LA FÁBRICA

     image courtesy of ©rbta

In 1973 the architect Ricardo Bofill founded in Sant Just Desvern, Spain, a disused cement factory, an industrial complex consisting of over 30 silos, massive machine rooms and sub-terranean galleries. He then decided to transform everything into the head office of his Taller de Arquitectura. It took two years for all remodelling works to achieve the desired result, a mix of surrealist elements, like pieces of iron hanging in the air or stairs that climbed up to nowhere, with the decadency of an abandoned factory, partially in ruins. From all 30 silos at the end of the transformation process remained 8 in total, which became offices, archives, a library, a models laboratory, a projections room and The Cathedral, a gigantic space used for concerts, exhibitions and whole other ranges of cultural functions.  

The residence complements the working spaces, meeting the original desire of Ricardo Bofill to see La Fábrica as a place for life and reflection.  It represents a part of the architect’s most intimate heritage, as the place where he lives with his family and a project embodying his lifelong journey to redefine style and space.