C.2 1919: THE CLASSICAL STYLE IS FASHIONABLE
One of the features that make the galleries so special is that they are built with a framework of reinforced concrete. But in spite of this use of techniques that were innovative for their time, the structure as a whole is clearly classical in appearance.
The lower part comprises a 2.5 m high masonry wall made with sandstone blocks. In this it is consistent with the style of other important buildings in Getxo, where sandstone is widely used.
Prism-shaped blocks around 50 cm thick were used, cut to different sizes. They are made of quartz-arenite sandstone, cemented together by mortar made with quartz aggregates and carbonated binder. The exterior was originally decorated with sub-parallel vertical grooves chopped into the stone.
The wall is fairly well preserved, though the exterior facing of the stones has suffered weathering in the form of sanding, peeling, discolouration and honeycombing, plus colonisation by plants and other organisms, deposits of dirt from airborne pollutants and damp, all of which make it look dirty.
Left: part of the masonry wall. Right: detail of the original chopped grooves, 2017. Source: Project for showcasing the Punta Begoña Galleries
Left: detail of weathering in the form of sanding. Right: detail of weathering in the form of lacing, 2017. Source: Project for showcasing the Punta Begoña Galleries
Left: detailed view of damage due to plant growth. Right: detailed view of deposits and discolouration due to damp. 2017 Source: Project for of the Punta Begoña Galleries