The Snow Wells

Constantina, Sevilla, Andalucía.

Dating of the building: 17th century.

Applicant: Dirk Winderickx.

Reason for the award :

For the recovery of an old snow deposit from the seventeenth century, today converted into a model of sustainable rural tourism.

The original use of the Constantina Snow Wells, an old artificial snowfield, gives this emblematic building in the Sierra Norte de Sevilla a very particular mark.

Located in the heart of the Sierra Norte de Sevilla Natural Park, in the municipality of Constantina, stands the site known as Los Pozos de la Nieve. The exact dating of the property is not known, although the dating of the vaults of the wells, built between 1760 and 1761, is. However, the main façade has a Seville coat of arms dated 1696, the year in which it is assumed it was acquired by the City Council to serve as a hospital for the capital. The structure is divided into three floors adapting to the terrain with access from the middle floor, the lower floor being semi-buried adapting to the profile of the slope. The snow storage, for which the building was used, was done in the large refrigerators on this same floor, made up of two immense semi-buried vaults. All this makes this building a unique example within Sevillian cultural heritage.

The recovery and rehabilitation of the property were based on three separated intervention phases. The first aimed to detect the most urgent needs of the property. The second focused on its complete rehabilitation. Finally, work was carried out on the adaptation of the Snow Wells as a model of sustainable rural tourism.

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