar. It has fixed or mobile parats (wood), smeared with sèu (tallow), on which the keel slides. The Tramuntana llaüts have escoes, pieces parallel to the keel that keep them upright when beaching.

Elements and vocabulary

  • escar, alcova (in Port des Canonge; probable Valencian origin according to Onofre Rullan), beachhouse
  • varador / llenegador, parat, scale (structure that supports mobile parats), sèu, escoa
  • llaüt, bot, avarar, barrier

History

  • Escars documented in the s. XV. Escar de Son Beltran (Deià), one of the oldest, from the 16th century. XVIII, with an anagram of Jesus on the lintel.
  • The majority, from the s. XIX and first decades of the XX.
  • Port des Canonge (Banyalbufar): 27 beaching cassettes; the oldest, Ca l'Arròs (1930s); the most modern, 70s.
  • The booths from the first half of the 20th century. XX are an expression of the culture of coastal towns (Es Dolç project, Colònia de Sant Jordi, 2015).

On veure'n

  • Cala Figuera (Santanyí): active fishing port with escars.
  • Port des Canonge (Banyalbufar), s'Estaca and Port de Valldemossa.
  • Camí dels Pintors (Cala de Deià Llucalcari): escar de Son Beltran and escar d'en Mider.
  • Escar d'en Jeroni (Béns d'Avall, Sóller), escar de sa Costera (Escorca, Arco de Marès).

Stat

  • The Consell, at the request of Santanyí and Ses Salines, agreed on 06/25/1995 to consider them assets of cultural interest.
  • According to the Consorci, the Consell has protected 62 escars: Santanyí 44, Llucmajor 11, Campos 7. Port des Canonge, founded as Bé Catalogat; escar d'en Fargas (Cala Barques, Pollença), too.
  • Conflict with the Coastal Law: Port des Canonge with demolitions pending since 2009; The Government is preparing a "coastal amnesty"; The associations ask for legal certainty.

Why is it design

Building made for an object: measurement, light and humidity designed so that a llaüt lasts decades. Lesson: design the container from the care of the content. It is proximity design .

Avui architecture

No reinterpretation identified. Direct relationship with the llatina candle and the metres d'aixa .

For the project

  • Atlas: drawn catalog of the 27 Port des Canonge cassettes.
  • Collaboration: associations of escars and metres d'aixa (joint piece boat + booth).
  • Guided walk along the Camí dels Pintors.

Frequently asked questions

What is Escars and boathouses (varadors)?

Stone huts by the sea to store fishing boats, especially wooden llaüts. With their pier (ramp) they form groups of coves such as Cala Figuera, Port des…

Sources

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

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