Pilarica: Elements for Industrial Recovery

Pilarica is a project for the reactivation of an industrial space in the urban fabric of the city of Madrid. This project is the first of an ongoing series whose goal is to protect the city's industrial heritage through use and occupation formulas which allow to prolong its lifespan, preventing its disappearance. Industrial activity in Madrid city center has gradually lost its traction during the last thirty years; nowadays, such use has virtually disappeared. The reasons behind this situation are similar in many city centers: on one hand, environmental protection regulations, especially those concerning noise and pollution; on the other, the exodus of these uses outside the cities centers. As a consequence, urban industrial buildings have become obsolete, and the ones left which are currently being used are the ones still owned by small scale guilds. Most of these spaces are placed on the ground floors of residential buildings, extending its areas beyond the back of the buildings, invading the natural space of the block’s courtyard.