We end the year with a figure that, because it is round and impressive, deserves a review: the AUG-ARQUITECTOS, SLP team and its collaborators have prepared files in Protection Catalogs that justify the protection of 5003 elements. This impressive figure is the result of more than three decades of efforts in the protection of landscape, natural and – above all – cultural heritage, in its archaeological, ethnological and architectural aspects. Behind each proposal, each of those 5003 elements, is the will to contribute to preserving the inherited legacy, so that new generations continue to enjoy it and to facilitate its knowledge, conservation and, eventually, respectful use. And behind each of them there is field work, research, office work and not infrequently defense and persuasion to our interlocutors, of the need to protect it.
Depending on the type of elements, protection pursues specific objectives. In some cases, its exclusive conservation has been sought, incompatible with many uses (for example, in certain palaeontological or archaeological sites of high value) while in other cases an attempt has been made to reconcile by all means the use and enjoyment of the property with conservation. of its main features. Protection, we understand, should not limit the right of property, nor be interpreted as an impediment to development; On the contrary, well-understood protection is a premise to facilitate economic growth, especially in rural areas, threatened by the problem of depopulation.
Working on heritage protection is a distinctive sign of our professional activity, a substantial part of our work as urban planners and, in many cases, the content that consumes the most time and energy of many general plans. After more than thirty years dedicated to this activity, our team can look back with satisfaction, although there are many cases in which we would have liked to implement extended protection to a greater number of elements.
The protection of heritage also involves dealing with many actors, with sometimes conflicting visions and with some preconceived positions. This is why the preparation of a Catalog of Protections is a difficult and complex task that requires not only mastery and knowledge of the subject on the part of the authors of the catalog, but also a great capacity for empathy, tenacity and infinite patience. Some of our catalogs have been in process for more than ten years, while in some cases the file has been resolved in record time, just over two years, as happened with the review of the Catalog of Cortes of Arenoso (Castellón) approved in 2023 and for which the Official College of Architects of the Valencian Community recognized AUG-ARQUITECTOS, SLP.
The 5003 elements, collected in 30 Protection Catalogs (17 of which are already definitively approved) represent a commitment and portray us as professionals. Its protection has involved enormous work, but also the privilege of having known elements that, perhaps otherwise, we would not have been lucky enough to enjoy.
AUG-ARQUITECTOS, SLP thanks the archaeologists and paleontologists who have collaborated with us and the people who, from the Administration, have trusted us and have made possible a contribution of this scale to Spanish heritage.