Transcantabria: the architecture and landscape of a surfari

Domingo Ballestín, Javier (Universidad de Zaragoza)

Resumen: Every year, the coastal strip between the southwest of France and Galicia becomes the largest surfer pilgrimage route in Europe. A whole rosary of vans and motorhomes in search of waves travels the Cantabrian highway and adjacent national roads through the unique landscape of the so-called Transcantabria route.
The beach is the democratic space par excellence in which there are many diverse places and opportunities. The sea, by extension, has that same condition, and even more so if that were possible, although with the peculiarity that its state is totally changing. Surfers know it well and have adopted a type of internal organisation of the water space that enables them to “inhabit” it in a natural way to take advantage of its unique opportunities. This type of “internal order” attends to the rules, behavioural patterns and mutual respect that are inherent in the philosophy of the sport and its associated lifestyle.
This research aims to detect new forms of expression that favour a context of collaboration and experience or community action. The surfers’ environment and their code of inhabiting space and sea are used to analyse and reread the complexity of the landscape of the Transcantabria route, with the aim of attempting to understand and connect architecture and landscape. Not so much as a physical place, but as a sociological place, a reflection and consequence of the activities and events that occur there.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-47987-9_25

Año: 2020

Publicado en: Springer Series in Design and Innovation (2020), 307-316
ISSN: 2661-8184

Tipo y forma: Article (Published version)

Área (Departamento): Área Expresión Gráfica Arquite (Unidad Predepartam. Arquitect.)