Concrete Remade

When Ricardo Bofill found La Fábrica in 1973, he saw all the key visual and aesthetics trends of the twentieth century in this factory: surrealism, for example, in the strange staircases that lead to nowhere; abstraction in the pure volumes of the fabricating spaces; and Brutalism in the abrupt, sculptural qualities of the materials.
He decided to use the factory for his practice and to sculpt it like a work of art by modifying its original austerity. The upper part of the factory serves as Bofill’s office, occupied by 40 employees, while a huge volume of brute cement in the main chamber was set aside for his own home. The dining room, located on the ground floor of the building, is the meeting point of family and colleagues. The architect designed a rectangular white marble table on iron supports to act as a centerpiece for the room.

Find more inspiring projects breathing new life in forgotten architecture in our book Upgrade – Home Extensions, Alterations and Refurbishments.