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CRITICAL
COMMENTARY
Hall
of Bleaching of La Obrera Mataronense (1883)
La Obrera Mataronense was the first workers' co-operative
association in Spain, dedicated to the production of fabrics.
It was located in Mataró, one of the most active
industrial towns of the Catalan coast during the mid 19th
century, as proven by the fact that the first railway
in Spain was built from this city to Barcelona in 1848.
Although Gaudí carried out different works for
the workers' co-operative, such as the flag (1873), the
social club and the workers' lodgings (1878), the factory's
main plan (1881), the scales and the porter's lodge (1883),
and the society's standard, only the Hall of Bleaching
remains nowadays, large industrial premises destined for
the bleaching boiling-pots and for the containers for
washing and draining threads.
The building has only one floor, long and rectangular,
with brick walls covered by a structure of parabolic arches
in wood. As time went on, however, the works were modified
depending on the needs: windows were walled up, doors
were reformed and part of the structure was covered.
At the back and in a small annex building, the old latrines
remain, with a circular plan, built with bricks, closed
by a conic cover and partially lined with different colour
tiles.
Currently both buildings are owned by the Town Hall of
Mataró, who has promoted their restoration, conservation
and use. |
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