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Obrera Mataronense was the first workers’ cooperative
in Spain, dedicated to textile production. It was located
in Mataró, one of the most active industrial towns
of the Catalan coast in the middle of the 19th century,
as is shown by the fact that Spain’s first train
line was built between this city and Barcelona in 1848.
Although
Gaudí did several jobs for the workers’
cooperative, such as the flag (1873), the recreational
casino and houses for the workers (1878), the general
plan of the factory (1881), the scale and the concierge’s
office (1883), and the company standard (1884), the
Bleaching Room is currently the only thing that remains,
a large industrial building for the furnaces for the
bleach and for the containers for cleaning and rinsing
the thread.
The building has only one floor, rectangular and elongated,
with brick walls covered by a structure made of parabolic
wooden arches. Over the years, however, the work was
modified as needed: the windows were covered, the doors
were remodelled, and part of the structure was covered.
At
the back, and in a small building that is attached,
there are still the old latrines, with a circular floor
plan, made of brick, closed by a conical roof and partially
covered by tiles of various colors.
Both
buildings are currently the property of the Mataró
City Hall, which has promoted their restoration, conservation,
and new use.
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