Join INTBAU Today

Carmen-Oliva Menéndez, professor at the Higher School of Architecture of Madrid Polytechnic University, has been awarded a Europa Nostra Award in the category of Research for her in-depth study 'Thatching in West Europe: From Asturias to Iceland'. Menéndez's book, Teitos (Thatched Constructions), investigates thatchers' work from the Asturias and Ancares Valley in Northwest Spain, to Britain, Ireland, Germany, Holland, Scandinavia, France and the Italian Piedmont. According to Menéndez, she found through her research “different styles and techniques, different plants, but a similar spirit for sustainable materials and traditional beauty.”

Photo courtesy of Carmen-Oliva Menéndez

In selecting 'Thatching in West Europe' for a Research Award, the Europa Nostra jury said the following:

“This excellent book about thatching in Western Europe covers a subject which has so far received little attention on a larger scale. Thatched roofs and the techniques employed in making them are very vulnerable to the elements and tend to change over time, which makes the recording of them especially important. The jury were particularly impressed with the wide area covered in the study and the detailed discussion of techniques, materials and the social context of thatching.”

The book has 572 illustrations (line drawings and colour photos), 438 of which are by Menéndez. The book also includes a specific chapter on transhumance huts, built to shelter those moving their grazing animals to new seasonal pastures.

Further information is available on Europa Nostra's website.