The Bay of Pasaia is one of the highest heritage value portside cultural landscapes in the Basque Country, Spain. In order to understand the factors that have led to the current complex configuration, this study traces the historical development of this landscape. It analyzes economic and social dynamics that led to transformations of the historic areas, port, and natural environment, and documents the remaining historical traces and heritage elements that have resulted from this interaction in a GIS database. Following the recommendations of the HUL Approach and the Valletta Principles, three historical periods have been identified, which bear similarity with other port areas around the world. The results of this study are expected to serve as a basis for future urban regeneration plans and heritage enhancement strategies.

Manor Houses were the homes and centres of operation of Basque noble families during the Late Medieval Period. From early defensive Tower Houses to the Palaces of the early 16th century, Manor Houses evolved during the Late Middle Ages, adapting to different historical periods. Despite their heritage value, these buildings are in danger of being lost. Investigations of past centuries encouraged the emergence of false beliefs around Manor Houses – excessively old constructive periods, assignment of defensive origins to most buildings, etc.–. This has resulted in serious errors in heritage catalogues and, subsequently, a high number of unfortunate architectural interventions. This paper aims to analyse and characterize the typological evolution of Basque Manor Houses, in order that the results be used as guideline for future protection strategies. The work was divided into three sections: field work, documentary research and historical-constructive analysis. Collected data was uploaded into QGIS software, which was then used to carry out a comparative analysis. An inventory of 2050 Manor Houses has been developed, which includes a “Red List” of 472 buildings in danger of being lost. Five typologies of Manor Houses have been identified: one with a defensive function – the Tower House – and four types of non-defensive constructions – Tower Palace, Rural Palatial House, Large Palace and Village Manor House –. Most of the existent Basque Manor Houses were built after the mid-15th century and were non-defensive from their original construction.

The X-ray diffraction technique for determining residual stresses in construction steels has been commonly used in the international scientific community for decades. Taking advantage of the concepts on which the technique is based, the authors have previously calibrated and used the technique for the in situ determination of the stress states of metallic structures in service. This article presents an advance in the latter utility by means of the laboratory calibration of the X-ray diffraction technique in corrugated steel. The interaction between radiation and steel is complex, so, in the scientific community, it is considered pertinent to resort to empirical and experimental calibration processes. Two bars of corrugated steel were subjected to increasing tensile loads. The load states introduced in the testing machine were compared with those determined by X-ray diffraction. The correlation between the values of the loads applied and those determined by the proposed technique is excellent. The experimental conditions of the calibration tests are precisely detailed so that they are easily reproducible. This work represents a necessary first step in employing the technique in the buildings or civil works.

This paper analyzes the heritage values of lighthouses related to science, technology, and construction in the age they were built and launched throughout history. The implementation of a lighthouse requires the resolution of several technological and constructive problems of great complexity. Since the beginning of the 19th century, the construction of lighthouses represented an emerging international market once the scientific advances were transferred to the industry. Spain has a geostrategic advantage by possessing approximately 6,000 km of coastline, necessitating an extensive network of lighthouses for maritime navigational aid. An in-depth analysis of the 191 active lighthouses has been conducted, concluding that 130 of them have some particular historical value. These lighthouses represent a clear example of Industrial Heritage because they are authentic signaling factories that possess active technology within the building complex. The paper aims to establish a procedure to identify the heritage values of historical lighthouses. This article describes the technology implemented initially and proposes a typological classification of the architectural composition identified in Spanish lighthouses. It is the first work conducted in Spain of this scope and nature, constituting an initial attempt to establish a listing of the historic lighthouses of Spain.