Assessment of old urban silos
Introduction
The Historical industrial heritage of Alcalá de Henares is part of the Complutense real estate cultural heritage. Alcalá de Henares is a paradigmatic case in Spanish industrialization, it began in the 19th century, with spectacular factory growth during the century and a deindustrializing period "Deindustrialization (economy)") during the 1980s.[1] Alcalá as an industrial city is part of its historical identity, as well as its economy, culture and urban image.
Industrialization
The valley of the Henares River is an imprint of agricultural wealth, which facilitated human settlement and urban development since the time of the Carpetans, in what we know today as the municipality of Alcalá de Henares. The cereal industry led, between the 14th and 16th centuries, to the establishment of five river flour mills, through canals that collected water from the bed of the Henares River. The Las Armas mill is currently used for hospitality purposes, and the Colegio or Borgoñón mill is in the process of being rehabilitated; The mill on the Zulema bridge or on García Island is abandoned and in ruins, and the Esgaravita and Cantarranas mills have been completely destroyed.[2].
The century was one of decline for the city, when the University of Alcalá "Universidad de Alcalá (historical)") closed and lost a large population. However, the productive fabric increased with industries such as the Municipal Slaughterhouse, built in 1839 in neo-Mudejar style, and “factories of common earthenware, plaster, tile and brick ovens” as described by Pascual Madoz in 1845. [3].
Industrialization facilitated the development and wealth of the municipality throughout the century, especially during Franco's developmentalism, placing it as a strategic space within the metropolitan area of Madrid. The factories were the protagonists of a new image of Alcalá, as an industrial city. From the first half of the century, the "La Esperanza" flour factory, the "Forjas de Alcalá" steel mill and the ceramic production industries stand out, the latter located south of the urban area.[4] In particular, during the second half of the century the city industrialized rapidly, with some of the architectural references of that period being the "Metalúrgica Madrileña", "Roca" or "Fiesta". [1][5][6].
The industrial slowdown, relocation, outsourcing of the city and urban planning policies have produced a fragmentation of the Complutense industrial fabric, causing the total or partial disappearance of some factories, and the transformation of others for new uses, through architectural interventions, such as the old "Gal Perfumery factory" converted into an exhibition and museum space. [7][8].