La Fábrica Bofill

For the editorial of Issue Nº11, Openhouse magazine featured La Fábrica, the cement factory that became architect Ricardo Bofill’s home. Openhouse Studio worked alongside photographer Salva López and stylists Marcelo Martínez and Stephania Yepes to shoot this editorial.

Pablo Bofill (b. Paris, 1980) holds his hands together; he is frozen. “Before starting, it is necessary to warm up,” he says while he starts pouring some tea. We sit by the marble table at the spacious kitchen in la Fábrica, an old concrete factory located in Sant Just Desvern, just outside Barcelona. Pablo’s father, world known architect Ricardo Bofill (b. Barcelona, 1939) found this mighty building in 1973 and transformed it into both a family home and the headquarters of the Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura (RBTA). In 2010 Pablo joined the enterprise.

Pablo gives a particular importance to the people with whom he works: “I have a great admiration for this team, a diverse group from all over the world, their social or economic origin doesn’t matter. They all have a great trajectory behind that translates into an enormous richness in their work. The studio has a premise that Ricardo developed over sixty years of experience: not repeating the same architectural vocabulary. Each commission is adapted to its specific demands. Therefore, you need a team that is capable to take these challenges.” In terms of organization and structure he points out: “Hierarchy is not fundamental here.”