The Aqueduct of Albear

Description

-Cup of Vento or Albear: N23 01 40, W82 23 54
-Palatino Deposits: N23 06 01, W82 22 56

The Aqueduct of Albear was a project designed by military engineer Francisco Albear y de Lara, who was also in charge of the construction in the second half of the 19th century. The project was approved on November 17, 1857 and the first stone was laid on June 26, 1861. When Albear passed away, on October 23, 1887, several sections of the project had been finished, namely the Basin, the Tunnel at Vento and the Canal to floodgates house No. 5, close to the Orengo brook. The construction of the final section of the Canal, the tanks at Palatino and the network of distribution pipes in the city was in charge of Coronel Engineer Joaquín Ruiz Ruiz, following Albear’s design. The aqueduct was finally inaugurated on January 23, 1893, and named Aqueduct Albear, after the designer of the project. The first expansion of the Aqueduct Albear was carried out from 1908 to 1914 by engineer Enrique J. Montoulieu. Aimed at meeting the growing demand, the Canal section at the Orengo syphon was expanded, a shack for the steam pumps and a boiler house at Palatino were built, and new cast iron pipes were placed from the Tanks at Palatino to supply water to the higher areas of El Vedado, La Víbora, Cerro and Luyanó, as well as a cast iron main pipe up to the intersection of Monte and Zulueta. Also, 240 km distribution pipes of cast iron were laid to supply water to the new urban developments of the time. The second expansion, carried out between 1925 and 1931 by engineers Enrique J. Montoulieu and Abel Fernández Simón included a new Basin at Vento, known as the Small Basin, and another Basin at Aguada del Cura, which also included a connecting canal to Vento. A new House for the for the turbo-electric pumps in Palatino. In this period a Garden was also created in the area of access to the Tanks and the outdoor areas at Vento were remodelled with gardens and walking aisles as well as other ornamental elements. The North Tower was renovated with the addition of ornamental elements in colonial style.

The third expansion was carried out in the period between 1947 and 1948, under the direction of Fernández Simón, in which a new 66” diameter pipe was installed from Mazorra to Palatino, through Vento. This new pipe sent to the tanks at Palatino an extra flow equivalent to forty million gallons of water per day from Aguada del Cura, thus increasing considerably the water supply to El Vedado, Luyanó, La Víbora, and El Cerro and initiated the supply to Los Pinos, Arroyo Naranjo and El Calvario.

The Aqueduct Albear is still active and is the only aqueduct that works without the need of electric power, as it continues to use the hydraulic energy of the springs. It supplies the five major municipalities in Havana: Old Havana, Central Havana, Cerro, 10 de Octubre and Plaza de la Revolución, approximately 12 per cent of the
current population in Havana.

The Aqueduct includes the following sections:
For the recollection of the water: Basin at Vento: Wall to contain the water and tank for the collection of spring waters at Vento.

Conduction canals:
-Shunt connection canal from the Basin to the South Tower of the Tunnel.
-Tunnel with two towers, North and South and syphon under the Almendares River.
-Canal of Albear: Shunt connection canal from Vento to Palatino.

Water storage tanks: Tanks at Palatino.
System to supply the city: Pipes between the storage tanks and the centre of the city with its valves and hydrants. Cup of Vento or Albear: Pond where the springs meet for the collection of water, it also allows separating the water of these springs from those of the river and those of the Cañada with a retaining wall. From the Cup comes a bypass channel that connects with the South Tower, starting point of the tunnel that crosses the Almendares River. Tunnel under the river: Consisting of two vertical walls, covered by a vault four meters in diameter, on which a rectangular base channel was built, so the river could circulate in the section that runs over it. Inside the tunnel, water circulates through a siphon made up of two cast iron pipes one meter in diameter, from the South Tower to the North Tower. The towers contain the inlet and outlet channels for the water that is conducted through the two iron tubes. The south tower has three iron gates, two that control the connection with the pipes and the third to control the diversion of water to the river.

Albear Canal: It is a kind of underground river that leads water from Vento to the Palatino Reservoirs. Along its route, three square gate houses were built that have the function of draining water towards the river, which serves as a spillway so that the canal works at the capacity for which it was calculated, and twenty-four cylindrical towers intended for registration. inspection and ventilation of the duct.

Palatino Deposits: Between the supply system and the distribution system, a deposit was necessary that guaranteed the continuity of the service, that is, a constant supply regardless of the varied consumption demands and their fluctuations throughout the day. The deposit would also serve as a reserve for the possible need for cleaning, maintenance or repair of any section of the canal. Engineer Albear considered it necessary to build a tank that would allow a reserve of 50 liters, for five days, for a population of 250,000 inhabitants, with the forecast of its possible increase. The floodgates, the intake shafts and the maneuvering pit of these tanks are located in the pavilion known as the Arcade, the most publicized work of the Albear Aqueduct.

Justification de la Valeur Universelle Exceptionnelle

The Albear Aqueduct has a high technological and scientific value in the history of production, engineering and construction, which transcended Cuban borders for which it was awarded at the Centennial International Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876 and obtained a Gold Medal at the Paris Exhibition of 1878, for being
considered a masterpiece, according to the jury. The Aqueduct was an engineering feat in its time and an outstanding example of constructive creativity and development of hydraulic systems. It was the result of an efficient design in which they put into practice the most advanced knowledge in the field of hydraulic engineering at the time it was designed.

Criterion (i): The Aqueduct was designed and built by the most important of the professionals who worked in Cuba in the 19th century, Francisco Albear y de Lara (1816-1887), who gave prestige to Cuban and Latin American engineering. To build the aqueduct, difficult obstacles had to be overcome, including crossing the Almendares River since the springs where the water flows naturally are on its left bank, and to do so, its course was diverted during construction. The Albear Canal carries water by gravity for more than 10 kilometers, along a clean channel, with a slope that allows it to overcome the difference in elevation (almost two meters) that exists between Vento and the Palatino Deposits.

Criterion (ii): The Aqueduct is an example of the arrival of the ideas of the Enlightenment through military engineers trained in Spain and constitutes evidence of the hygienist concerns and the desire for modernization that marked the development of cities during the 19th century. In the aqueduct Albear synthesized and fused experiences drawn from his visits to France, Belgium and Prussia and from his studies of English bridges.

Déclarations d’authenticité et/ou d’intégrité

The main attributes on which the values of good rest are complete and authentic. since they have not undergone significant modifications. The Albear Aqueduct retains its authenticity in form, design, materials, and maintains its original function and technology. The fact that the building has maintained its function has allowed its values to be expressed in a reliable and credible way through its main characteristics.

The Albear Aqueduct is protected by Law as a National Monument. The “System of historic aqueducts of Havana”, to which the Albear Aqueduct belongs, received the status of National Monument by Resolution 202 of the National Monuments Commission of November 20, 2007. The maintenance of the Aqueduct is permanent and the management by the Aguas de La Habana company is excellent. In September 2000, a complex capital repair of the Aqueduct was carried out.

Comparaison avec d’autres biens similaires

Aqueducts as a subject are poorly represented on the World Heritage List, although there has been greater interest in this regard in recent times. In 1985, The Old City of Segovia and its Aqueduct in Spain and the Gard Bridge, in France, a fragment of the Nimes Aqueduct, were included. Both correspond to Roman aqueducts.

In 1997 the 18th century Royal Palace of Caserta with the Park, the Vanvitelli Aqueduct and the San Leucio Complex in Italy were included. The Vanvitelli Aqueduct or Carolino, as it is also known, was built between 1753 and 1762 and stands on a triple arch in the manner of its Roman predecessors.

The Pontcysyllte Canal Bridge and Canal, in Wales, completed in 1805, was included in the List in 2009. It is an extensive conduit of more than 3 kilometers, also supported by an extensive archway in the style of the Roman aqueducts, although built of cast iron. In 2010, the Hydraulic Management System of the Upper Harz, Germany, south of the Rammelsberg mines and the city of Gosla, was included on the List. In this case it corresponds to a system of dams, reservoirs, ditches and other structures built between the 16th and 19th centuries to divert and store the water driven by the water wheels of the Upper Harz mines. The first aqueduct on the American continent entered in the World Heritage List in 2015, the Hydraulic System of the Padre Tembleque Aqueduct, in Mexico, built in the mid-16th century, also made up of Roman-style arches, it extends for just over 9 km.

If the Albear Aqueduct entered in the World Heritage List, it would be:

- First aqueduct included in the World Heritage List that conducts its waters through an underground canal and not through the Roman method.
- First modern aqueduct included in the World Heritage List.
- Second aqueduct, outside Europe, included on the World Heritage List.