On 16 May, the director of the UIC Barcelona School of Architecture, Josep Lluis i Ginovart, and researcher and architect Mónica López Piquer took part in the Euro-American Congress REHABEND 2018, focused on heritage restoration and management, which this year took place in Cáceres.

Together they gave a talk entitled “La orientación de las iglesias románicas del Valle de Arán en España (s. XI-XIII)” [The orientation of Romasque churches in Spain’s Vall d’Arán (11th-12th centuries)]. During the talk, they presented some of the questions addressed in researcher and architect Mónica López Piquer’s thesis, directed by full professor Josep Lluís i Ginovart. More specifically, they discussed the findings of their research on the orientation of Romanesque temples in Val d’Arán, determined using a land-based laser scanner. 

“After analysing the findings, we were able to divide Romanesque churches in Val d’Aran into four groups based on their orientation: astronomical orientation; canonical orientation as defined by liturgy; orientation that coincides with the feast day of the patron saint; and churches with no clear criteria”, explains López Piquer.

REHABEND is a Euro-American congress, and its seventh edition bears the name “Construction Pathology, Rehabilitation Technology and Heritage Management”. With participants from over thirty countries and more than three hundred presentations, the congress has become an international reference point in this field. Josep Lluís i Ginovart, director of the UIC Barcelona School of Architecture, is also a member of the congress’ scientific committee.