Invitation

The Omnipresent Factory. The Company Town of Colonia Güell is a project made especially for the dot Free Call and the Trieste Photo Days.

The Colonia Güell is a 19th century industrial city located in Barcelona, Spain built by modernist architects for the owner of a Catalan textile factory. The Company Town of Colonia Güell is divided into three main areas: the urban center, the factory and the church.

For the project I choose the factory area because, in my opinion,  reflect the history and social climate of those times and the element of the chimney as a symbol of an omnipresent factory and the oppressive system from those times, aswell.

Although Eusebio Güell, the founder, is seen as a benefactor and a visionary, the entire Company Town system was made to achieve maximum production. And everything that was presented as benefits for workers, continued to be a system of control over their lives and  their families.

A field of flowers separates the factory from the urban center where its chimney can be seen from the most remote corners of the town. The atmosphere of the 19th century is still preserved in its streets, which makes it so special and magnetic.

The factory was active until 1973, surviving the Spanish civil war and several union movements. Today, the buildings are renovated and used by meat factories and laboratories. Colonia Guell is a clear mirror of social changes and industrial history, and the architectural heritage of 19th century Catalan modernism.