Former Solvay Schools, the history that looks to the future

Bathco Atelier customizes the building that will be used as the new training center of the Fundación Laboral de la Construcción. Formerly, the building was intended to train the children of the factory workers and now it will train future construction professionals.

The Construction Labor Foundation celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2019 and to commemorate this event its president, Gervasio Pinta, The company has launched the refurbishment plan for the former Solvay Schools.

Within the grounds of the factory located in Barreda (Cantabria), there is a building that housed the schools for the children of the workers. After years of disuse, Solvay decided to give it to the Foundation to be used for the training of future construction professionals.

The person in charge of this reform has been A2 architecture studio which has rehabilitated both the old facade and the interior of the building, respecting the architectural value to the maximum and recovering the essence of “old school”. For this, it has counted on the work of the artists of Bathco Atelier.

Old photographs stored in the archive of the multinational served as inspiration to create murals, toilets and sinks customized by Bathco artists, images of the quarry, the visit of King Alfonso XIII, workers making soundings or the construction of the factory itself, among others, are captured on ceramics to keep alive the history of one of the main economic axes of the Besaya basin.

To develop this work, Bathco Atelier artists redesigned the images digitally and applied them to ceramic decals. These were applied manually on Gante sinks and New Toledo toilets for the bathrooms and murals installed in the main hall.