The Town Hall of Guardamar del Segura will shortly award the works for the restoration of the House Museum Engineer Mira which is dedicated to the work of Francisco Mira I Botella (1862-1944), to his work.
Mira was responsible for the reforestation of the dunes that had threatened to bury the town of Guardamar, work to which he dedicated 28 years of his life toward the end of the 19th century.
The announcement was made by the Deputy Mayor and Councillor for Historical Heritage, Pilar Gay, who gave details of the upcoming tender for works that will see the building refurbished, improving accessibility and expanding the museographic collection.
“We intend to further increase the appreciation of Guardamar towards Engineer Mira and the great work he did in containing the progress of the sands with the reforestation worth that he carried out,” said Pilar Gay.
The municipality of Guardamar and Feder, with funds managed by the Generalitat, will contribute the 291,163 euros necessary to complete the work.
The permanent exhibition of Engineer Mira will include a series of original tools that were used in the reforestation, the desk and the engineer’s office, the camera used by Mira I Botella to document the work of the dunes, views of the people at the time as well as written documentation and plans.
The main courtyard of the building will be remodelled with the addition of a new entrance where there will be workshops and personal notebooks.
The councillor said that the house of Engineer Mira is extremely unique since most of the contemporary buildings have disappeared due to the growth and urban restructuring of Guardamar during the second half of the twentieth century. “Its historical and ethnological value is incalculable as the architects of the dune repopulation resided in it, which today is one of the most attractive ecological, cultural and touristic areas of the Valencian coastal strip”.
