Rehabilitació de l’escorxador d’Igualada

El present projecte consisteix en la rehabilitació de l’antic escorxador modernista projectat al 1905 en el municipi d’Igualada. La ciutat puntera en la industria de teixits a finals del segle XIX, presenta actualment un paisatge arquitectònic desolador. La forta riquesa econòmica de la burgesia de finals de segle va promoure l’arquitectura modernista en fàbriques, la internalització dels sector tèxtil i l’evolució tecnològica ha produït que la majoria dels edificis caiguin en desús. L’escorxador esdevé una de les obres modernistes més destacades de tota la ciutat, la degradació i l’ús inadequat al que es destina el conjunt de naus actualment, han impulsat a la realització d’aquest projecte. L’objectiu és rehabilitar i consolidar l’edificació per destinar‐lo a nous equipaments culturals municipals. Donades les grans dimensions del complex edificat i de la reforma parcial que es va realitzar al edifici a l’any 2007, aquest projecte es basarà en la simetria dreta del conjunt, formada per tres naus i un pati central. A través d’un pas de carros accedim al pati interior del recinte, aquí conflueixen les tres naus tancant la zona verda interior de planta quadrada. Si bé els materials i sistemes constructius son iguals a tot el recinte, veurem clares diferenciacions entre les naus. Aquestes venien donades per la importància d’utilització de l’espai. La nau central i els annexes tenen unes façanes més curoses e imponents amb grans finestrals, necessaris per la ventilació de la can. Mentre que la nau lateral la posterior resten en un segon plà, no presenten tanta alçada i no estan dotades de tanta lluminositat i ventilació, aquestes espais eren destinats a tasques internes de l’escorxador i als corrals dels bestia, i els clients no hi accedien. ENGLISH: The present project consists in the restoration of the antique Modernist slaughterhouse planned in 1903 in the township of Igualada. The historical and architectural importance of these facilities has motivated, during the last decade, several works with the intention of giving a new use to this facility and returning the building to the inhabitants of Igualada. The guidelines during the entire project have been crucial: minimum interventions ran away from mimetic copies and the clear differentiation between the original elements and the interventions. To understand the sense of the facilities it has been necessary a deep historical research which includes images and drawings that have helped to clarify not only the usage of each building but also the cause of the design of some elements still present. The transformations and new uses given to some parts of the building have caused the distortion of the original concept and the loss of the original architectural character of the facilities. The study of the structural systems and the current state has been the starting point to know about the building and all the materials it is made of. With the intention to propose the most suitable intervention, a pathological study about the damage and its causes has been carried out. The restoration of roofs is an essential factor to reunify all the buildings. The elimination of the fibrocement sheets and the laying of arabic tiles return the same structural system to all the facilities. The raising of the elevated body destined to airing, which had been demolished, is a key element, as well as the elimination of the prefabricated concrete frames and the return to a wooden structure. The research about the pavements and the original locks that has been carried out through postcards and images has allowed discovering the existence of continuous sills and green tonalities protagonists in ceramic pieces of ridgepoles, blinds and woodworks. Conceptually, the most important part of this project has been the intervention on the façades. The concept of minimum intervention has been easy to carry out on the original façades. Due to the good condition of the blocks of stone and handmade bricks, it only will be made a cleaning of the surfaces. The decision about the transformed façades has been more complicated. The unsuccessful research of elevations that show the architecture of the most damaged façades has not helped to clarify how they originally were. Through the openings visible in the original floor plan dated in 1903 and following the symmetry present in the whole complex, new openings have been planned following the existing empty-full rhythm. The carriage paths and the rounds promenade provided the complex with a circular tour to facilitate the carriages circulation and mobility inside the facility. To return to the original concepts, the elements walling in the different arches of the paths are going to be demolished. In this way it is intended to preserve this typology of constructions, which despite of the fact of losing usage because of the technological evolution, it has given unique buildings through all the Catalan territory that are part of the patrimony due to their architectural and historical value