La fortificación de la isla de Nueva Tabarca, 1769-1779: De la estrategia militar a la táctica del proyecto urbano

Abstract

Between 1769 and 1779, the military engineer Fernando Méndez Ras performs a survey of the coastline of isla Plana –located in front of Alicante– and various drawings for its colonization. A project that – with the construction of the fortified citadel of "Nueva Tabarca"– joins design of new city and military architecture. The realization of this fortress was part of Carlos III's policy of founding new settlements. The proposed contribution analyses various urban projects (characterized by a high graphic quality and a rigorous technique), checking the evolution of the initial strategy of war machine until a settlement construction intended as an industrial village and a village of fishermen. The study of the three urban plans (1770-71, 1774-75, 1779) reveals these changes and shows how, in conjunction with decreasing the political interest for the defensive project, the engineer increases the definition of the urban project. The author transforms his design from military to civilian use, defining the citadel as a large cistern to collect rainwater for survival guarantee. The absolutist idea of man's control over the nature coexists with reasoning to understand that city, architecture and water realize a unit of military design.