Gabriel Montero Fernández de Bobadilla

DESCRIPTION OF THE WORK

Gabriel carries out masonry works with traditional techniques, specializing in restoration works and newly-built ones following the classical Andalusian style. In the Alpujarra and other parts of Andalusia (Sevilla, Málaga, Cádiz and Almería) he has studied and put into practice the different traditional construction techniques which are characteristic of each of these regions. In the Alpujarra, Granada, he learnt – and later on taught- different techniques related to stone. These were traditional techniques from the area such as the manufacture of dry stone walls, stone and mud walls, cobblestone pavements, the work involving the cutting and preparation of the stone for it to be used for construction, and also how to obtain the different sorts of tiles for the different parts of the building (for flooring, roofing, eaves). Moreover, he also got involved in learning – and then teaching – how to place wooden horizontal structures for mezzanine floors and how to carry out the traditional flat roof of the area of the Alpujarra. 

This type of roofing is unique within the Iberian Peninsula and is built with the materials from the land surrounding the area, covering the wooden horizontal structures – made of chestnut tree wood and alfarjías – with the slabs obtained when cutting the stone right through its vein, covered in kneaded clay (today commonly substituted by concrete), which is then finished with a special type of soil, launa, with water-repellent properties since it is made of microscopic sheets of decaying shale (stone with a laminar structure) which, when compressed, produces the water-repellent effect.

In other areas of Andalusia he has specialized in works related to traditional architecture, studying and restoring buildings of the so-called Andalusian Baroque style, carrying out works with bricks, and both for portals and other architectural elements. He has also worked as a master at the School/Workshop in Lebrija. 

Regarding the interiors of the buildings, he has carried out renders and finishes for walls and he has manufactured chimneys, kitchens, ovens, floorings…etc. It is worth highlighting his ability for placing tiles with a geometrical cut of different styles, having a broad experience regarding the Nasrid-type ones used in the Alhambra. 

Parting from traditional designs, tools and construction systems, he has introduced new materials as well as some aspects of today’s constructive techniques. This can be seen in the manufacture of walls and structures, to improve the performance of the traditional materials (insulations, waterproofing, etc.), to be able to create pleasant atmospheres, always respecting and preserving the design of the classical architectural elements.