Cuadernos de campo 2024

In the 2024 edition, Patrimonio Nacional and PHotoESPAÑA present a three-year programme entitled «Cuadernos de campo» (Field Notebooks), which focuses on the natural landscapes of the Royal Sites. This initiative has been made possible thanks to the sponsorship of ACCIONA and is proof of the commitment of the three institutions to the environment and its protection.

The following editions of «Cuadernos de campo» will be dedicated to specific subjects especially linked to the natural environment protected by Patrimonio Nacional and will be developed with the collaboration of different artists, with the aim of revealing new visions of the magnificent natural heritage that forms part of the Royal Sites.

In this first edition, dedicated to the Royal Site of La Granja de San Ildefonso in commemoration of the three hundredth anniversary of its creation by Philip V of Spain, Javier Vallhonrat focuses his gaze on the beauty, mystery and solidity of a century-old hydraulic system where the ingenuity of mankind is allied with the secrets of nature. The fragility of water, boldly guarded from the mountains to the fountains of the Royal Site of La Granja de San Ildefonso, is an allegory of how the determination of engineering imagines intelligent and innovative solutions to understand and preserve this essential element.

A determination currently shared by ACCIONA, whose concern to facilitate access to drinking water for millions of people who lack this resource is materialized in sustainable management thanks to its innovative and technical potential. Drinking water treatment plants, wastewater treatment plants, desalination plants and tertiary treatments for water reuse are technical innovations applied by ACCIONA that already benefit more than 140 million people around the world.

«Cuadernos de campo» invites us to value and care for a unique natural site, as well as to vindicate regenerative engineering applied to water management, capable of having a positive impact on ecosystems and managing this indispensable asset for present and future generations in a sustainable way.

This exhibition is completed with an original audiovisual creation specifically conceived and produced for The Cube in the Royal Collections Gallery. The cycle will culminate in September with an exhibition of photographs by Javier Vallhonrat at the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso and the publication of a book.

Javier Vallhonrat focuses his gaze on the beauty, mystery and solidity of a centuries-old hydraulic system where human ingenuity allies with the secrets of nature. The fragility of water and how it is boldly guarded from the mountains to the fountains of the Royal Site of La Granja de San Ildefonso not only act as a compositional device, but become

an allegory of how engineering determination imagines intelligent and innovative solutions to understand and preserve this essential element.

This exhibition connects deeply with ACCIONA’s business philosophy and its desire to ensure, with the precision and skill of a craftsman, that water is conserved at all stages of the cycle. There are an estimated 2.2 billion people in the world with problems of access to drinking water, making the sustainable management of this resource one of humanity’s main challenges. Through its innovative and technical potential, ACCIONA leads the water treatment sector with the design, construction and operation of drinking water treatment plants, wastewater treatment plants, reverse osmosis desalination plants and tertiary treatments for water reuse, benefiting more than 140 million people worldwide with its services.

This artistic project invites us to value and care for a unique natural site, as well as to vindicate regenerative engineering applied to water management, capable of leaving a positive impact on ecosystems and of sustainably managing this indispensable asset for present and future generations