Gaudí

Exhibition that reconstructs the first buildings Gaudí raised in Mataró for the cooperative L'Obrera Mataronesa, based on documentary research that provides previously unpublished data about their origin.

The exhibition, held at the Nau Gaudí, a space for exhibitions and cultural activities in Mataró, focuses on the first three buildings the architect designed in the city: the house of Salvador Pagès, the whitening workshop and the latrine aedicule. It is the first time this detail has been explained: that Gaudí built these works in Mataró.

Salvador Pagès, promoter and leader of the Sociedad Cooperativa L'Obrera Mataronesa, commissioned Gaudí to give shape to his co-operative ideal. The architect organised the co-operative's site into three areas: production, residence and services. In the whitening workshop he tested the use of arches as load-bearing elements, and in the latrines he used ceramic tiles as a decorative element for the first time.

The exhibition also covers Gaudí's interest in improving the living and working conditions of the labourers, and places his work alongside that of Pagès and the cooperative, within the commemoration of the Gaudí Year. It is aimed at anyone who wants to learn about the architect's beginnings in Mataró and the co-operative project that motivated them.