How this cement factory in Spain was turned into a magical studio and home
Not all conversion projects are created equal, and this former cement factory just outside Barcelona is a stunner.
The process started in 1973 when architect Ricardo Bofill came across the abandoned and dilapidated building, discovering, as he puts it, “enormous silos, a tall smoke snack, four kilometres of underground tunnels, machine rooms in good shape”.
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Photo: Ricardo Bofill
Photo: Ricardo Bofill
Photo: Ricardo Bofill
Dating back to around World War 2, the factory had been extended for various purposes and had a mix of architectural styles.
Inspired by the surreal nature of the space – there were stairs leading to nowhere, and large and awkwardly proportioned empty spaces – and by the eches of brutalism in the silos, Bofill set out to convert the space, taking a sculptural approach to carve out a new home.
Photo: Ricardo Bofill
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Photo: Ricardo Bofill
Photo: Ricardo Bofill
There was about a year and a half of partial demolition, using jackhammers and dynamite, followed by a “greening” – growing plants to climb the walls and cover the roof.
La Fabrica, as it’s called, is a continuing project, and has now been 44 years in the making. There are eight silos still standing, and they now house his architecture and design studio Taller de Arquitectura, as well as a giant exhibition space dubbed “The Cathedral”, a library, a models laboratory, and the architect’s own living area.
Photo: Ricardo Bofill
Photo: Ricardo Bofill
Photo: Ricardo Bofill
The idea is to maintain a balance between the elements of the existing structure, the newer repurposed spaces and nature, as embodied by the garden covering and surrounding it.
While all the rooms have furniture, the bare concrete walls are preserved to retain a memory of its former life – it’s a hybrid structure of “Memory and Future”.
The living space of La Fabrica. Photo: Ricardo Bofill
Photo: Ricardo Bofill
Photo: Ricardo Bofill
Photo: Ricardo Bofill
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