Málaga - Dying in her Ruins

The city centre is full of unique buildings abandoned and dilapidated, with its decay we are losing the heritage that belongs to this city

Watchful eyes bear witness to a Málaga that lies dying in its own ruins. Broken windows, boarded up doors, tiles and balconies detached. A distant splendour is fading year after year, a result of the owners negligence and an apathy of governing institutions.

In the historic centre of the city, dozens of unique buildings are abandoned and dilapidated. The Planning Department has forced owners to repair the outside of the building to pass the Technical Building Inspection (ITE ) . However, there are many others which are slowly crumbling.

Antonio Vargas, Dean of the College of Architects and professor of 'Escuela de Arquitectura de la Universidad de Málaga' states “you only have to make a brief tour through the streets of Madre de Dios, Dos Aceras, Alamos and Carreteria to check numerous examples of this lack of action, these properties are privately owned but also belong to the community”. 

“We talk about heritage but we should look for a more intense surveillance system before reaching total ruination, more frequent inspections, regulations with greater demands and controls not only on the livability but to also maintain the architectural value of these buildings" added Antonio Vargas. Citing a specific example, El Palacete Barroco de Trinidad Grund. the baroque palace.

Amongst La Calle Tejón, Calle Rodríguez and La Plaza del Teatro, there has for years been rising scaffolding skeletons supporting buildings with nothing more that vegetation inside. "These are more obvious cases," says Vargas and suggests that developers are purposefully leaving the properties to come crashing down to make way for redevelopment projects.

For the architect and university professor, in certain cases "compulsory purchase would most suit the common good ". However, the dean of the College of Architects believes that " the authorities are very wary and provide guarantees to the individual rather than the collective, denying the right of citizens to enjoy their heritage." he goes on to stress that “In all this lies the culture of high prices and the want to get the maximum return”.

A key factor in the abandonment of these properties is the ownership structure. Sometimes the owners are elderly or their heirs don't want act responsibly. In Calle Madre de Dios, No10, a unique building does not look to have passed the statutory inspection, Another, had the openings on the ground floor windows boarded up but has been broken into and stands open to slowly corrode.

 In Dos Aceras and Alamos façades are propped to hide the empty interiors. In Carreteria No 31 moldings have fallen away and police had to act to prevent injury due to falling cornices.

The Professor continues " Public space is not only the soil of the street, the cobblestones beneath our feet , it is also are the buildings that line those streets ,"

another example of neglect in Pasaje de Chinitas, floors that form the fabric of buildings has been torn off and gutters are so unstable that a metal plate protects pedestrians from falling material . 

 

In this proud city the Malagueños are now used to walking through its dying streets and so to must the visitors who pay to come and see this Malaga, this 'paradise'

quotes from interview by
 C Ristina Fernández málaga Hoy |