Between heat and cold: why walls and roofs of houses in Andorra contain mica

When you come to Andorra from Occitania (southern France) or from Catalonia, the first difference between this region and the neighboring regions is immediately striking. These are dark gray houses, narrow, but ascending upward, like the mountain peaks surrounding them. And if you look closely at the old buildings, that is, those that are not covered with plaster, you will notice another difference. Their walls are built of stone, containing inclusions of mica, which makes the houses shine in the sun.

Sometimes you can see such a roof made of thin slabs. It looks like the building is covered with fish scales. And sometimes with such slabs they lay out completely - from the ground to the very top - a whole wall.

You should live in Andorra for at least a day to unravel the mystery of this architecture. This is not a decor or an architect's whim. I happened to live in the capital of the country, Andorra la Vella, and in the high mountain resort of Pas de la Casa for several days. And now I can say with confidence that the climate itself pushed the residents to such construction.

I have been in countries where it is often cold, and in regions located under the scorching sun. But Andorra is a unique place. The dwarf state is located in the subtropical climate zone, sandwiched between France and Spain. But this principality is so high that as soon as the southern sun disappears behind the horizon, a fierce cold sets in. Therefore, swallows in Andorra do not make their nests outside under the roof, but inside, in attics. Leaving the hotel early in the morning in early October, I saw a frozen stream and... a grasshopper galloping on the ice. And by noon, the hot sun already heats the air up to + 25 degrees in the shade.

What does architecture have to do with it? The narrow and high shape of the house allows only one hearth to be heated - on the lower floor. Warm air, passing through a pipe the length of the entire building, heats the upper floors. A dramatic difference with sprawling houses in the vicinity of Toulouse or Barcelona!

And what about mica? First, there is plenty of it here. The rock debris down to the city itself is rich in this mineral. Now there are super lightweight and very durable building materials. And modern buildings also have central heating. But how did people live before? They built their dwellings from what the mountains gave them (and sometimes they brought down landslides on them, reaping the mournful harvest of human lives).

Dark stones with a reflective effect have proven to be the optimal material in the Andorran climate. They do not heat up and at the same time protect the roofs and walls of houses, serving as a reliable heat insulator. Therefore, it is neither cold nor hot in old buildings. Modern Andorrans are not going to forget the experience of their ancestors. And in some buildings, they use the same technology of wall cladding with thin stone plates.

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