This is a story spanning the last 36 years. We, as members of this community, are looking back on more than half of our lives so far. We’re examining old slides before they, too, find their place as time capsules in our current construction sides (like Casa Pachamama and La Osa Mayor).
Even though there’s a risk of romanticizing history, overestimating our own contributions, and making our actions seem greater than they actually were, it makes sense to look back to recognize patterns. These patterns allow us to draw conclusions about the present, and therefore also about the future.
It’s always good to look back on history, if you have one.
Petra was the first young woman to travel to us without a partner. She belonged to the new generation of self-confident women. She had studied social work and was about to start her first job. She had previously worked in the prison system during her training.
Petra was fit, strong, and wanted to do physical work. She carried sacks of cement (which weighed 50 kg back then) and climbed aluminum ladders with full buckets of mortar. We perceived Petra as a very social and very tough, but also very fair person. We would have loved to invite her to our upcoming anniversary celebration in May 2027. Unfortunately, we lost touch. But we are working on it.
During that time, we lived in a 44-square-meter apartment in a multi-family building in Cologne. CASAdelDRAGON seemed like an enormous structure to us, and we wanted to build a large, bright living room. It was to be a space that truly felt at home, open and perfect for gatherings and cozy evenings by the stove in winter.
Demolishing the old roof was one of the first major construction tasks. From the first hammer blow to laying the last floor tile on the terrace, seven weeks were planned; there was no plan B.
The damaged facade had to be dismantled down to the first floor. We only found solid ground for the reconstruction at a height of 3 meters above street level. We had waited three years before starting this phase of construction. First, we had to find suitable windows for the building. We obtained over 20 old oak windows from a carpentry workshop in Germany. Two were intended for the kitchen. We built the reinforced panels using rebar donated by a scrap metal dealer.
We collected most of the donated building materials in Germany. Then we transported them to Cervera del Maestre in old vans and buses. The neighbors were a bit puzzled. Every year we arrived with a “new” car. And it was always packed with modern building materials. We must have come from a very wealthy country. What they didn’t know was that the building materials were unloaded from containers at construction sites and that we acquired cars at the end of their lifespan, cars that certainly wouldn’t pass a vehicle inspection again.
The concrete mixer was a gift from my friend Henk. He had already built several houses with it. It was intended as a replacement for a used one that had suffered bearing damage after a short time and was no longer usable.
The old wooden ceiling beams were so riddled with woodworm that restoration didn’t seem worthwhile. We didn’t want to use poisons against these insects.
The niche had previously been used as an inlet for chicken feed. Where the living room was supposed to be, there was a very low room under the roof, and the previous owners had kept chickens there.
During the initial construction phase, every newly built room had to be used. Anything not slated for demolition the next day was immediately put to use. We lived on our construction site for 20 years. What was later intended to be the kitchen was used temporarily as storage and sleeping quarters. Space was always a scarce commodity in those days.
The large mosaic in the kitchen is reminiscent of the ancient symbol of the Nordic seafarers. It depicts the sailors’ cycle of leaving port and returning. For many people, CASAdelDRAGON was a haven, a place to rest, recharge, stock up on provisions, gather ideas, and ultimately set sail for something new.
Some of these people returned often, others rarely, and some never.
They are all part of this story, and we hope they find their way back to enjoy with us what they have created.
Gerald was one such person. He lived in a tiny apartment on a small aircraft airfield, subletting a room. He agreed to help with the arduous work of demolishing the roof and rebuilding the walls, and to stay until we could finish the new terrace.
He was very driven and hardworking. He was always one of the first at work in the morning. And it seemed almost strange to him that we also went to the seaside almost every day and wanted to enjoy our free time. We don’t know what became of him and his family. We wish he could return to the place where he worked and enjoy this building again.
We are currently digitizing a selection of slides. We will embed the originals in the foundations and walls of our current construction sites as time capsules. This will be, on the one hand, a liberation and a letting go of things, and on the other hand, perhaps a gift for a future finder. They, too, will be able to look back on the history of these structures and their builders. Whether this history—printed and published analogously—will stand the test of time, we don’t know.
We are slowly planning for 27th May 2027 – 40 years CASAdelDRAGON – 20 Years Gallery EL-DRAC – Inauguration of Casa Pachamama.
Looking back, one sees a lot of rubble and dust. The current images of these places tell little about their origins. What has accompanied us all these years could probably best be described as “construction dust.”
As a general pattern, one can assume that people gathered here who saw something that wasn’t yet there and made it visible to others by building it. Creating space for social interaction was and is the goal. That is our story.
It’s always good to look back on history, if you have one.
