The Ca l’Escapçat Steam Mill, a building originally constructed as a gas factory, is located in the city of Sabadell (Vallès Oriental, Barcelona), in an area characterised by a significant industrial fabric and high population density. It corresponds to a conventional type, in accordance with its use and period of construction.
In 1991, through an agreement between the Sabadell City Council—which had acquired the building —and the Department of Education of the Catalan autonomous government, it was decided to restore the building for conversion into a primary school, in line with the programme provided by the technical services of the autonomous administration, which commissioned the corresponding project.
Regarding the general treatment of the building, the restoration and reuse project took into account its clearly defined typology as a compact industrial container within an urban fabric with notable references to its immediate industrial past, one of which was the large chimney of the factory itself. The models adopted by the designers —in terms of structural system, materials, formal language, volumetric compactness, interior–exterior relationship, etc.—were, according to the project brief, not to diverge from those characteristic of the type.
It was nevertheless considered necessary to demolish all annexed structures attached to the central nave, restore the geometry of the urban block through new volumes, make full use of the inner courtyard as a play and sports area, and establish a visual connection between this courtyard and the interior through a double-height space created by the ground-floor layout, with all classrooms located on the first floor.
Author: Antoni González Moreno-Navarro
Source: González, A. Informes de la Construcción. Nº 450. Dos ejemplos de restauración de patrimonio arquitectónico industrial en Cataluña/España. Madrid : Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 1997
