Raised in 1926, these listed old industrial sheds in Barcelona’s Sants neighborhood were used for building naval ships. After undergoing refurbishment, the one that takes up half the block harbors offices of various entities (including Lacol Arquitectura Cooperativa), community spaces, a concert hall, and a restaurant.

The intervention re-establishes the original geometry of the complex and adds a small building. The eclectic facades presented two overlapping stucco coatings: one from 1926, the other from the 1940s. The restoration experts who were consulted favored the earlier style, showing a range of colors and shapes more aligned with modernism. The central courtyard, a meeting place, ensures natural airing and lighting of the spaces around it. The roofs are decked with corrugated sheets of galvanized steel, reusing materials found to be in good condition, such as the 1,200 linear meters of beams to add to the 15 centimeters of insulation on the roof board. Greenhouses to capture solar heat and a system for collecting rainwater are part of the project, and the insulation has been improved with lime mortar and cork.