The Fundación Arquia Blog shares an article reflecting on personal experience to show why memory must not be approached in an austere, detached manner. Technical and typological studies of architectural heritage, or the mere recognition of a site's characteristics, customs, and history, are not enough. Memory is emotional; consequently, we must grasp the true meaning of a place and the value of its architecture beyond the material.
One day, some time ago, I was walking through the narrow streets of a village in the rocky, rugged mountains of my native Almería, examining the vernacular building typologies that so often catch my attention. An older man approached me and asked, "Have you seen the mills?" Indeed, I had already climbed up the ravine, amazed by how many of these structures existed, now completely abandoned.
