The achievement of works or unauthorised interference in the old town of the large cities has been a reality until very recently. Fortunately awareness for the protection of property that forms part of the Cultural Heritage and the enhancement of their cultural values has changed, and today the rehabilitation of real estate is controlled with a magnifying glass by public authorities to avoid putting at risk the history to save these types of buildings.

A living example of invisible Malaga is found in Calle Hinestrosa, between Madre de Dios and Frailes. A short stretch of pedestrian sidewalk that guards the detailed history of Malaga of the 18^th century, a city that resisted the age of Enlightenment, a city that sang its first songs, was punished by famine and who was unaware of what they would have to suffer with the absolute outrages.

It is in this tiny little piece of Malaga, where we find real gems of history, houses of the time, and thanks to the respectful reformations, allowed us to glimpse paintings and murals, with their wild and geometric patterns, that someone in an unconscious or desperate moment, in a time of rage, had covered in quicklime.

Recenlty, Mármoles Fernández has been fortunate to work in one of these restorations. A beautiful project in which the architects Susana Gómez and Álvaro Rodríguez at Arquimas Architects, mixed as if from a miraculous potion the old and new, achieving an almost perfect fusion that takes us back to another era. A delicate work, which means the recovery of the original constructive elements and the incorporation of new and environmentally-friendly details. A job that requires expert hands, the hands of Andecopro 2001.

Slowly but surely the reformation continues and soon we will offer you pictures of the fully finished House. To give you an idea, here is the photo of a neighbouring House, you will agree with me that it is wonderful and it would be a shame if this type of buildings would continue to be neglected.

Near our location the church of San Felipe Neri has in its interiors our marble and the passion for perfection. Indeed a well-done job. But this is another story.

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“Una Piedra en el Camino”

From time immemorial there has been natural stone formed from minerals, which constitutes the core of our planet. With a gentle push, varieties of stone have been moving to the earths surface, up to be excavated in quarries.

The Egyptians were experts in the use of natural stone and classified them according to hardness. Limestones and sandstones, which are formed in horizontal layers, were extracted in blocks by size using separation cracks. Initially copper and bronze were used along with wooden mallets and other metal tools, laboriously extracting large blocks of stone with only muscle power, by the 10th to 8th centuries BC chisels and wedges of iron were employed. It´s hard to imagine the effort and human resources needed for any small construction.

For the production of hard stones, granite is mainly employed, Dolerite, and shock-resistant hard stone tools are need.

Human evolution, has never ceased in its efforts to facilitate the task of removal of this type of material. Today, the quarries have diamond wires, that facilitate the extraction of these stones.

The extraction process has gone from being done with hammers and chisels, to computerized machinery. Machines allow much greater control and accuracy even in the preparation process, using advanced software. It is something like a GPS which allows the user to create true wonders in stone, without any physical effort. These high-tech machines take skilled and highly trained people to work them.

A few days ago we had did the reproduction of a piece of art, the results speak for themselves. We´ve posted a video of making a valance in a white limestone, white because though you may not be aware, there are also black limestones, but we will leave that for another blog.

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