ruisánchez arquitectes fronts this arts center in barcelona with a screen of ceramic tiles

an industrial renovation in barcelona

barcelona-based studio ruisánchez arquitectes merges the historic and the contemporary with its ‘fabra & coats’ contemporary arts center. the renovated structure occupies the site of a former textiles factory in a northern neighborhood of the spainish city, and was originally characterized by its industrial, brick expression. in transforming the factory, the design team worked with ceramics company flexbrick to craft a delicate facade of vertical ceramic tiles.

the factory has been in disuse since the 1980s and have since been used sporadically as a general events space. more recently, the structure had fallen into a state of deterioration with poorly preserved wooden flooring, cracked concrete elements, and damage to the windows and their frames.

images © simón garcía | @simon_arqfoto

the heritage building as an artifact

the design team at ruisánchez arquitectes (see more here) breathes new life into what has become the ‘fabra & coats’ contemporary arts center while celebrating its industrial heritage. for instance, although the original heating and lighting systems were in such a state of disrepair that they were not recoverable, the team preserved selected elements as museum artifacts to be integrated into the renovation.

the interiors of the renovated factory took on a fresh, open layout to be used for flexible exhibition space, with clean white coated walls and whitewashed timber flooring. overall, the original volume had been maintained, although exterior walls were open up with full-height glazing to allow for naturally sunlit interiors.

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project info:

project title: fabra & coats art center

architecture: ruisánchez arquitectes, francesc bacardit

location: carrer sant adrià, barcelona, spain

ceramics: flexbrick | @flexbrick

photography: © simón garcía | @simon_arqfoto