Por Amor L’Art. La Recuperacion del complejo industrial Bombas Gens en Valencia

Reuse is always a positive strategy to preserve and maintain the architectural heritage. Reusing a building, as is the case with the industrial typology that 1ve are dealing, with, or with another entity, means keeping the building alive, and therefore the possibility of it being reoccupied, an issue that must be taken as a priority in view of the neglect and abandonment of many buildings. We can safeguard a building, but if it does not have its own function, it does not make sense; the ne211 use does guarantee and allow the safeguarding of the architectural heritage. The purpose of the factory covered /y this article was to produce objects (the manufacture of hydraulic pumps, among other industrial products), to reuse that1 means to give dignity back to the building, and its function is to achieve, with this second opportunity passive maintenance, which is none other than the continuation and confirmation of the building to be used. The Foundation Por Amor al Arte, (in Valencian dialect Per Amor L'Art), took the initiative to house an Art Centre, as a cultural diffuser, one of the tasks of its social work bearing in mind that industrial heritage is an important resource for regenerating degraded areas 1V1'thin local communities and keeping alive the memory of their past, whether it be productive, technical or social. Belonging to a popular neighbourhood, located outside the city walls, did not mean for the architect to carry out an anonymous intervention, but rather, contrary to what happened in other cases, where industrial installations were deprived of a certain aesthetics, referring only to the productive aspects, the designer created a complex of great relevance and personality, mainly giving its façade a treatment in accordance with the Art. Deco style, a trend that a few years ago, was fashionable throughout Europe. This façade, with a palatial appearance, which could not be perceived at first glance by the industrial movement of its interior, as a sill on its upper part made the naves of the complex invisible, was decorated with floral motifs and very eloquent architectural solutions in the aforementioned style, making it a building of great architectural value. The reuse and occupation of the building as an Art Centre has respected with special attention all the elements, making the city one of the best examples of industrial building in Europe.