My blog Outsider Environments Europe has an article about spanish outsider artist Josep Pujiula i Vila, who around 1980 began creating an outsider environment on a plot of land along the river Fluvia, near the community of Argaleguer in Catalonia, Spain.

In the course of the years this site has become one of the most important art environments in the world. Because of the construction of a main road, around 2002 Pujiula has dismantled his Labyrinth, to rebuild it on a adjacent spot.

However, around 2012, the local government decided that the vertical wooden structures were dangerous, especially in case of fire, and ordered the dismantling of these structures, which Pujiula meanwhile has done.

Only a number of not high-rising constructions, such as ponds, sculptures, fountains, made from concrete and steel, have been left. On april 3, 2013 the Agència Catalana de l'Aigua (the water authority in Catalonia) has ordered that these constructions should be dismantled too, so the banks of the river return to their original state.

Inhabitants of Argelaguer and other interested parties have issued a manifesto (may 2013) in order to save what has been left of Pujiula's original creation (not available anymore on the internet)

In this page you find the text of this manifest in Catalonian, followed by a free translation into english.

Manifest "Salvem les cabanes d'Argaleguer"

1. Les Cabanes d’Argelaguer són un patrimoni arquitectònic, cultural i social de gran bellesa i valor sentimental.

2. En aquests moments totes les cabanes i els seus laberints s’han fet destruir, s’ha restituït gairebé la totalitat del territori al seu estat original i només queden unes restes artístiques, les escultures, les fonts i les basses a la sortida del torrent.

3. Les construccions que queden, les fonts i les basses, fetes de material sòlid, a base de ciment i ferro, han millorat de manera consistent l’estabilitat del terreny i no constitueixen un perill per les persones ni cap impediment a la circulació natural de l’aigua.

4. L’artista, amb aquesta extraordinària obra, ha posat en pràctica la seva imaginació i fantasia sense cap ànim de lucre ni benefici personal. La seva creativitat ha rebut al llarg de tots aquests anys el reconeixement i la col·laboracio de la majoria de veïns d’Argelaguer i comarca.

5. Les Cabanes d’Argelaguer són una característica identitària del poble que ha rebut l’admiració de nombrosos visitants d’arreu del món i el reconeixement artístic i arquitectònic de tècnics i publicacions especialitzades (veure document annex).

Ha estat motiu d’una tesi doctoral d’una investigadora americana, ha estat considerat per una sala d’art i el museu de Lausanne (França) com un dels tretze millors artistes d’art brut del mòn i té a l’actualitat més de 68.600 indexacions al Google.

6. Per molt veïns ha estat durant més de quaranta anys un lloc de refresc a l’estiu, un destí de passeig, un lloc que mostrem amb orgull als nostres visitants i un lloc de gaudi de nens i adults.

7. Per tots aquests motius els que sotasignem demanem l’excepcionalitat de l’aplicació de la Llei d’Aigües, que sigui considerat patrimoni cultural del municipi d’Argelaguer i que sigui protegit de la seva destrucció per la Generalitat de Catalunya

Manifest "Save the cabins of Argaleguer"

1. The Argelaguer cabins constitute an architectural, cultural and social heritage with a great beauty and sentimental value.

2. At this moment all cabins and labyrinths have been destroyed, almost all land is returned to its original state and on the banks of the torrent only a few artistic constructs are left: sculptures, fountains and ponds

3. The remaining constructions, fountains and ponds, made ​​of solid material, basically from cement and iron, have improved the stability of the area in a consistent way and do not constitute a danger to people or an impediment to the natural circulation of water.

4. The artist who made this extraordinary creation, has used his imagination and fantasy without any profit or personal gain. Throughout the years his creativity has received recognition and cooperation of most residents of the Argelaguer region

5. The Argelaguer cabins give a characteristic identity to the village, admired by many visitors from around the world and acknowledged by artistic and architectural specialists and specialized publications (enumerated in an attached document).

The site has been the subject of a doctoral dissertation by a researcher from the United States, has been considered by an art gallery and museum in Lausanne (France) as one of the thirteen best artistic creations in the world of outsider art and currently has over 68,600 entries on Google.

6. For the people living in the region, the site has been for more than forty years a place of refreshment in summer, a destination for a ride, a place they proudly show to visitors and a place of enjoyment both for children and adults.

7. For all these reasons the undersigned ask to make an exception in the implementation of the Water Act, taking in consideration that the cultural heritage of the town of Argelaguer should be protected from destruction by the Government of Catalonia.

added to OEE texts may 2013