Ricardo Bofill, a Spanish architect, discovered an ancient, abandoned World War One-era concrete plant in Barcelona, Spain, in 1973. He fell in love with it right away and spent the next 45 years of his life transforming it into a very unique and beautiful house.
“The factory, located just outside of Barcelona, was a WWI-era pollution machine that had closed down and came with numerous repairs to be done when Ricardo Bofill and his crew bought it,” according to Bored Panda.
This one-of-a-kind work of art known as La fábrica is currently a work in progress and serves as inspiration for Bofill.
“Right now, I live and work better here than anywhere else. This is the only area where I can focus and associate concepts in the most abstract way. I have the sensation that I am living in a fortress, a locked environment that shields me from the outside world and ordinary life. The Cement Factory is a fantastic place to work. Life here proceeds in a continuous succession, with just a slight distinction between work and relaxation. “I have the sensation that I am living in the same climate that spurred Catalonia’s Industrial Revolution,” Bofill says on his website.
He spent more than a year and a half demolishing the area because the silos were full of cement, making it hard for Bofill and his crew to access the dust-filled chambers.
“We envisioned windows, doors, staircases, and false perspectives and applied them to the external walls and parts of the interiors. The Cement Factory was gradually renovated with the invaluable assistance of Catalan artisans, but it will always be an incomplete construction,” Mr. Bofill noted.
He now resides in the once abandoned factory, which has been separated into four sections: the studio, La Catedral, the gardens, and the residence.
The studio is spread across four stories of the manufacturing silos, linked by a spiral staircase. Mr. Bofill’s office on the first level has a 4 meter ceiling height, clean white walls, and a carpet.
The meeting and exhibition area, La Catedral, is not as basic as Mr. Bofill’s office, with floor to ceiling heights of 10 meters.
The gardens have been designed since Mr. Bofill and his crew cleared up the cement gaps.
The house is located in the factory’s higher level, where he turned a large volume of raw cement into the main living area.
Visit Mr. Bofill’s Facebook or Instagram pages to see more of his work.
“The factory is a magical location with a weird ambiance that is difficult to discern with a profane eye.