Regenerated industrial heritage in favour of social inclusion. Of course, barely 10 words are not enough to define the important work being carried out in the refurbished Vapor Cortès complex in the Ca n’Aurell district of Terrassa (Barcelona).
The adaptation of this space, one of the city’s large factories, has been carried out by the H Arquitectes studio, which has focused on providing a meaningful place, focused on people, their ties, their affections and needs.
It has been in operation since 2024, and has been awarded in the first edition of the House of Architecture Awards (Premios de la Casa de la Arquitectura del Ministerio de Vivienda y Agenda Urbana, in Spanish), which recognise innovative architectural actions whose main challenge is social and territorial cohesion.
In this building, managed by the PRODIS Foundation, occupational workshops are offered to people with functional diversity and to users with difficulties derived from their physical, mental and emotional state of health.
‘On the anniversary, the father of one of the users came and told me, which was very moving, that his son has not had an episode for a year. The last one was a year ago, just the day before the opening of the centre, and the boy had broken the tiles in his house. These are people with very significant difficulties. Architecture has a potential that sometimes we are not even aware of’, said one of the members of the H Arquitectes team during the awards ceremony, which took place in May.
The rehabilitation of this space, which also promotes the memory of Catalan industrial heritage, was also recognised last year with a Bonaplata Prize, awarded by the Association Museum of Science and Technique and Industrial Archaeology of Catalonia (AMCTAIC).
PRODIS, with its headquarters in Madrid, wanted to go a step further in its functions for social development and labour inclusion with this structure, which maintains its roof of purlins, wooden cans and ceramic tiles topped with Arabic tiles.
Technical considerations
In the two original warehouses, reinforced with new beams or transversal girders, the Sabadell architectural studio has located workshops, training rooms, kitchen and dining rooms with complementary spaces, such as toilets, meeting rooms and storage areas.
The intention at all times has been to combine the new and old structures following the same constructive and material logic as the original industrial project. That is why wood has also been used as the main construction and cladding element.
Likewise, we have opted for the well-being of the users through the achievement of a good level of thermal insulation, natural ventilation and solar protection, which favours the development of all the planned activities. In total, the space exceeds 3,800 square metres, and was regenerated between 2022 and 2024.
