Master builders Gabriel Montero Fernández de Bobadilla and Rafael Vaquero Pérez, both prominent members of the Spanish Network of Traditional Building Crafts Masters, have recently passed away. Gabriel and Rafael were regular collaborators in some of Donald Gray’s projects, who was awarded in 2015 with the Rafael Manzano Prize for New Traditional Architecture.
Gabriel Montero Fernandez de Bobadilla carried out masonry work with traditional techniques, both restoration and new construction. In the Alpujarra and other areas of Andalusia (Seville, Malaga, Cadiz and Almeria) he studied and practiced the different traditional construction techniques of each area. In the high Alpujarra of Granada, he mastered and later taught at the trade houses of Pitres and Capileira the various traditional stone-working techniques of the region. These techniques included building dry stone walls, working with stone and mud, and laying cobblestones. He also specialized in cutting and preparing stone for construction, obtaining slabs for various parts of the building such as floors, roofs, and eaves. Additionally, he learned and taught the method of laying wooden slabs for mezzanines and flat roofs, which is characteristic of the Alpujarra tradition.
Rafael Vaquero Pérez was specialized in the finishing of architectural elements typical of the Andalusian tradition. He learned the techniques he used from other master builders in the various places where he worked, often under the direction of Donald Gray. In general, he worked whenever possible with traditional techniques and natural materials such as clay, lime, stone, tile and Nasrid ceramics.
The newspaper El País has recently published an article on the work of the Australian architect, which can be read through the following link.
