After years of disuse, the unique Masriera Workshop is beginning to glimpse a new future as a municipal facility. The building, erected almost 150 years ago as a columned temple on Bailén street, will recover its splendor as a temple-garden, through a project led by Estudio Lank Arquitectes and Dataae, who have won the competition called by the City Council to recover the property.
The winning UTE's proposal suggests that the garden extends into the new facility, which will house the new Sofia Barat library and spaces for neighborhood and community projects. To this end, the architects propose giving weight to the garden surrounding the Taller Masriera building and freeing the temple's volume from the various extensions and additions that were made throughout its history. First, as the workshop of the painter and goldsmith brothers José and Francisco Masriera, and then, until 2009, as a convent.
The winning team will draft the preliminary project during this term, which will later lead to the rehabilitation of the building, expected to be carried out in the next term. A shared agora will also be created in the historic lobby, and a theater with capacity for 300 people. In addition, the terrace overlooking the neoclassical portico and the garden will serve as a meeting and interaction space with the neighborhood.
Now, the drafting of the preliminary project will begin, with a cost of 83,000 euros. The City Council expects the preliminary project to be ready in November, and then the basic and executive project will be contracted. Taking into account this timeline, the forecast is that the Masriera Workshop will open to the public during the next term.