The Historic Gardens and Fountains at the University in Gijon Will Be Restored for €1,900,000


- The construction, with a budget of €1,900,000, will begin in September and includes the creation of a plaza at the entrance to the Ciudad de la Cultura.

- The project seeks to restore the Hispanic Arabic elements of the original project

Source: Article in El Comercio July 4, 2007 by Andrés Presedo

Originally the gardens and fountains were conceived and designed as a unique element of the Laboral University in Gijon. The original thoughts of Luis Moya and the Seville resident Javier de Winthuysen considered that this emblematic building needed a garden area which emulated the celebrated beauty of the Granada Palace. Much work was done in the beginning of the 1950s to realize these aspirations, but the promoters were never able to see their project completed.
Technically everything is in perfect order. The water is collected from the interior patio or courtyard of the Laboral and distributed by means of pipes both asthetic and functional. And along the façade of the building there is a long fountain. The water is then recycled, as it passes by flowers and trees. But some small technical problems and above all the lack of money put an end to the project. Now more than half a century later, the gardens will regain their noble aspect.
How big will the new project be? All total it will be some 136,000 ft.² although really it is made up of two parts -- the historic gardens and fountains, and the entrance plaza to the Laboral. The work is expected to be finished after six months by the spring of 2008. Cisterns which collect the water will hold some 20,000 liters. In order to obtain the color effects originally sought by Javier de Winthuysen, ornamental grasses will be used in green, gray blue, and red. The maintenance of grasses is much less difficult than flowers and the colors are much the same. The trees will be magnolia and there will be borders of box wood shrubs.