WOOD IN THE FAULTS

As every year, when the month of March arrives, one of the most popular festivities in the world, “Las fallas de Valencia”, is approaching. This festival, named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, is a source of pride for all Valencians as it brings together gunpowder, art and the origin of this festival, the Fallas monuments.

The origin of the Fallas dates back to the ancient tradition of the carpenters who on the eve of the feast of their patron Saint Joseph, burned in front of their workshops, the old furniture along with the wooden contraptions with arms that they used to support the candles that illuminated them while they worked during the winter months.

Therefore, without wood, the faults would not be the faults. Wood, in this case, is the best symbol of the tradition and craftsmanship that surrounds this festivity.

Wood is the basis of the Fallas monument. Of course, there are more abstract and conceptual exceptions, but it is usually a general rule: the scaffolding on which the monuments are erected is made of wood and allows them to be lifted and balanced. In addition, of course, wood offers greater fire resistance than other materials.

The most common material used for carpentry is wood, the most common is poplar, or pine, or a combination of both, using pine for compression elements such as pillars, more specifically Pino Suecia, and the rest of the structure in poplar, this wood stands out for its economy, but also for being a very fibrous and flexible wood.

Finally, despite the trend towards the use of polystyrene, fallero artists have wanted to take wood to another level and use it as an inspirational material for their monuments. A quite spectacular example is the one offered by the Na Jordana fault of 2012. A huge 23-meter Leonardo Da Vinci whose composition is… 90% wood!

BIBLIOGRAPHY .

1. https://instaladorparquetvalencia.es/mas-madera-estamos-en-fallas/
2. https://arquitecturayempresa.es/noticia/la-construccion-de-las-estructuras-mas-atrevidas-de-las-fallas-de-valencia
3. https://m.riunet.upv.es/bitstream/handle/10251/190995/Garcia%20-%20ANALISIS%20ESTRUCTURAL%20DE%20LOS%20MONUMENTOS%20FALLEROS%20EN%20VALENCIA%20PROPUESTA%20DE%20MODELO%20ESTRUCTU….pdf?sequence=4&isAllowed=y#:~:text=El%20material%20que%20m%C3%A1s%20se,por%20su%20econom%C3%ADa%2C%20pero%20tambi%C3%A9n