The Project of a Silo Under a House or a House on a Silo: Graphic Research on the Silo of the Nasrid-Origin “Casa de las Palomas” (Albaicín, Granada, Spain)

The “Casa de las Palomas” —House of the Doves—, located in the historic neighborhood of Albaicín (Granada, Spain), hides a surprising silo under its patio. It is one of the less known houses of Nasrid origin in Granada, unique for several elements, including two columns with Nasrid capitals, three columns with Tuscan capitals, a set of Moresque carved wooden elements over the capitals representing doves, and a large arch that presides over the patio. The deep silo, inaccessible, has been cited by researchers, such as the painter and archaeologist Manuel Gómez-Moreno González, who made observations from above giving approximations to its dimensions and characteristics. The objective of this work is to share the findings of the first comprehensive documentation carried out on the Casa de las Palomas, considering the silo, providing historical photographs and drawings along with new and unpublished graphic work of photographs, orthophotographs and drawings. The documentation methodology about the house and the silo has included three-dimensional reconstruction using photogrammetry and 3D laser scan for the subsequent creation of plan and section drawings. This inaccessible underground world sheds light on the unexplored relationship between house and silo in the Albaicín, in Granada, and in al-Andalus.