spanish ENGINEERING

    To apply a cultural lens to an engineering project, I researched civil engineering and architecture in Spain; a country well known for their incredible buildings, monuments, and cathedrals. 

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    Spain’s exceptional civil engineering heritage is the result of many historical and cultural factors. From ancient times, the country contributed to major European trends in construction. It was industrialized later than others, and, due to Spain’s non-involvement in WWI and II, kept an older more ethereal style through the ages. Failure to participate in the wars also preserved the ancient cathedrals and other monuments, allowing their beauty to inspire future architecture.

 

    The challenging terrain in the country proves the resilience of Spanish engineers in creating such incredible structures. Spain is the second most mountainous nation in Europe, and it has many torrential rivers and a plethora of natural resource collection areas across its geography. These circumstances have required civil engineers to have incredible knowledge and skills within the subject.

 

    Spain has an outstanding engineering legacy, both quantitatively and qualitatively speaking. In Leon, one of Spain’s provinces, an association disclosed information on 140 historic bridges built before 1936. In La Rioja, over 200 bridges dating back to the 1800s have also been documented and studied. Continued pre-industrial lifestyles in parts of Spain led to the country conserving many traditional water and road works of great territorial interest. These offer a lot of interest and inspiration to modern engineers across the world.

This heritage is known not only for its quantity but for its quality, historical importance, and diversity. Spain’s architecture includes works from many ages: medieval, post-medieval, imperial, etc. Aside from the well-known churches and cathedrals, Spain also houses thousands of years worth of aqueducts, bridges, lighthouses, roads and streets, dams, watermills, and canals.

 

    The most exceptional feature of modern Spanish engineering was its decisive role in the colonization of America. Spanish engineering can be said to have been among the first countries to export its engineering to other continents. In a brief period of time after colonizing the Americas, Spanish engineering spanned across two continents for the greater good of the metropolis.