In the winter of 2025, we resumed work on La Osa Mayor. Securing the facade was our top priority. Large sections of the facade near the main entrance had been severely damaged in the preceding years and months by wind, rain, and ivy spreading over the remaining walls. The resulting weight from the rain was too much for the wall to bear, and parts of it collapsed. The goal was—and still is—to save what can be saved of the building structure. Only in this way can we safely develop the interior of the patio.
To support the mountain-facing facade later, we began to secure and reinforce one of the inner pillars. It proved successful to distribute future loads not onto the outer natural stone walls, but instead to provide structurally independent columns inside the building. This column, located next to the main entrance, will eventually bear the primary weight of the arches that will connect the front and rear facade walls.
We collected some river stones, which will serve as a simple ornament to adorn this section. They are a reminder of the strength and durability of the related types of stone.
The bricklaying process is characterized by the fact that the initial focus is on ensuring stability, with the joints being cleaned and adjusted only afterward. This process takes approximately six hours if the mortar is used without chemical additives. Bricklaying follows strict rules, which also define the sequences and time frames involved.
The social art project La Osa Mayor is also – like CASAdelDRAGON or Casa Pacha Mama not funded by public money. There are no grants or other government assistance. Consequently, the tools and equipment are improvised and basic. Nevertheless, it is important to ensure safe working conditions even under these circumstances. The remaining scaffolding was joined together with professional clamps, and construction supports for the future wooden form of the Gothic arch were securely anchored to the old threshold of the house entrance.
La Osa Mayor is a social sculpture. As such, it attracts attention even during the construction phase. Therefore, it seemed advisable to communicate its name from the outset. This way, it is perpetuated in many vacation photos.
In the village, people began to wonder, seeing this arch, whether a museum or a church was being built. This question was also motivated by the unusual entrance.
How this place will be used in the future is not clear to the builders. But the story of this entrance should be told here.
When Epicurus decided to create a garden instead of building a building for his school of thought, he considered its future use. The garden was to be dedicated to teaching and education. To provide the best possible environment for this education, there were certain conditions: Everyone who passed through the garden gate should be equal to the others already present in the garden. The free expression of opinion in the public space of the garden should be the basis of dialogue. Epicurus inscribed this “contract” on the gate; whoever passed through it signed this contract.
The architectural choice of this entrance was clear. Everyone who passes through this arch will understand that they are entering a special space. In the Patio Osa Mayor, everyone is equal and therefore has equal rights. A social space can only develop and stabilize if it has no hierarchies and grants equal opportunities to all.
The Gothic arch provides the architectural framework for this.
Many years before, we had collected old, historic terracotta bricks from the spoil heaps on Vinaros beach. We had even kept a few in the bodega of Casa Pacha Mama, located in the same village.
Thus, the arch was constructed from these old yellow terracotta bricks, salvaged from numerous historic buildings in the region, and from terracotta tiles salvaged from the historic Osa Mayor building. We had previously pulled these tiles from the rubble and cleaned them. Some of the terracotta tiles had to be painstakingly freed from old mortar. But this work is always worthwhile, because such terracotta bricks are a priceless treasure. You can’t buy everything important in life. This also applies to local, historic building materials. The ruins of the Osa Mayor serve as our source of these historic building materials, just as the castle ruins served as a quarry for the new residents of Cervera del Maestre many years ago.
Preserving old building fabric is always a balancing act. In this case, two natural stones had to be removed to allow for the construction of a solid Gothic arch springing. This was a critical step, also with regard to the stability of the facade at this point.
After the removal of the two natural stones, work could begin on the Gothic arch.
Barely 8 hours later, the first arch was almost finished. Work was carried out in stages, first on the left and then on the right, to better distribute the weight of the material onto the wooden structure.
The bodega of Casa Pacha Mama still contains a considerable amount of building material that will be used. Massive clay bricks are being brought in from here, which will be used for a second and third arch on the inside of the Gothic arch.
The joints are temporarily sealed with wooden pieces to prevent the mortar from falling out. They will be removed later.
The maintenance work carried out at the end of 2025 included securing the small balcony. Neighbors told stories of the house’s last resident, who often stood on this balcony to watch the children playing and playing in Calle Las Parras. It was said to have been a street with 100 children before the Spanish Civil War.
The inner wall near the balcony was also repaired, and once again old clay bricks from the rubble of the ruin were used.
As with the bow before, the beauty of the work only becomes apparent once the joints have been repaired and cleaned.
We only wrote this article in the spring of 2026. So much had happened, and there simply wasn’t time to write it all down. As always, the places within our community are very dynamic and intense.