In 1973 Ricardo Bofill discovered a disused concrete factory on the outskirts of Barcelona, an industrial complex from the beginning of the 20th century.
"In front of me - he says - there were 30 immense silos, a very tall chimney, four kilometers of underground, gigantic machinery rooms.
During my first visit to the old cement factory, I suddenly thought that something horrible could become something very beautiful, just as idiocy can sometimes be transformed into genius. The concrete factory corresponds to the first period of the industrialisation of Barcelona and was not built according to a previous general plan but by juxtaposing different elements. The result was then a series of volumes added to each other and different manufacturing chains that recall vernacular architecture but with an industrial aspect. I kept going deeper and little by little I realised that the different aesthetics developed since the last World War were present in the factory: the hard and sculptural treatment of matter, with broken volumes, stairs that go nowhere, powerful spaces already useless and strange proportions yet full of magic.
I decided to keep that factory with the intention of transforming the roughness into a work of art and set up my Architecture Workshop there which, in the long term, could be used as a foundation for research on the shape and design of the city.
This transformation has been carried out gradually and even now I continue to add new workspaces by adapting the old ruins still standing. However, I believe that the factory will always be a work in progress, which is part of its fascination".
After deconstructing the existing volumes, there were eight silos that Ricardo Bofill adapted to accommodate the offices, model laboratory, archives, library and a space, the largest of all, which preserves the skin and breadth of the old building and is named "La Catedral". This has the function of an exhibition hall for the projects, multimedia projections, meeting with clients and visitors and social and cultural gatherings linked to the professional activity of the architect. The Architecture Workshop is surrounded by large green spaces planted with olive, cypress, palm and eucalyptus trees.
