Loft Tour: The Cement Factory
To this day, Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill’s legendary live/work complex in Barcelona, Spain remains one of, if not the most impressive examples of adaptive reuse we’ve ever seen. It all started about 35 years ago when the controversial architect discovered an abandoned cement factory comprised of over 30 silos, underground galleries and huge engine rooms. He bought it and began renovation. This included defining the space by demolishing certain structures, cleaning cement, exposing previously concealed forms, and planting various greenery including eucalyptus, palms, olive trees and cypresses. Today, the factory has been successfully transformed into his personal home, as well as a multitude of offices, modeling and archival laboratories, a projection room, and a huge space known as ‘The Cathedral’, which serves as a venue for subsequent exhibitions, lectures, and concerts.
The vast space exemplifies incredible restraint. He hasn’t filled it up with too much stuff; rather the interiors are intentionally appointed with casually slip-covered white sofas, canvas slingback seating, warm oriental rugs and lush leather upholstery. The work areas feature dramatically long conference tables paired with high-tech leather seating. In terms of artwork, beautifully framed architectural prints either hang on the wall or are displayed on wooden easels. The space overall boggles the mind, so much so that we can’t believe it even exists! But it does, and Bofill has this to say about it:
“The factory is a magic place with a strange atmosphere that is difficult to be perceived by a profane eye. I like the life to be perfectly programmed here, ritualized, in total contrast with my turbulent nomad life.”
Check out the full story of “The Cement Factory” here. For more information on Ricardo Bofill, visit his website here.
Photography by Verve
Tags: Architect, Cement Factory, Conversion, Loft Tour, Spain
17 Responses to “Loft Tour: The Cement Factory”
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This would be my ideal home!
Lovely, but the heating bills in the Winter must be insane!!
Beautiful, but how much did it cost him?
[...] by thursdasy on Oct.07, 2009, under Uncategorized Very interesting home: http://loftlifemag.com/mu/?p=3401 [...]
[...] Loft Tour: The Cement Factory – LoftLife Magazine – The Loftstyle Guide to Life in the City. [...]
[...] Beauty ensues. [...]
[...] [...]
[...] LoftLife takes a look into The Cement Factory loft, Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill’s legendary and unusual live/work complex in Barcelona. Originally, the space was, in fact, a cement factory but it also resembles a cathedral with its high, narrow windows and gothic-style arches. [...]
[...] Wow, Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill took an abandoned cement factory and turned it into an amazing residence. I would love to undertake projects like this. Pictures you’ve got to see to believe… Loft Tour: The Cement Factory [...]
heating cost? it is in spain…
[...] LoftLife takes a look into The Cement Factory loft, Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill’s legendary and unusual live/work complex in Barcelona. Originally, the space was, in fact, a cement factory but it also resembles a cathedral with its high, narrow windows and gothic-style arches. [...]
[...] http://loftlifemag.com/mu/?p=3401 [...]
[...] This post was Twitted by lemarais [...]
if somebody liked to build a castle in the XXI century that would had to be like this
VERY COOL
it is so different from his other project, generally very linear and luxurious, like this or this…
[...] you’d like to know what my dream home looks like, take a gander at this renovated cement factory. (Actually, I wouldn’t want the whole house, just the room with the blue carpet and white [...]
To greg:
It´s -15/-20 degrees (celsius) below zero in many parts of Spain today, so believe me, it needs heating.