Final building permit issued for Malaga Cathedral's new 17-million-euro roof: this is what it will look like when it's finished

Everything is now set for work to start on the creation of a gable roof for Malaga's cathedral in the coming weeks and throughout September. It will finally put an end to the constant problem of leaks that have plagued the building since it was constructed.

Malaga city's municipal urban planning department has just issued the last building permit for the crucial work to begin, following the latest modifications being presented by the Cabildo body of clerics formed to advise the bishop on major clerical matters. Those modifications consist of the roof project as well as the completion of the front of the main façade of the basilica, as per the original design by the architect Antonio Ramos back in the 18th century. Malaga's cathedral has the nickname of 'manquita' (missing a bit) for this very reason as the façade has an unfinished right-hand tower.

These variations with respect to the initial project, drawn up by architects Juan Manuel Sánchez La Chica and Adolfo de la Torre Prieto, were validated by delegates for the regional government's Ministry of Culture back in July. So, the only thing missing was the municipal green light to be given for the new roof to begin to be built. This roof is much-needed, following the removal of the failed brick covering that was applied to the exterior of the vaultings 16 years ago, (part of a competition of ideas promoted by the Junta).

The modifications to the initial project, which were approved in July by the provincial historical heritage commission for Malaga, has an initial budget of 800,000 euros in addition to the 17.5 million euros the diocese has estimated will be the cost of the new roof. So far the cathedral chapter has received 4.5 million euros from city council, 5.3 million from the Junta de Andalucía, 3.2 million from Malaga's provincial authority (Diputación) and 1.5 million from the Fundación Bancaria Unicaja, making a total of 14.5 million euros.

These variations have been laid out in two planning submissions validated by the Junta and now by the city's municipal planners. The first planning request comes in two parts, the first consisting of the restoration of the main façade of the cathedral, which is in a poor state of conservation in several areas according to the reports provided by the diocese. The second part is the completion of the central façade designed by the architect Antonio Ramos in 1784, which fits in with the ridge of the gable roof designed by Ventura Rodríguez twenty years earlier.

The second refurb request introduces several changes to the roof itself. Firstly, the type of wood proposed for the trusses has been changed from Douglas fir to radiata pine (also known as Monterey pine). Secondly, the fire resistance of the roof structure has been improved in the plans according to reports from the city's fire brigade, which will limit the number of visitors to the roof to a maximum of 50 people at a time. Other changes include new intermediate supports being designed in the transept and the ambulatory, the removal of interior steel braces and the roof structure being recessed into the branching arms of the transept to minimise its visual impact from the street. The final changes will be that the exterior wooden fronts are clad in copper, that a dry column (a steel pipe with fire hose connections so firefighters can access all floors in tall buildings) be built into the façade facing Postigo de los Abades at the request of the fire authorities and that the type of roof tile to be used is made known.

The new roof tiles will be made by Catalan company Cerámica Cumella. Initially it was planned to manufacture them by hand, but the Cabildo concluded that it was not possible to manufacture such a large number of tiles by hand, so it has opted for machine-made tiles that will still introduce different shades of cream and honey to "stay in keeping with the eaves and soffits" of the roof, according to the architects' reports. In addition, stoneware clay will be used instead of terracotta, because it is a harder material and requires less maintenance. Cerámica Cumella began trading at the end of the 19th century and has been involved in many unique projects, including working on the Sagrada Familia basílica and Parc Güell in Barcelona as well as the Botín centre in Santander.

According to the report that was signed off by the provincial historical heritage commission, the Junta's culture department had also asked the cathedral chapter for a few changes. Firstly to ensure a neat join with the existing parts of the façade to the new additions, either by re-sinking the mortar joint or covering with copper sheeting. Also that the roof tiles be arranged in such a way that they are not affected by the expansion and contraction that they may experience over the years as a result of climatic changes. Next, that the new, wooden window frames to the crenellations on the central façade be made "by means of quarter panels so that they maintain a design similar to that of the existing window frames in the cathedral."