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Asland Factory Director's House
Eduard Ferrés i Puig, Lluís Homs i Moncusí
Isolated building designed as a temporary residence for the successive directors of the Clot del Moro cement factory. It is a Catalan Art Nouveau structure with Gaudí-inspired elements, particularly evident in the stonework, decorative motifs, and construction design. The building is organized around a central module, crowned by decorative battlement-like elements that project outward in three perpendicular wings. On the east side, the entrance to the chalet is marked by three parabolic arches. The façade is built from ashlar stone, combining white and green ceramic tiles, roof tiles, and wood in certain structural and ornamental details. Constructed in 1905, after the completion of the Clot del Moro cement factory—at that time the first factory in Spain dedicated to the production of Portland cement—the complex was part of the industrial initiative of Eusebi Güell, first Count of Güell, a key figure in the industrial expansion of late 19th- and early 20th-century Catalonia. The factory complex was designed by the Valencian architect Rafael Guastavino, while the chalet was the work of architect Eduard Ferrés i Puig, both commissioned by Eusebi Güell. The factory closed in the mid-1970s, and toward the end of that decade, the chalet suffered a major fire that caused significant damage.1902
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Asland Factory Building
Guastavino Fireproof Construction Company, Eduard Ferrés i Puig, Rafael Guastavino Moreno, Isidoro Pedraza de la Pascua, Ewing Wallace
It was the first factory of the Asland company, founded in 1901 by the industrialist and patron of the arts Eusebi Güell. It began operating in 1903, and was the first factory in the country to produce Portland cement. It is a staggered or ‘cascade’ arrangement on the right bank of the source of the Llobregat. This layout favoured the production process, due to its proximity to the points where the raw material was exploited, and also made it possible to take advantage of the river's hydraulic energy. The factory operated on the normal principle of gravity. At the top, marl and limestone were collected from the quarries located further up, and at the base the final product was obtained. Guastavino used Catalan vaults with tie rods, with spans of 12 metres. A small narrow-gauge railway, with tracks 60 centimetres wide, connected the factory with Berga and Manresa. The factory closed in 1975.1901 - 1904
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Cabaní House
The main features of the site are its location and the landscape. The views over the Pyrenean and Pre-Pyrenean mountain ranges are in the direction of the slope of the site. The house faces the landscape, following the slope. The entrance, on the upper floor, leads into a building that occupies two levels as it descends the slope. The lower floor is arranged to provide adequate space for parking cars and to house the library. It also organises the exterior space through geometries that are shared with the topography and the views: a series of descending terraces, articulated and accessible from the house. The upper floor, with the main entrance, takes advantage of the base offered by the ground floor, although, as it is freed from contact with the ground, it seeks a relationship with the landscape with greater freedom. The tension of the curve exfoliates the different layers that form the walls, giving rise to the living areas.1992 - 1994
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1997 - 1998





