PUBLICAÇÕES DA FUNDAÇÃO ROBINSON 20

PUBL I C A Ç Õ E S D A F U N D A Ç ÃO R O B INSO N

Perguntas à fábrica I Questions to the factory I

ISSN 1646-7116

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PUBL I CAÇÕ E S D A F U N D AÇÃO R O B I N S O N

Perguntas à fábrica I Questions to the factory I

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PUBLICAÇÕES DA FUNDAÇÃO ROBINSON N.º 20 ROBINSON FOUNDATION PUBLICATIONS No. 20 Perguntas à fábrica I Questions to the factory I Portalegre, Dezembro de 2013 Portalegre, December 2013

Fundação Robinson Robinson Foundation CONSELHO DE CURADORES COUNCIL OF CURATORS

Adelaide Teixeira (Presidente) (Chair), Ana Manteiga, Antero Teixeira, Joaquim Mourato, António Ceia da Silva, Rui Cardoso Martins, Sérgio Umbelino CONSELHO DE ADMINISTRAÇÃO ADMINISTRATIVE COUNCIL

Nuno Miguel Carrilho Santana (Presidente) (Chair), Nuno Gonçalo Franco Lacão, Rui Manuel Carrilho Crisanto CONSELHO FISCAL FISCAL COUNCIL

António de Azevedo Coutinho (Presidente) (Chair), José Neves Raimundo, António Escarameia Mariquito CONSELHO CONSULTIVO CONSULTIVE COUNCIL

Amélia Polónia, António Camões Gouveia, António Filipe Pimentel, António Ventura, Carlos Serra, João Carlos Brigola, Luísa Tavares Moreira, Maria João Mogarro, Mário Freire, Rui Cardoso Martins ADMINISTRADORA DELEGADA ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR

Alexandra Carrilho Barata Publicações da Fundação Robinson Robinson Foundation Publications CONSELHO CONSULTIVO EDITORIAL BOARD

Amélia Polónia, António Camões Gouveia, António Filipe Pimentel, António Ventura, Carlos Serra, João Carlos Brigola, Luísa Tavares Moreira, Maria João Mogarro, Mário Freire, Rui Cardoso Martins DIRECTOR EDITOR

António Camões Gouveia ADMINISTRAÇÃO DAS PUBLICAÇÕES PUBLICATIONS ADMINISTRATOR

Alexandra Carrilho Barata SECRETARIADO DE EDIÇÃO PUBLICATION SECRETARY

Célia Gonçalves Tavares (Fundação Robinson) Carla Malheiro (CIDEHUS)

A correspondência relativa a colaboração, permuta e oferta de publicações deverá ser dirigida a All correspondence to be addressed to Fundação Robinson Robinson Foundation Apartado 137 7300-901 Portalegre Tel. 245 307 463 fund.rob@cm-portalegre.pt www.fundacaorobinson.pt DESIGN DESIGN

TVM designers COORDENAÇÃO COORDINATED BY

António Camões Gouveia COORDENAÇÃO EDITORIAL EDITORIAL COORDINATION

Há Cultura Lda. FOTOGRAFIAS PHOTOS

André Gonçalves (p. 17); Rosa Reis (p. 43).

TRADUÇÃO TRANSLATED BY

David Hardisty (inglês) (english), Maria Zozaya Montes (espanhol) (spanish) REVISÃO EDITING

António Camões Gouveia, Célia Gonçalves Tavares, Carla Malheiro; Rui Pires Lourenço

IMPRESSÃO PRINTED BY

Gráfica Maiadouro dep. legal 378 576/14 issn 1646-7116

Na capa, fotografia de Cover photograph by Paulo Catrica

4 Nota de abertura Opening note

Nota de apertura

Maria Adelaide de Aguiar Marques Teixeira

6 Viaje a la isla de Robinson en el Alentejo portugués Journey to the Robinson island in the portuguese Alentejo

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Viagem à ilha Robinson no Alentejo português Julián Sobrino Simal

A preservação da identidade industrial do Espaço Robinson: um sonho a perseguir

The preservation of the industrial identity of the Robinson Space: a dream to be pursued Preservar la identidad industrial en el Espacio Robinson: persiguiendo un sueño

Ana Cardoso de Matos

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«Fábrica Robinson». Oportunidad, emprendimiento y comunidad «Clío» busca respuestas. Hagamos las preguntas

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“Robinson Factory”. Opportunity, entrepreneurship and community “Clío” looks for answers. Let us put the questions «Fábrica Robinson». Oportunidade, empreendimento e comunidade. «Clio» dá as respostas.

Façamos as perguntas Francisco Parejo Moruno

Para a compreensão do tempo e do espaço da fábrica corticeira Robinson em Portalegre

Towards an understanding of the Robinson Portalegre cork factory in time and space Para comprender el tiempo y el espacio de la fábrica de corcho Robinson en Portalegre

Graça Filipe

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La Fábrica Robinson: lugar de encuentro y reflexión.

Apuntes desde su percepción-preguntas desde su interior

The Robinson Factory: a place for meeting and reflection. External views-internal questions A Fábrica Robinson: lugar de encontro e reflexão. Apontamentos a partir da sua percepção –

perguntas desde o seu interior

María Dolores Palazón Botella

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El paisaje cultural del complejo Robinson

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Nuevos usos para el patrimonio industrial. Espaço Robinson

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Síntese: resumos e palavras-chave

The cultural landscape of the Robinson complex A paisagem cultural do complexo Robinson

Maria Griñan Montealegre

New uses for industrial heritage. Robinson Space Novos usos para o património industrial. Espaço Robinson.

Pilar Biel Ibánez

Abstracts and key-words

Resúmenes y palabras clave

Nota de abertura Opening note

Maria Adelaide de Aguiar Marques Teixeira PRESIDENTE DO CONSELHO DE CURADORES DA FUNDAÇÃO ROBINSON CHAIRWOMAN OF THE COUNCIL OF CURATORS OF THE ROBINSON FOUNDATION

Publicações da Fundação Robinson 20, 2014, p. 4-5, ISSN 1646-7116

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Pode ser que ainda saibamos pouco sobre a Fábrica Robinson na sua longevidade temporal, humana e tecnológica.

Pode ser que o que sabemos não nos satisfaça ou o consideremos superficial ou impreciso. Claro que pode. Mas é certo que sabemos o que queremos conhecer, sabemos o conteúdo do inquérito que queremos lançar para obter respostas, para relançar questões, para afinar imprecisões. Isto é o mais difícil, saber perguntar cientificamente o objecto de estudo que é a Fábrica Robinson. Ficamos, por isso, satisfeitos com a conclusão deste número das Publicações da Fundação Robinson.

As Perguntas à Fábrica I vêm na sequência do número 19, já de 2010, de Perguntas a São Francisco. Agora o objecto cresceu nas vertentes possíveis de estudo e investigação e, por isso, se virá a desdobrar em mais do que um dos números das Publicações. No actual, agrupam-se as perguntas resultantes do trabalho apresentado em público por um conjunto de patrimonialistas do industrial, durante o V Dia Robinson, em 2011.

Estamos certos que é um número importante e o primeiro daqueles que ajudará a aprender mais sobre esta Fábrica que marcou a cidade de Portalegre, ontem e hoje!

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It could be the case that we still know little about the Robinson Factory in its temporal, human and technological longevity. It may be that what we know does not satisfy us or that we consider this superficial or inaccurate. Of course this may be the case. But it is certain that we know what we want to know, we know the contents of the research we want to start to obtain answers, to relaunch issues, to fine tune imprecisions.

This is more difficult, knowing how to scientifically ask about the object of study which is the Robinson Factory. We were therefore satisfied with the conclusion of this issue of the Publications of the Robinson Foundation.

Questions to the Factory I follows on from Number 19, published in 2010, concerning Questions to São Francisco. Now the subject has grown in terms of potential areas of study and research, and so it will be developed in more than one issue of the Publications. This issue brings together the questions resulting from the work presented to the public by a set of industrial heritage researchers, during the 5th Robinson Day in 2011.

We are certain that this is an important issue and the first of those which will help you to learn more about this Factory that has marked the city of Portalegre, yesterday and today!

Viaje a la isla de Robinson en el Alentejo portugués (Julián Sobrino Simal, recordando que los viajes siempre son aventuras)

Journey to the Robinson island in the portuguese Alentejo (Julián Sobrino Simal recalling that journeys are always adventures)

Julián Sobrino Simal PROFESSOR NA ESCOLA TÉCNICA SUPERIOR DE ARQUITECTURA DA UNIVERSIDADE DE SEVILHA E «ROBINSONIANO» PROFESSOR AT THE HIGHER TECHINAL SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SEVILLE AND A “ROBINSONIAN”

Publicações da Fundação Robinson 20, 2014, p. 6-13, ISSN 1646-7116

Desde hace un tiempo vengo considerando que los mapas estan equivocados, o por lo menos, que contienen algunas inexactitudes. Este es el caso de la famosa isla de Robinson, en el archipiélago Juan Fernández, conocida anteriormente como la isla «Más a Tierra». No piensen tampoco que los lugares permanecen siempre en el mismo sitio. Lo que albergan, su esencia, viaja en el tiempo y podemos encontrarnos en un sitio que antaño fue otro lugar diferente o, al contrario, podemos estar en lugar que no es lo que parece.

En Portalegre me encontré cara a cara con esta paradoja espacio temporal. Allí se encuentra la Fábrica Robinson, fundada en el siglo XIX por George Robinson, hacia 1840, en lo que fue el antiguo Convento de San Francisco, y dedicada a la transformación del corcho. Su hijo, George Wheelhouse Robinson, convirtió un lugar aislado, una isla en tierra adentro, en un lugar clave para la revolución industrial del Alentejo portugués, introduciendo los avances dela civilización técnica de su tiempo gracias a la máquina de vapor, la energía eléctrica, los novedosos procedimientos de fabricación de tapones de corcho, los nuevos modos de organización laboral y un innovador estilo de gestión empresarial.

A comienzos del mes de septiembre de 2011 recibí una invitación de D. António Camões Gouveia para participar en el V Día Robinson. Lo primero que hice fue buscar en Google Earth la posición exacta del lugar al que me tenía que dirigir: la ciudad de Portalegre y, como en otras ocasiones, convertí esta invitación en una pequeña aventura como forma de hacerme más mágico ese compromiso al tiempo que convirtiera en más interesante aquello que yo pudiera ofrecer a mis anfitriones desde mi experiencia en relación con la gestión del patrimonio industrial.

Curiosamente, la vida es un cruce de casualidades, estaba leyendo en esos momentos el ensayo de Pietro Citati «El mal absoluto. En el corazón de la novela des siglo XIX» que arranca, precisamente, con un capítulo dedicado a «La vida y 7

For some time now I have considered that maps are wrong or, at the least, they contain some inaccuracies.

This is the case with the famous Robinson island, in the Juan Fernández Archipelago, formerly known as the “Closer to Land” island. Do not think either that places always remain in the same location. That which they contain, their essence, travels through time and can be found in a location that was once a different place or, conversely, we can be in a place that is not what it seems.

In Portalegre I have come face-to-face with this spacetime paradox. This is the location of the Robinson Factory, founded in the 19th century by George Robinson, in 1840, in what was the former São Francisco convent, and this was dedicated to the transformation of cork. His son, George Wheelhouse Robinson, converted an isolated place, an inland island, into a key location for the industrial revolution of the Portuguese Alentejo, introducing the advances of technical civilisation of his time thanks to the steam engine, electricity, novel methods to manufacturing Cork, new modes of organising labour and an innovative management style.

In early September 2011 I received an invitation from Prof. António Camões Gouveia to participate in the 5th Robinson Day. The first thing I did was to search in Google Earth for the exact position of where I had to go: the city of Portalegre and, as on other occasions, I turned this invitation into a small adventure as a way of making this commitment more magical while at the same time making what I could offer my hosts more interesting based on my experience in managing industrial heritage.

Curiously, since life is a crossroads of coincidences, at the time I was reading Pietro Citati’s essay “The absolute evil. At the heart of the 19th century novel” which begins, precisely, with a chapter on “the life and strange and surprising adventures of Crusoe of York, mariner”,

las extrañas y sorprendentes aventuras de Crusoe de York, marino», obra publicada en 1719 por Daniel Defoe y que es reconocida como la primera novela en lengua inglesa, donde se hace un retrato de Robinson Crusoe en su naufragio que bien pudiera servir para ilustrar el carácter de nuestro Robinson George Wheelhouse: «Con el paso de los años – dice Citati – la isla se convierte en un lugar de vida cívica», de modo que un espacio natural, ecosfera, se transforma, gracias a la acción ordenada de una mente racional, en un espacio artificial, tecnosfera.

Dando pie, desde entonces, a convertir a Robinson Crusoe en un mito del precoz capitalismo inglés tal como el proprio Karl Marx expresaba en su obra Contribución a la crítica de la económica política cuando afirmaba: «Los robinsonadas no expresan en ningún modo, como se lo figuran los historiadores de la civilización, una simple reacción contra un excesivo refinamente y el entorno a una vida primitiva mal comprendida. Como tampoco El Contrato Social de Rousseau, que mediante una convención relaciona y comunica a sujetos independientes por naturaleza, reposa sobre semejante naturalismo. Ésa es la apariencia, y la apariencia estética solamente, de las pequeñas y grandes robinsonadas. Éstas anticipan más bien la sociedad burguesa que se preparaba en el siglo XVI y que en el siglo XVIII marchaba a pasos agigantados hacia su madurez. En esta sociedad de libre competencia, el individuo aparece como desprendido de los lazos de la naturaleza, que en épocas anterirores de la historia hacen de el una parte integrante de un conglomerado humano determinado, delimitado».

Por tanto, no solo me dirigía al encuentro de uno de los espacios más interesantes de la revolución industrial portuguesa, sino a un lugar donde se podía profundizar en los arquetipos fundacionales de nuestra civilización como son: el explorador, el descubridor, el acumulador, el organizador, el benefactor, el inventor.

Fac-símile do livro The Life and Strange Adventures of Robinson Crusoe.

Facsimile of the book The Life and Strange Adventures of Robinson Crusoe.

a work published in 1719 by Daniel Defoe which is recognised as the first novel in the English language, which provides the portrait of Robinson Crusoe and his shipwreck that could well serve to illustrate the character of our Robinson - George Wheelhouse: “over the years”, Citati says, “the island becomes a place of civic life”, so that a natural space, an ecosphere, is transformed thanks to the action of a rational mind, into an artificial space, a technosphere.

Giving rise, since then, to Robinson Crusoe becoming a myth of early English capitalism, as Karl Marx himself expressed it in his Contribution to the critique of economic policy when he stated: “The Robinsons do not in any way express, as historians of civilisation have configured them, as a simple reaction against excessive refinement and the surroundings of a badly understood primitive life. Nor does Rousseau’s Social Contract, which by convention describes and communicates subjects independent by nature, rest on similar naturalism. That is the appearance, and the aesthetic appearance only, of the small and large Robinsons. They rather anticipate bourgeois society, which was under way in the 16th century and which in the 18th century was marching with great steps towards its

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Partiendo de Sevilla, me dirigí hacia el norte, por antigua Vía de la Plata para, llegando a Badajoz, virar hacia el oeste en dirección a Elvas para tomar la N246 que a través de São Vicente, Santa Eulália y Arronches me llevaría hasta Portalegre.

La carretera guardaba todavía el antiguo trazado caminero, que bordeaba antiguas propiedades rurales, era sinuosa, protegida por quitamiedos de fábrica. Encauzada por un hermoso bosque de galería formada por alcornoques, castaños de Indias, pinos y encinas. Discurría plácidamente entre los restos de las antiguas dehesas y campos de olivos que le proporcionaban un carácter paisajístico de gran belleza. Al paso de los diferentes pueblos descubrí la interesante arquitectura popular compuesta por viviendas de planta baja, de la tipología de puerta e ventana, coronada por las impresionantes chimeneas que caracterizan el modo de vida de estas poblaciones agrarias.

Pasando Arronches desemboqué en la carretera que conduciría a Portalegre y que, al rato, me mostró a esa ciudad en una ladera de la Sierra de S. Mamede, bien orientada y dispuesta a recibir el sol del mediodía, y conformada por un casco histórico originado principalmente a partir del siglo XVI. Me dirigí al lugar que la organización del V Día Robinson me había reservado, la Mansão Alto Alentejo, muy cerca de la Catedral, en el 59 de la Rua 19 de Junho. Desde mi habitación se divisaba una espectacular vista: El Castillo y el Nuevo Régimen, los tiempos, los espacios – ora et labora - , las dos sociedades, el contraste entre el tañer de las campanas y el sonido de la sirena de la fábrica, las dos ciudades, los dos modelos de producción: el preindustrial agrario-artesanal y el industrial urbano-mecanizado.

Entonces comncé a pensar y redactar mi intervención en el V Día Robinson partiendo de una idea-secuencia central, el corcho es: ESPACIO+VIDA+TIEMPO+TRABAJO

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maturity. In this society of free competition, the individual appears as detached from the bonds of nature, which in previous periods of history had formed an integral part of our specific, delimited human conglomeration”.

Therefore, I was not only going to the meeting point of the most interesting areas of the Portuguese industrial revolution, but a place where you could delve into the foundational archetypes of civilization such as that of the explorer, discoverer, accumulator, organiser, the benefactor and inventor.

Leaving from Seville, I headed north along the ancient Via de la Plata, reaching Badajoz, turning west towards Elvas to take the N246 that would pass through São Vicente, Santa Eulália and Arronches and would take me to Portalegre.

The highway still had the look of the ancient road, bordering ancient rural properties as it wound along, protected by the standard barriers. Forming a corridor through a beautiful gallery forest composed of cork oaks, horse chestnuts, pines and holm oaks, it meandered peacefully amid the remains of ancient pasturelands and olive groves that provided a landscape with a very beautiful character. Traversing the different villages I found interesting folk architecture consisting of ground floor units, in a door and window format, crowned by the impressive chimneys which characterise the way of life of these agrarian populations.

Having passed Arronches I ended up on the road which would take me to Portalegre and which, after a while, showed me that city on the side of the Serra de São Mamede, well-positioned and ready to receive the midday sun, and shaped by a historical district originating mainly from the 16th century.

I headed for the place that the organisation of the 5th Robinson Day had booked for me, the Alto Alentejo Mansion, near the Cathedral, Rua 19 de Junho, No. 59. From my room I could see a spectacular view: The Castle and the New

Y, teniendo en cuenta las circunstancias de la Fábrica Robinson, en el antiguo Convento de San Francisco, deduje que el patrimonio industrial de este Espacio estaba forjado a partir de:

Regime, times, spaces - ora et labora - the two societies, the contrast between the ringing of the bells and the sound of the siren from the factory, two cities, two production models: the preindustrial agrarian-artisan and the urban-mechanised industry.

LO PROTOPATRIMONIAL

Then I started to think and write my speech on the 5th

LO TRANSPATRIMONIAL

Robinson Day starting from the central sequence of ideas, that cork is:

Lo protopatrimonial era el territorio, la energía, los usos, los conflictos, los cambios y las permanencias. Lo transpatrimonial es la investigación, la reutilización, la reparación, la creación, la producción.

Es decir, la Fábrica Robinson es un lugar rehabitable que puede ser colonizado por nuevos modos de entender el tiempo y el espacio.

SISTEMA ROBINSON: DEHESA+CAMINOS+CIUDAD+BARRIO

SPACE + LIFE + TIME + LABOUR

And, given the circumstances of the Robinson Factory in the former San Francisco convent, I concluded that the industrial heritage of this area was wrought from: THE PROTOPATRIMONIAL THE TRANSPATRIMONIAL

The protopatrimonial is the land, the energy, the uses,

EXTRAMUROS+FÁBRICA+PORTUGAL+HALIFAX

the conflicts, the exchanges and that which is permanent.

En lá Fábrica Robinson encontramos

The transpatrimonial is research, re-use, repair, design,

PROTOTOPOLOGÍA

silvicultura+ofícios+ARTESANÍA+casa-taller Espacio Cero TIPOLOGÍA

convento+fábrica+espacio cluster+máquinas

production.

That is, the Robinson Factory is a rehabitable place that can be colonised by new ways of understanding time and space.

ESPACIO CODIFICADO TRANSTIPOLOGÍA

ROBINSON SYSTEM: PASTURELAND+ROADS +

crisis+reutilización+rehabilitación ESPACIO ROBINSON

CITY+NEIGHBORHOOD EXTRAMURAL+FACTORY+PORTUGAL+HALIFAX

Y, siguiendo con las coincidencias, yo suelo utilizar como concepto de análisis el conocido diagnóstico del arquitecto e historiador de la arquitectura Leopoldo Torre Balbás, el gran investigador de La Alhambra de Granada en los albores del siglo XX: «Un monumento antiguo es, en muy contadas ocasiones, de un mismo estilo en todas sus partes.

Ha vivido, y viviendo se ha transformado. Porque el cambio es la condición esencial de la vida. Cada edade lo ha ido

In the Robinson Factory we can find PROTOTOPOLOGY forestry + crafts+CRAFTMANSHIP+home-workshop Space Zero TYPOLOGY convent+factory+cluster space+machines CODIFIED SPACE TRANSTYPOLOGY crisis+reuse+redevelopment ROBINSON SPACE

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marcando con su huella. Es un libro sobre el cual cada generación ha escrito una página.» y al entrar en la recién restaurada iglesia conventual de San Francisco, me doy de bruces con la frase de Fray Jerónimo de Belén (1750) «Como com o tempo tudo se muda, assim sucedeu nesta Igreja, porque além da renovação que nela se fez, tem tido suas mudanças», frase que guarda un paralelismo premonitorio con la de Torres Balbás.

De tal manera que llegamos al momento crucial de nuestro viaje, el sábado 17 de septiembre se nos abren las puertas de la Fábrica Robinson y, entonces, se nos aparece en todo su esplendor el magnífico Espacio Robinson, con toda la carga positiva y negativa de la industrialización. Y surge la gran pregunta ¿Cómo habitar un fósil sin distruirlo?

Este Convento-Fábrica constituye una sinfonía de lo provisional, de lo sucio, de lo ruidoso. Donde se conjugan el corcho, el fuego, el agua, el aire, la tierra… la Fábrica, casa de la industria, concebida para ser utilizada, rehabitada, transformada…

And, following these coincidences, I normally use the well-known diagnosis of the architect and architectural historian Leopoldo Torre Balbás, who carried out major research work on the Alhambra in Granada in the early 20th century: “An ancient monument is, only in few cases, the same style in every part. It has lived, and in living it has been transformed. Because change is the essential condition of life. Each age has left its footprint. It is a book in which each generation has written a page.” and entering the recently restored convent church of São Francisco, I came face-to-face with the phrase of Frei Jerónimo de Belém (1750): “With time everything changes, which has been the case with this Church, since in addition to the renovation work which has been carried out, it has had its changes”, a phrase which carries with it a premonitory parallelism with that of Torres Balbás.

And so we arrived at the crucial moment of our journey, on Saturday, 17 September when the doors of the Robinson Factory were opened and appearing in all its glory was the magnificent Robinson space, with all the positive

ESTRATEGIAS

• Extenderse, hacia la membrana patrimonial que rodea la Fábrica Robinson.

• Profundizar, hacia la estratigrafía que existe en el interior de la Fábrica Robinson.

• Conectar las nuevas funciones con los espacios construidos de la Fábrica Robinson.

SISTEMA DE VALORES PATRIMONIAS DE LA FÁBRICA ROBINSON

Cualidades históricas Testimonia un importante intercambio cultural a lo largo de un periodo de tiempo prolongado entre Portugal y el Reino Unido que ilustra una etapa significativa de la historia humana.

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and negative charge of industrialisation. And there arose the major question how to inhabit a fossil without destroying it?

This Factory-Convent forms a symphony to that which is provisional, dirty and noisy. Where cork, fire, water, air, earth combine... The factory, home of industry, designed to be used, re-inhabited, transformed...

STRATEGIES

• To extend, all the way through the patrimonial membrane which surrounds the Robinson Factory.

• To deepen, to the layers of strata which exist within the Robinson Factory.

• To connect the new functions with the spaces constructed for the Robinson Factory.

THE PATRIMONIAL VALUE SYSTEM OF THE ROBINSON FACTORY

Robinson Island in Portalegre,

by Julián Sobrino Simal.

Historical qualities Testimony to an important cultural exchange over an extended period between Portugal and the United Kingdom which illustrates a significant stage in human history.

Industrial qualities It is the memory of the culture of industrial labour in the city of Portalegre with regard to its economic, social and technological aspects.

Architectural qualities It constitutes an important example of a transtypology of a conventual-industrial character

Cualidades industriales Es la memoria de la cultura del trabajo industrial en la ciudad de Portalegre desde en sus factores económico, sociales y tecnológicos.

Cualidades arquitectónicas Constituye un ejemplo relevante de una transtipología de carácter monacal-industrial que documenta los diferentes modos constructivos de las tradiciones europeas desde la edad media a la industrialización.

Cualidades urbanísticas Forma parte dela paisaje cultural de Portalegre con el cual se relaciona indisolublemente, como es el de la catedral, el castillo, las casas-palacio, el monasterio de S. Bernardo, el convento de San Francisco.

Cualidades escénicas y de ocio Tiene un poder de atracción directo y visual debido a las sensaciones que transmite la grandiosidad escénica de sus espacios y la plasticidad de su arquitectura.

Cualidades territoriales Con los paisajes de la producción de la dehesa, de carácter evolutivo, en diferentes escalas.

Ilha Robinson em Portalegre, por Julián Sobrino Simal.

that documents the different construction styles within European traditions from the Middle Ages until industrialisation.

Urbanistic qualities It forms part of the cultural landscape of Portalegre, with which it is inextricably linked, along with the Cathedral, the castle, the palatial houses, the monastery of São Bernardo and the convent of São Francisco.

Scenic and leisure qualities It has a direct and visual power of attraction due to the sensations which are transmitted by the scenic grandiosity of its spaces along with the plasticity of its architecture.

Territorial qualities Due to the countryside with production from its pastureland, evolving at different scales.

As Pilar Biel stated on the 5th Robinson Day: “We must add to the character of the factory the new architectural forms generated by Souto de Moura which constitute an

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Como decía Pilar Biel en el encuentro del V Día Robinson: «hay que añadir al carácter de la Fábrica las nuevas arquitecturas generadas por el Estudio de Souto de Moura que constituyen una extraordinaria aportación al incremente de los valores patrimoniales allí existentes».

Aspecto muy digno de tener en cuenta tal como comentaba Maria da Graça Filipe «porque debe ser destacada la autenticidad del lugar industrial histórico en relación con el desarrollo local de esta comarca alentejana».

extraordinary contribution in terms of increasing the patrimonial values present therein”.

An aspect worthy of taking into account as Maria da Graça Filipe commented “because the authenticity of the historical industrial space should be highlighted in relation to the local development of the Alentejo region”.

CREATE CONTENT

• Documenting historical events linked to the Robinson Factory.

GENERAR CONTENIDOS

• Documentando los acontecimientos históricos vinculados a la Fábrica Robinson.

• Descubriendo al visitante las transformaciones ocurridas durante la historia de la Fábrica Robinson.

• Destacando el papel jugado por la ciudad de Portalegre en la configuración del mundo moderno portugués.

• Mostrando los procedimientos arquitectónicoproyectuales utilizados en el proceso de construcción de la Fábrica Robinson.

• Conectando la Fábrica Robinson con el conjunto histórico de la ciudad y con la sierra de S. Mamede para consolidar este paisaje cultural.

• Showing the visitors the transformations which have taken place during the history of the Robinson Factory.

• Emphasising the role played by the city of Portalegre in shaping the modern Portuguese world.

• Showing the architectural design procedures used in the process of constructing the Robinson Factory.

• Connecting the Robinson Factory to the history of the city and to the serra of São Mamede to consolidate this cultural landscape.

The Robinson Factory as an INTERMEDIARY PLACE between the country and the city, between the past and the future, between craftsmanship and mechanisation, between what is singular and what is standardised, between the repro-

La Fábrica Robinson como LUGAR INTERMEDIO entre el campo y la ciudad, entre el pasado y el futuro, entre la artesanía y la mecanización, entre lo singular y lo estandarizado, entre lo reproductivo y lo creativo.

La Fábrica Robinson no es un lugar detenido en el tiempo es un proceso abierto.

Gracias a todos los que trabajan en el Espacio Robinson.

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ductive and the creative.

The Robinson Factory is not a place imprisoned in time but an ongoing process.

Thanks to all those who work in the Robinson Space.

A preservação da identidade industrial do Espaço Robinson: um sonho a perseguir The preservation of the industrial identity of the Robinson Space: a dream to be pursued

Ana Cardoso de Matos UNIVERSIDADE DE ÉVORA – CIDEHUS UNIVERSITY OF ÉVORA - CIDEHUS

Publicações da Fundação Robinson 20, 2014, p. 14-17, ISSN 1646-7116

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Situada na extensa planície alentejana, caracterizada por uma paisagem de montado, a cidade de Portalegre beneficiou da existência de condições geomorfológicas favoráveis ao seu desenvolvimento industrial assente na lã e na cortiça. A indústria da cortiça, cujas origens remontam à primeira metade do século XIX, levou à criação da Fábrica Robinson, que foi estabelecida por um industrial inglês e é um exemplo da mobilidade de industriais e técnicos e um testemunho da transferência da tecnologia, da sua evolução e das inovações que foram sendo introduzidas no processo produtivo. Da actividade desta indústria passou a depender um número importante de operários que trabalhavam no interior dos seus muros, mas a influência da fábrica estendeu-se a toda a cidade e os sons, os cheiros e o movimento deste estabelecimento fabril marcavam o quotidiano dos portalegrenses. Encerrada devido a vicissitudes várias, procura-se hoje recuperar o espaço e a memória de uma actividade que teve uma importância tão grande na cidade. Processo que leva a uma série de interrogações e reflexões.

Located in the extensive Alentejan plain, characterised

1. A recuperação dos espaços da Fábrica Robinson poderá devolver aos portalegrenses a memória do seu passado industrial?

2. Será que todos os portalegrenses têm consciência do que era produzido na Fábrica Robinson?

3. Como têm sido envolvidos os portalegrenses no processo de recuperação da fábrica?

4. Os jovens olham para o passado industrial da cidade de Portalegre da mesma forma que os mais velhos?

5. O que fazer para incentivar os mais jovens a participar activamente no processo de preservação e valorização do património industrial da cidade?

1.

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by a hilly landscape, the city of Portalegre benefited from the existence of geomorphological conditions favourable to industrial development based on wool and cork. The cork industry, whose origins date back to the early nineteenth century, led to the creation of the Robinson Factory, which was established by an English industrialist and is an example of the mobility of industries and technicians and a testimony to the transfer of technology from its evolution and the innovations that were introduced within the production process. The activity of this industry came to depend on a large number of labourers working inside its walls, but the influence of the factory extended throughout the entire city and the sounds, smells and movement of this manufacturing facility marked the daily life of the people of Portalegre. Having been closed due to various vicissitudes, it is now looking to reclaim the space and memory of an activity that was so important in the city. This is a process that produces a series of questions and considerations.

Can the recovery of the Robinson Factory spaces give back to the people of Portalegre the memory of its industrial past?

2.

Are all the residents of Portalegre aware of what was produced in the Robinson Factory?

3.

How have the people of Portalegre been involved in the process of recovering the factory?

4.

Do young people look at the industrial past of the city of Portalegre in the same way as its older residents?

5.

What should be done to encourage more young people to participate actively in the preservation and enhancement of the industrial heritage of the city?

6. Como se deve proceder para registar, preservar e transmitir essas memórias e saberes à população, nomeadamente a que não esteve envolvida nesta actividade?

7. Como pode o passado industrial de Portalegre contribuir para a compreensão das características da economia da região?

8. A história da Fábrica Robinson é um contributo importante para conhecer a mobilidade de empresários, engenheiros e outros técnicos ligados com a cortiça que se verificou ao longo dos séculos XIX e XX? 9. A transferência de tecnologia e a sua evolução é possível ser apreendida com base nas máquinas, motores e ferramentas que subsistem no espaço?

10. Poderá esta fábrica ser um espaço de aprendizagem da evolução da tecnologia ligada com o trabalho da cortiça?

11. Será possível reconstituir o ambiente de trabalho que se vivia na Fábrica Robinson?

12. A visita à fábrica de jovens dos vários estabelecimentos de ensino da cidade poderá ser uma forma de os levar a conhecer o passado industrial da mesma?

13. Deverão essas visitas ser acompanhadas pelos antigos operários?

14. Os produtos que ao longo dos anos foram produzidos nesta unidade fabril podem ser um exemplo da ligação entre arte e indústria?

15. O levantamento dos produtos fabricados nesta fábrica, e que hoje ornamentam vários edifícios espalhados pelo país, pode ser uma forma de valorizar a memória desta mesma fábrica?

16. Nas reutilizações para os espaços fabris que estão a ser progressivamente recuperados não será de ser pensado um centro de interpretação deste mesmo espaço?

6.

How should we go about recording, preserving and transmitting these memories and knowledge to the population, particularly to the persons who were not involved in this activity?

7.

How can the industrial past of Portalegre contribute to an understanding of the economic characteristics of the region?

8.

Is the history of the Robinson Factory an important contribution in terms of learning about the mobility of entrepreneurs, engineers and other technicians connected with cork throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries?

9.

Is it possible to grasp the transfer of technology and its evolution through the machines, engines and tools that are located within this space?

10. Could this factory be a space to learn about the evolution of technology linked to working with cork?

11. Will it be possible to reconstruct the working environment present in the Robinson Factory?

12.

Could a visit to the factory by young people from various schools in the city be a way to get them to become aware of its industrial past?

13. Should these visits be accompanied by former workers?

14. Can the products which have been produced in this manufacturing plant over the years be an example of the connection between art and industry?

15. Could a survey of the products manufactured in this factory, which today adorn various buildings around the country, be a way to cherish the memory of that same factory?

16. In the reuses planned for the industrial spaces which are gradually being recovered, shouldn’t a centre be thought of to interpret that space?

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17. Que fazer para garantir a ligação da população da cidade com os espaços já recuperados e garantir a sua utilização?

18. Que papel poderá ter o turismo ligado a esta fábrica no desenvolvimento económico e social da cidade?

19. E que tipo de turismo se deverá promover?

20. Poderá o trabalho que está a ser realizado pela Fundação Robinson contribuir para o desenvolvimento sustentado da região?

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17. What can be done to ensure that the population of the city is connected with the spaces already recovered so as to ensure their use?

18. What role can tourism connected to this factory play in the economic and social development of the city?

19. What kind of tourism should be promoted?

20. Can the work that is being carried out by the Robinson Foundation contribute to the sustainable development of the region?

«Fábrica Robinson». Oportunidad, emprendimiento y comunidad «Clío» busca respuestas. Hagamos las preguntas “Robinson Factory”. Opportunity, entrepreneurship and community “Clío” looks for answers. Let us put the questions

Francisco Parejo Moruno UNIVERSIDADE DA ESTREMADURA, BADAJOZ UNIVERSITY OF EXTREMADURA, BADAJOZ

Publicações da Fundação Robinson 20, 2014, p. 18-29, ISSN 1646-7116

La experiencia vital de los Robinson en Portalegre se puede explicar a partir de los términos «oportunidad», «emprendimiento» y «comunidad». «Oportunidad», porque sus actividades empresariales estuvieron vinculadas a las oportunidades que surgieron en el sector agrario portugués a lo largo del siglo XIX, una de las fuentes de aprovisionamiento de productos primarios de Inglaterra. «Emprendimiento», porque fueron capaces de llevar a cabo una estrategia empresarial exitosa de larga duración que fue más allá de la mera comercialización de productos agrarios, y por tanto, generadora de valor e industrializadora de una región, el Alentejo portugués, que había quedado fuera de la industrialización. Y «comunidad», porque el emprendimiento llevado a cabo por los Robinson en Portalegre, lejos de ceñirse a la esfera económica, fue también un emprendimiento social. En definitiva, y como se explicará a continuación, los Robinson se integraron en la vida social portalegrense. Hicieron comunidad en esta villa portuguesa, y participaron activamente de ella.

Oportunidad: De Halifax a Portalegre. La pregunta de origen no puede ser otra ¿Qué vínculos pudieron unir al entorno industrial de Halifax (en Yorkshire, Inglaterra, muy cerca del enclave industrial «manchesteriano») con el agro portugués?

A primera vista, ninguno. A segunda, una vista más profunda y detenida, un vínculo intenso, asociado a la vieja «teoría de las ventajas comparativas» enunciada por el pensador económico inglés David Ricardo en su obra magistral On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation (1817). Esta teoría justificaba el librecambio entre países que presentaban costes relativos diferentes, a pesar de que uno de ellos mantuviera una ventaja absoluta en costes en todos los productos susceptibles de ser comercializados. Sobre esta base, Portugal e Inglaterra establecieron un comercio mutuo de larga tradición que, de acuerdo a algunos historiadores económicos portugue19

The life experience of the Robinsons in Portalegre can be explained using the words “opportunity”, “entrepreneurship” and “community”. “Opportunity”, because their business activities were linked to the opportunities that arose in the Portuguese agricultural sector throughout the nineteenth century, one of the sources of supply of raw materials for England. “Entrepreneurship” because they were able to carry out a successful long-term business strategy that went beyond mere commercialisation of agricultural products, and therefore created value and industrialised a region, that of the Portuguese Alentejo, which had fallen outside of the industrialisation process. And “community”, because the entrepreneurship carried out by the Robinsons in Portalegre, far from merely remaining within the economic sphere, also included social entrepreneurship. Ultimately, and as will be explained below, the Robinsons formed part of the social life of Portalegre. They turned this Portuguese town into a community, in which they actively participated.

Opportunity: From Halifax to Portalegre. The question of origin cannot be other than: what could have united the industrial environment of Halifax (in Yorkshire, England, near the industrial enclave of Manchester), to Portuguese agriculture? At first sight, nothing. Looking again, providing a deeper and more detailed view, is the intense bond associated with the ancient “theory of competitive advantages” developed by the English economic thinker David Ricardo in his key work On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation (1817). This theory justified free trade between countries which had different relative costs, even though one of them had an absolute cost advantage in all products which could be commercialised. On this basis, Portugal and England established a long tradition of mutual trade which, according to some Portuguese economic historians, constituted a handi-

ses, constituyó un lastre para la industrialización lusa. Para estos autores que defienden la llamada «tesis de dependencia», encabezados por la profesora M. H. Pereira, el atraso económico e industrial de Portugal estaría vinculado con su actitud dependiente (y sumisa, tal vez) ante Inglaterra, al adquirir la nación lusa de forma sistemática las manufacturas producidas por ésta y al suministrarle, también de forma estructural, la materias primas agrarias necesarias para el funcionamiento de su industria. En mi criterio, es en este marco donde debemos situar la llegada de muchos comerciantes ingleses a Portugal, cuya misión no era otra que establecerse en las regiones agrarias portuguesas y acaparar las producciones de éstas para su exportación a las zonas industriales de Europa. Solo ello explica que en Halifax, en un entorno industrial donde el alcornoque estaba ausente, los Robinson ya tuvieran abierta una fábrica de corcho a comienzos del siglo XIX. En el ámbito del corcho, hablo ahora del suroeste peninsular, las oportunidades aparecieron en el primer tercio del siglo XIX. Es sabido que la fiebre taponera que sacudió a Europa a finales del siglo XVIII y principios del XIX generó rápidamente un cuello de botella en la oferta de corcho de Cataluña y del Sur de Francia, que había sido, hasta entonces, el centro de la fabricación corchera mundial (junto a Inglaterra) y casi la única despensa de materia prima de ésta en aquella época inicial, en que los alcornocales del suroeste ibérico no formaban parte, todavía, del mapa de la explotación forestal y comercial. Fue este estrangulamiento, de hecho, el que los situó en el mapa, de tal forma que, de mano de ingleses y catalanes (los Bucknall, Reynolds y Robinson, entre los primeros), los montados algarvios y alentejanos, por un lado, y las dehesas andaluzas y extremeñas, por el otro, entraron en explotación. Es aquí cuando la oportunidad se convirtió en emprendimiento en Portalegre para George William Robinson, el patriarca.

cap to Portuguese industrialisation. For these authors, who followed the so-called “dependency theory”, headed by Professor M. H. Pereira, the economic and industrial backwardness of Portugal was linked to its dependent (and, perhaps, submissive) attitude to England, with the Portuguese nation systematically purchasing the manufacturing produced by it and also structurally supplying the agricultural raw materials necessary for the operation of its industry. In my opinion, it is in this context that we must place the arrival of many English merchants in Portugal, whose mission was simply to settle in Portuguese agricultural regions and seize these productions for export to the industrial areas of Europe. Only this can explain why in Halifax, in an industrial environment where oak was absent, the Robinsons had already opened a cork factory in the early nineteenth century.

In the south west peninsular, opportunities for cork appeared in the first third of the 19th century. It is known that the fervour for cork stoppers which swept Europe in the late 18th and early 19th century quickly generated a bottleneck in the supply of cork from Catalonia and in southern France, which had, until that point, been the world cork production centre (along with England) and almost the only source of this raw material in that initial period, when south western Iberian cork was not yet on the map for forest and commercial exploitation. It was this bottleneck, in fact, that placed on the map, through the work of the English and Catalans (the Bucknalls, Reynolds and Robinsons, among the first) the hills of the Algarve and the Alentejo, on the one hand, and the pasturelands of Andalusia and Extremadura, on the other hand, such that they started their operations. This is when the opportunity for such entrepreneurship in Portalegre arose for George William Robinson, the patriarch.

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La oportunidad de negocio había llevado también al británico Thomas Reynolds a emprender el comercio de corcho en el Alentejo portugués en fechas cercanas a 1830. En 1835 ya contaba con una pequeña fábrica corchera en las ruinas del Convento de San Francisco, en Portalegre, que, por motivos que desconocemos aún (probablemente vinculados a su orientación empresarial hacia otros productos agrarios o a su decisión de concentrar sus negocios en el distrito de Évora), vendió a George William Robinson en 1847. Así empieza la historia de una fábrica singular; la Fábrica Robinson. De por qué Portalegre y no otra localidad, parece que el factor casual tuvo mucho que ver. De hecho, Portalegre era la localidad de nacimiento de la profesora de portugués que George William Robinson tuvo en Lisboa, en sus primeros meses de estancia en Portugal. Ella fue quien le puso en antecedentes de las masas de alcornocal existentes en este distrito, y quien propició, por tanto, su visita a esta localidad del Alentejo.

Emprendimiento: Industria lejos de las áreas industriales. La Fábrica Robinson surgió en el Portugal de mediados del siglo XIX con una marcada vocación manufacturera, lejos de los principales centros industriales corcheros de Europa. A pesar de la cercanía a la materia prima alentejana (las enormes masas de montados del interior del país), Portalegre no cumplía la gran parte de los criterios de ubicación óptima contemplados en la teoría clásica de localización industrial desarrollada por A. Weber. En particular, era patente la lejanía a los centros de consumo de las manufacturas o a los puertos de embarque para acceder a éstos. Lejanía física, pero también funcional, en cuanto a las deficientes infraestructuras de transporte y comunicaciones existentes en Portugal en el ecuador decimonónico.

Tampoco se producían en el entorno portalegrense economías externas o de aglomeración que garantizaran la competitividad de las industrias allí instaladas, de acuerdo a la «nueva 21

This business opportunity also led the British citizen Thomas Reynolds to undertake trading in cork in the Portuguese Alentejo at a date around 1830. In 1835 there already was a small cork factory in the ruins of the convent of São Francisco in Portalegre which, for still unknown reasons (probably related to their business decision to focus on other agricultural products or their decision to concentrate their business in the Évora district), was sold to George William Robinson in 1847. And so begins the story of a unique factory; the Robinson Factory. As to why Portalegre and not another location, it seems that the casual factor had much to do with this. In fact, Portalegre was the place of birth of the Portuguese teacher George William Robinson had had in Lisbon, in his first few months in Portugal. It was she who provided the background regarding the masses of cork existing in this district, which would lead to his visit to this part of the Alentejo.

Entrepreneurship: Industry far from the industrial areas.

The Robinson Factory emerged in Portugal in the mid-nineteenth century with its strong manufacturing vocation, away from the main industrial centres for European cork. Despite its proximity to the Alentejan raw material (the enormous number of forests in the countryside), Portalegre did not meet most of the criteria for optimal placement referred to in the classical industrial localisation theory developed by A. Weber. In particular, the remoteness of the manufacturing sites from the consumption centres as well as the shipping ports to access this. There was physical, and also functional distance, due to the poor transportation and communications in 19th-century Portugal. Portalegre also did not possess external or agglomeration economies which would guarantee the competitiveness of the industries which had been established there, according to the “new economic geography” developed by Paul Krugman and other writers. Neither

geografía económica» desarrollada por Paul Krugman y otros autores. Ni existía allí una tradición industrial o comercial que permitiera aprovechar cualquier forma de know how, o unas redes comerciales ya establecidas.

Con todo, los Robinson fueron emprendedores. Al poco tiempo de su puesta en marcha la Fábrica Robinson ya funcionaba con una estructura de gran empresa moderna en el sentido «chandleriano», esto es con una capitalización impropia de la época y con estrategias propias de la gran empresa; diversificadora de actividades y de productos (para ampliar sus mercados y diversificar los riesgos ante los cambios de éstos); procuradora de economías de escala, como estrategia para ser competitiva; intensiva en trabajo, pero con una capitalización más acusada que los talleres existentes en el negocio corchero portugués de la época; e integrada verticalmente hacia adelante y hacia atrás, en un momento, como fue la segunda mitad del siglo XIX, en que la mayor parte del tejido industrial corchero portugués se dedicaba exclusivamente a la preparación del corcho, y no a la transformación. En definitiva, una empresa generadora de valor y de empleo industrial.

Con esta estrategia, pionera en la industria corchera, la Fábrica Robinson fue creciendo hasta convertirse en la mayor industria del negocio en el país, llegando a tener casi 2.000 trabajadores en la última década decimonónica. El impulso que imprimió George Wheelhouse Robinson (el hijo que tomó el relevo al frente de la fábrica) debió de ser decisivo. Su sólida formación adquirida en Inglaterra, adonde le enviaron sus padres para cursar sus estudios, debió de ser el desencadenante de que se implantaran en el «Portugal interior» métodos de producción totalmente inéditos en la nación lusa.

En 1889, George Wheelhouse Robinson compró a la familia Bucknall una antigua fábrica dedicada a la manufactura corchera en San Vicente de Alcántara (Badajoz, España); la

was there an industrial or commercial tradition that would enable it to exploit any form of know-how, or established business networks.

However, the Robinsons were entrepreneurs. Soon after its launch the Robinson Factory functioned as a large modern enterprise structure in the “Chandlerian” sense , i.e. with an improper capitalisation for the time and with their own large corporation strategies; diversifying activities and products (to expand their markets and diversify risks and changes occurred in them); seeking economies of scale, as a means to be competitive; labour intensive, but with a more evident capitalisation than existing workshops operating in the Portuguese cork trade at the time; and vertically integrated both forwards and backwards at a time like the second half of the 19th century, when most of the Portuguese cork industrial fabric was dedicated exclusively to the preparation of cork, and not to its transformation. In short, a company creating value and providing industrial employment.

With this strategy, as a pioneer in the cork industry, the Robinson Factory grew to become the largest industry in the sector in the country, growing to accommodate nearly 2,000 employees in the last decade of the 19th century. The impulse generated by George Wheelhouse Robinson (the son who took over as head of the factory) must have been decisive. His solid training in England, where his parents sent him to pursue his studies, must have been the trigger to what was implanted in the “interior of Portugal”, which was totally original production methods in the Portuguese nation.

In 1889, George Wheelhouse Robinson bought an old cork manufacturing factory from the Bucknall family in San Vicente de Alcántara (Badajoz, Spain), the so-called “English Factory”. With this sale, the Bucknalls left the cork business once and for all, leaving it at one of its highest moments in

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denominada «Fábrica del Inglés». Con esta venta, los Bucknall abandonaban definitivamente el negocio corchero, en uno de los momentos de mayor apogeo de este en Portugal. Los Robinson, en cambio, entraban de lleno en la economía y en la sociedad sanvicenteña, a la vista de las siguientes palabras del investigador sanvicenteño Ramón Ortiz, escritas en su libro Los inicios de la Industria del Corcho taponera en San Vicente de Alcántara en el siglo XIX: «Después de más de treinta años de relaciones entre los Bucknall y la localidad (se refiere a San Vicente de Alcántara), una gran parte de los bienes (prácticamente la totalidad) y pertenencias de esta familia pasaron a la de Robinson: Huertos, fábrica de curtidos y de harina en el centro…”. El «espacio Robinson» crecía por momentos.

Comunidad: De la «Fábrica Robinson» al «Espacio Robinson».

Igual que la oportunidad se transformó en emprendimiento, el emprendimiento de los Robinson en Portalegre acabó por convertirse en una contribución a la comunidad; esto es, en la integración de la familia en la comunidad económica, social y cultural alentejana. O extremeño-alentejana, si se prefiere, por sus conexiones económicas y sociales con algunas poblaciones de la Extremadura española, como San Vicente de Alcántara.

Muchos son los hechos que parecen atestiguarlo. En el plano económico, además de contar con sendas fábricas en Portalegre y San Vicente de Alcántara (ya referidas), los Robinson se caracterizaron por una amplia actividad comercial en el campo alentejano y extremeño. A modo de ejemplo, los trabajos de Antonio García García sobre la explotación comercial y forestal del corcho en la provincia de Badajoz han constatado que en el último cuarto del siglo XIX fueron frecuentes sus operaciones de compra de corcho en las dehesas de San Vicente de Alcántara y Valencia de Alcántara.

Del mismo modo, el magnífico fondo documental de la Fábrica Robinson, actualmente en proceso de organización 23

Portugal. The Robinsons, on the other hand, entered fully into the San Vincentian economy and society, as can be seen by the words of the San Vincentian researcher Ramón Ortiz, written in his book The Beginnings of the Cork Stopper Industry in San Vicente de Alcántara in the 19th century: “After more than 30 years of relations between the Bucknalls and the place (referring to San Vicente de Alcántara), a large part of the assets (practically all) and belongings of this family passed over to the Robinson family: Orchards, tannery and flour in the centre...”. The “Robinson space” was growing by the minute.

Community: From the “Robinson Factory” to the “Robinson Space”. Just as opportunity was transformed into entrepreneurship, the entrepreneurship of the Robinsons in Portalegre ended up making a contribution to the community; that is, the integration of the family within the economic, social and cultural aspects of this Alentejan community. Or the Alentejan-Extremadura, if you prefer, due to its economic and social connections with some of the populations of the Spanish Extremadura, such as San Vicente de Alcántara. There are many facts that seem to attest this. In economic terms, in addition to the factories in Portalegre and San Vicente de Alcántara (already mentioned), the Robinsons carried out considerable trade in the Alentejo and Extremadura countryside. For example, the works of Antonio García García on the cork forest and its commercialisation in the province of Badajoz, found that in the last quarter of the nineteenth century they frequently purchased cork in the pasturelands of San Vicente de Alcántara and Valencia de Alcántara.

In the same way, the magnificent documental archive of the Robinson Factory, currently being organised for consultation (a commendable work of the Robinson foundation),

para su consulta (encomiable este trabajo de la Fundación Robinson), constatará con seguridad la amplísima actividad comercial de esta empresa familiar en los montados del Alentejo portugués. Aunque, por supuesto, los Robinson mantuvieron otro tipo de actividades comerciales e industriales al margen del corcho.

Pero, sin duda, la influencia de los Robinson en Portalegre fue más allá de lo económico. Es conocida la filantropía que impregnaba las actuaciones y comportamientos de George Wheelhouse Robinson en Portalegre. También que la participación de esta familia en la vida social de Portalegre fue amplia, si bien esta faceta de los Robinson debe ser mejor estudiada y precisada. Parece sensato pensar que la llegada de la familia a la localidad supuso un impulso para la sociedad portalegrense, en tanto que una parte importante del pueblo pasó a trabajar en la fábrica, o estaba directamente vinculada a ella.

Incluso, en San Vicente de Alcántara, el impacto de los Robinson debió de ser notable. A modo de ejemplo, el declive de la fábrica que allí tuvieron los Robinson propició la llegada de trabajadores sanvicenteños a la fábrica de Portalegre, dándose desde la empresa una salida económica y laboral a muchas familias extremeñas, y un sustrato migratorio importante a la población portalegrense de la época. Este trasiego demográfico entre San Vicente de Alcántara y Portalegre es otra de las cuestiones que tiene un gran interés para ser estudiada.

Es también poco conocida, y de enorme interés, la influencia que ejercieron en la vida religiosa de la localidad, aunque hay evidencias de que sus aportaciones a la misma fueron notables.

La implicación social de los Robinson con el territorio alentejano, y extremeño, se ejemplifica también en otros hechos, como la iniciativa de George Wheelhouse Robinson para la creación de la Asociación de Bomberos Voluntarios de Porta-

will surely show the wide-ranging commercial activity of this family business in the hills of the Portuguese Alentejo. The Robinsons did, however, carry out other types of commerce and industrial activity besides cork.

Undoubtedly, however, the influence of the Robinsons in Portalegre went beyond that of their economic influence. The philanthropy which permeated the activities and behaviour of George Wheelhouse Robinson in Portalegre is well known. Also well-known is the involvement of the family in the social life of Portalegre, although this facet of the Robinsons needs to be better studied and made more precise. It seems wise to consider that the arrival of the family in the town provided a boost for Portalegre society, since an important part of the village went to work in the factory, or was directly linked to it. In the same way, in San Vicente de Alcántara the impact of Robinson must have been remarkable. For example, the decline of the factory the Robinsons had there had led to the arrival of San Vincentian workers to the Portalegre factory, with the company providing many families from the Extremadura with an economic and employment solution, which formed a significant migratory element within the Portalegre population of the period. This population transfer between San Vicente de Alcántara and Portalegre is another issue that would be very interesting to study.

Also little known and of great interest is their influence on the religious life of the town, although there is evidence that their contributions to this were noteworthy.

The social involvement of the Robinson family with the Alentejo and Extremadura territory was also exemplified in other events, such as George Wheelhouse Robinson’s initiative in setting up the Portalegre Voluntary Firefighters Association and the private Fire-fighter Brigade

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legre y del Cuerpo de Bomberos privado de la Fábrica Robinson. Él mismo fue el impulsor del Monte Pío de los operarios de la fábrica y de la creación de una guardería para los hijos de estos, así como de la primera asociación obrera de carácter sindical en el negocio corchero portugués (el llamado «Sindicato dos Operários Corticeiros do Distrito de Portalegre»). Se sabe también de su participación en la creación de la primera Banda Municipal de Música, y de su permanente disponibilidad para ayudar a las fábricas o negocios portalegrenses con dificultades, con el objeto de que se preservasen los puestos de trabajo en la localidad. Por todo lo anterior, su fallecimiento inesperado en enero de 1932 se sintió profundamente en la localidad, donde era reconocida su humildad y su honestidad.

Finalmente, me parece significativo de su compromiso vital con Alentejo y Extremadura la compra de la conocida Dehesa de Casilla, una de las fincas más grandes y bonitas de la Sierra de San Pedro, en el término municipal de Valencia de Alcántara. La finca fue adquirida para el recreo, no con fines productivos, lo que implica que los Robinson, además de vivir en la región Alentejo-Extremadura, hacían vida en ella. Se trataba de una finca de más de 2.600 fanegas de tierra que George Wheelhouse Robinson compró entre 1869 y 1872, a través de su apoderado en Extremadura Pedro Moreno, por la cantidad desorbitada de 250.000 pesetas.

El declive de la Fábrica Robinson en las décadas de 1920 y 1930, justo cuando la industria corchera portuguesa va a desbancar a la española del liderazgo mundial, sigue presentando hoy más sombras que luces. Probablemente, el establecimiento prioritario de la «nueva industria corchera portuguesa» en la margen sur del Tajo, en su desembocadura, y el cambio de paradigma del negocio corchero acontecido a principios del siglo XX (del corcho natural hacia el aglomerado de corcho) pudieron condicionar el acierto o fracaso de las deci25

in the Robinson Factory. He himself was the motivator for the Monte Pio association for the factory workers and the creation of a nursery for their children, as well as the first workers to form a trade union association in the Portuguese cork business (called the “Union of the Cork Workers of the District of Portalegre”). He is also known for his participation in the creation of the first Municipal Musical Band and his ongoing availability to help Portalegre factories or business experiencing difficulties, in order to keep jobs in the locality. Given all the above, his unexpected passing away in 1932 was deeply felt in the community, where his humility and in his honesty were well-known.

Finally, I consider that a significant element in his lifelong commitment to the Alentejo and Extremadura was his purchase of the well-known Dehesa de Casilla, one of the biggest and most beautiful farms in the Sierra de San Pedro, in the town of Valencia de Alcántara. The property was acquired for recreational and not for productive purposes, which means that the Robinsons not only lived in the AlentejoExtremadura region, but also gave life to it. This was an estate of over 2,600 fanegas of land that George Wheelhouse Robinson bought between 1869 and 1872, through his attorney in Extremadura Pedro Moreno, for the exorbitant sum of 250,000 pesetas.

The decline of the Robinson Factory in the 1920s and 1930s, just when the Portuguese cork industry was about to take the place of the Spanish industry as the world leader in the sector, still today has more shadows than light. Probably the default setting of the “new Portuguese cork industry” on the south bank and at the mouth of the Tagus, and the paradigm shift which occurred in the cork business in the early twentieth century (from natural cork to agglomerated cork) managed to determine the success or failure of the stra-

siones estratégicas adoptadas. La temprana apuesta de Robinson por el aglomerado de corcho (la Fábrica Robinson fue la primera de las firmas portuguesas en lanzarse a la fabricación de corcho aglomerado, en una etapa muy temprana, próxima a 1912) y la implacable concurrencia que va a sufrir la «Fábrica» por parte de la mítica empresa Mundet & Sons (establecida en Seixal a comienzos del siglo XX), y de otros grandes grupos industriales internacionales, se antojan aspectos claves a estudiar para arrojar luz sobre el inicio del fin de este majestuoso ejemplo de historia empresarial.

Preguntas Para completar esta historia empresarial es necesario plantear y resolver numerosas cuestiones. Algunas de ellas son las que se relacionan a continuación: • ¿Qué circunstancias provocaron el abandono (traspaso) de la fábrica corchera que los Robinson tenían en Halifax (Yorkshire, Inglaterra) desde comienzos del siglo XIX y su emigración a Portugal para iniciar la fabricación en este país?

• ¿Por qué eligieron Portugal, y no España? ¿Y por qué Portalegre, y no otros distritos con una mayor tradición industrial corchera como el de Évora, en el Alentejo, o el de Faro, en el Algarve? En definitiva, ¿qué factores condicionaron el establecimiento de esta empresa familiar en Portalegre?

• ¿Cuál era la estructura de negocio de los Robinson a su llegada a Portugal y cómo fue evolucionando a lo largo del siglo XIX? ¿Y qué peso tenía el corcho en ella, tanto en términos de industria como de comercio?

• ¿Cómo evolucionó la Fábrica Robinson de Portalegre desde el punto de vista técnico? ¿Qué maquinaria y qué mejoras técnicas y organizativas se fueron introduciendo desde su

tegic decisions they took. Robinson’s early focus on agglomerated cork (the Robinson Factory was the first of the Portuguese firms to embark on the manufacture of agglomerated cork, at a very early stage, in 1912) and the relentless competition the “Factory” would endure from the legendary company Mundet & Sons (established in Seixal in the early twentieth century), and other major international industrial groups, seem to be key aspects to study to shed light on the beginning of the end of this majestic example of the history of companies.

Questions To complete the history of this business it is necessary to raise and resolve many questions. Some of them are related to the following:

• What were the circumstances that led to the abandonment (transfer) of the cork factory that the Robinsons had had in Halifax (Yorkshire, England) from the early nineteenth century and their emigration to Portugal to start manufacturing in this country?

• Why did they choose Portugal, and not Spain? Why Portalegre, and not other districts with a greater industrial cork tradition such as that of Évora, in the Alentejo, or that of Faro, in the Algarve? What were the specific factors that led to the setting up of this family business in Portalegre?

• Upon arriving in Portugal, what was the business structure of the Robinsons and how did this evolve in the 19th century? And what weighting did cork have in it, both in industrial and commercial terms?

• From a technical point of view, how did the Robinson Factory evolve? What equipment and what technical and

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puesta en funcionamiento hasta su declive en las décadas de 1920 y 1930?

• ¿Cuál era la estructura comercial y productiva de la Fábrica Robinson en lo que respecta al negocio corchero? Es decir, ¿qué peso tenían el corcho en plancha y el tapón de corcho (y más tarde el corcho aglomerado) en ésta?

• ¿Dónde compraba la materia prima la Fábrica y a qué mercados exteriores atendía? También es interesante saber cómo evolucionaron estos mercados y, en el caso del abastecimiento del corcho, cómo fueron cambiando las áreas de procedencia de éste.

• ¿Cuántos trabajadores mantuvo la Fábrica Robinson desde su fundación hasta el primer tercio del siglo XX y cómo fue evolucionando la masa salarial pagada por la empresa durante el mismo período?

• ¿Cuál fue la composición de la plantilla de trabajadores de la Fábrica, distinguiendo por sexo, edad, procedencia (Portalegrenses frente a otras procedencias; o portugueses frente a foráneos; número de sanvicenteños o de otras poblaciones extremeñas; etc.), cualificación, oficios, etc.? ¿Y cómo fue evolucionando dicha composición?

• ¿Qué trayectoria económica y de resultados empresariales siguió la Fábrica Robinson desde su creación hasta mediados del siglo XX (momento en que la familia salió del capital social de la fábrica que llevaba su nombre)? ¿Y qué motivos pueden explicar los períodos de auge y los de declive?

• ¿Cómo evolucionó la estructura de costes de la empresa (o de la Fábrica Robinson, si se prefiere) desde su origen hasta mediados del siglo XX? Es concreto, ¿cuál era la importancia relativa en dicha estructura del coste de adquisición de la materia prima y de los salarios, o el de otras cargas como el transporte y la energía?

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organizational improvements were introduced from the start of its operation until its decline in the 1920s and 1930s?

• What trade and production structure did the Robinson Factory have in relation to its cork business? That is, what was the relative importance of cork boards and cork stoppers (and later agglomerated cork) in this?

• Where did they buy the raw material for the factory and which external markets were catered for? It is also interesting to know how these markets evolved and, in the case of the supply of cork, how the areas of the latter’s origin underwent change.

• How many employees did the Robinson Factory have from its foundation until the first third of the 20th century and how did the salary roll paid by the factory evolve during the same period?

• What was the composition of the factory’s workforce, in terms of age, sex, origin (from Portalegre or other locations; Portuguese versus foreigner; number of those from San Vicente or other settlements in Extremadura; etc.), qualifications, skills, etc.? And how did this composition evolve?

• What was the economic performance and business results of the Robinson Factory from its inception until the mid20th century (when the family took out its capital from the factory which it had held in its own name)? What were the reasons to explain the periods of peaks and troughs?

• How did the cost structure of the company (or the Robinson Factory, if you prefer) evolve from its origin until the middle of the 20th century? More specifically, what was the relative importance in that structure of the purchasing cost of raw materials and salaries, and that of other charges such as transportation and energy?

• Dada la atípica localización industrial de la Fábrica Robinson, en el interior del país, es decir lejos de los puertos de embarque de las manufacturas, ¿cuál fue la «economía de transportes» utilizada por la empresa en la segunda mitad del siglo XIX y en el primer tercio del siglo XX, y cómo afectó ésta a la cuenta de resultados a lo largo de dicho período?

• ¿Qué relaciones existieron entre la Fábrica Robinson y otros grupos empresariales de gran relevancia en el negocio corchero portugués de la época como la familia Reynolds, Bucknall o, más tarde, como la empresa Mundet & Sons?

• ¿Cuáles fueron las relaciones de la familia Robinson con la comunidad de Portalegre? ¿Qué aspectos concretos de la vida social de la localidad se vieron mejorados con las contribuciones realizadas por George Wheelhouse Robinson?

• ¿En qué acciones específicas se concretó el paternalismo empresarial llevado a cabo por George Wheelhouse Robinson en la «Fábrica» para con sus trabajadores, y cómo fue evolucionando dicho paternalismo a lo largo del tiempo?

• Partiendo de la importancia que dio George Wheelhouse Robinson al bienestar de sus trabajadores, ¿qué medidas se implantaron en la «Fábrica» a comienzos del siglo XX para mejorar su eficiencia técnica y económica? ¿Se pueden circunscribir éstas a los denominados «métodos de organización científica de la producción» que inundaron el ámbito de la gran empresa industrial europea (y americana) en el primer tercio del siglo XX? • De acuerdo a las actividades empresariales, comerciales e industriales, llevadas a cabo por los Robinson en Portugal y España, ¿cómo evolucionó el «espacio Robinson» (entendiendo por este el área de influencia económica y social de la familia) a lo largo del tiempo? ¿Fue el papel ejercido por

• Given the atypical industrial location of the Robinson Factory, in the rural interior of the country, i.e., far away from the shipping ports for the manufacturers, what was the transportation economy used by the company in the second half of the 19th century and the first third of the 20th century, and how did this affect its financial results over this period?

• What relationships existed between the Robinson Factory and other business groups of great importance in the Portuguese cork industry at the time, such as the Reynolds family, the Bucknall family or, later, the Mundet & Sons company?

• What were the relations between the Robinson family and the Portalegre community? Which specific aspects of the social life of the area were improved due to the contributions carried out by George Wheelhouse Robinson?

• Which specific actions of business paternalism were carried out by George Wheelhouse Robinson in the “Factory” for his workers, and how did that paternalism evolve over time?

• Starting from the importance given by George Wheelhouse Robinson to the welfare of their workers, what measures were implemented in the “Factory” in the early twentieth century to improve its technical and economic efficiency? Is it possible to circumscribe these to the so-called “scientific management methods of production” that flooded major European (and American) industrial companies in the first third of the 20th century?

• In accordance with the business, commercial and industrial activities carried out by the Robinsons in Portugal and Spain, how did the “Robinson space” (this being

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la familia y la imagen resultante de este el mismo en todas las poblaciones que componen dicho espacio?

• ¿Qué importancia tuvo el recambio generacional de la familia dentro del éxito y del fracaso de la Fábrica Robinson a lo largo del tiempo?

• A pesar de que la «Fábrica» estuvo viva hasta comienzos del siglo XXI, buena parte del sustrato original de la misma desapareció a mediados del siglo XX, cuando la familia Robinson abandonó el capital de la sociedad propietaria de la misma. Desde este punto de vista, ¿qué posibilidades existen de recuperar una parte de la historia «originaria» de la «Fábrica» a través de la historia oral?

• Además de las fuentes orales que pudieran existir (trabajadores de la fábrica que aún sobreviven, o personas que estuvieron relacionadas con ella desde cualquier ámbito), ¿qué otras fuentes cuantitativas y de archivo existen para la investigación, es decir, para el estudio y construcción de la historia empresarial de los Robinson? ¿Y en qué medida están (o estarán) disponibles para el investigador?

• Una vez resueltas las cuestiones anteriores, cabría realizarse una última pregunta: ¿Cuál fue la contribución de la familia Robinson al desarrollo económico e industrial de Portugal, o más concretamente del Alentejo y de Portalegre?

Esta última cuestión resume, al fin y al cabo, todas las anteriores, e ilustra uno de los mayores intereses que tiene para mí el estudio de la historia de esta empresa familiar: su capacidad de aprovechar las oportunidades de negocio mediante un emprendimiento pionero y atrevido apoyado no solo en el tejido productivo, sino también en las relaciones sociales; esto es, en la comunidad.

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understood as the area of ​​social and economic influence of the family) evolve over time? What was the role played by the family and the image resulting from this in all the locations that made up this space?

• How important were family generational changes for the success and failure of the Robinson Factory over time?

• Although the “Factory” stayed alive until the early part of the 21st century, much of its original core had disappeared in the mid-20th century, when the Robinson family ceased to hold the capital of the company it had owned. Given this, what are the likely possibilities of recovering a part of the “original” history of the factory through oral history?

• Apart from the oral sources that may exist (factory workers that are still alive or people who were associated with it in any way), what other quantitative and archival sources exist for research, i.e., to study and construct the business history of the Robinsons? And to what extent are these (or will these be) available to the researcher?

• Once the answers to the previous questions have been made, there remains a final question: What was the contribution of the Robinson family to economic and industrial development in Portugal and, more specifically, that of the Alentejo and of Portalegre?

When all is said and done, this latter question sums up all of the above, and illustrates one of the greatest interests to me in the study of the history of this family business, namely its ability to seize business opportunities through pioneering entrepreneurship and daring support not only of the production sector, but also its social relations, that is, in the community.

Para a compreensão do tempo e do espaço da fábrica corticeira Robinson em Portalegre Towards an understanding of the time and space of the Robinson cork factory in Portalegre

Graça Filipe INVESTIGADORA E MUSEÓLOGA NSTITUTO DE HISTÓRIA CONTEMPORÂNEA UNIVERSIDADE NOVA DE LISBOA – FACULDADE DE CIÊNCIAS SOCIAIS E HUMANAS RESEARCHER AND MUSEOLOGIST THE INSTITUTE FOR CONTEMPORARY HISTORY NEW UNIVERSITY OF LISBON – FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

Publicações da Fundação Robinson 20, 2014, p. 30-35, ISSN 1646-7116

Portalegre, com a Fábrica Robinson, associa-se a um dos projectos mais importantes de valorização de património ligado à cortiça e corresponde a um dos sítios mais interessantes, em consequência da desindustrialização dos centros corticeiros ibéricos, porventura a nível mundial, em função do espaço e do tempo marcados pelo trabalho, a indústria e a tecnologia corticeiras.

Vista como objecto de investigação multidisciplinar, a Fábrica Robinson, no contexto de um conjunto de património cultural legalmente protegido e sob a perspectiva de musealização, estimula o conhecimento e necessidade de compreensão do espaço e do tempo industriais. As perguntas que formulamos em seguida podem constituir um contributo para aquela investigação e a busca de compreensão da fábrica.

Portalegre, with its Robinson Factory, is linked to one of the most important projects for the recovery of patrimony linked to cork and is one of the most interesting places, perhaps worldwide, as a consequence of the deindustrialization of the Iberian cork centres, in accordance with the space and time marked by its cork work, industry and technology.

Seen as the subject of multidisciplinary research, the Robinson Factory, in a context of a set of legally protected cultural heritage and from the perspective of musealisation, stimulates knowledge and the need to understand industrial space and time. The questions which have been formulated below may serve as a contribution towards this research and the search for understanding the factory.

Questions

Perguntas 1. Até que ponto a industrialização de Portalegre, no domínio da cortiça, é representativa de um padrão comum a vários centros corticeiros do sul ibérico (Pereda e Moruno, 2013), assente, para além dos recursos de matéria-prima da região, no capital financeiro inglês e no know-how catalão, principalmente rolheiro?

2. Quando o inglês George William Robinson, natural de Halifax, adquiriu uma unidade industrial corticeira em Portalegre a Robert Reynolds, em 1849, a quem confiou a responsabilidade técnica da produção?

3. Que factores específicos terão contribuído para a escolha de Portalegre pela família Robinson, conjugados com a precedente presença e investimento ingleses na exploração dos recursos corticeiros da região, e de que modo podem ainda ser testemunhados no presente, ligados à paisagem cultural?

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1.

To what extent was the industrialisation of Portalegre, in the area of cork, representative of a common pattern for the various cork centres of the Iberian south (Pereda & Moruno, 2013) based, besides the raw materials resources in the region, on English financial capital and Catalan know-how, especially cork stoppers?

2.

When the Englishman George Robinson Chadevick, a native of Halifax, acquired a cork plant in Portalegre from Robert Reynolds in 1849, who was entrusted with technical responsibility for production?

3.

Which specific factors would have contributed to the choice of Portalegre by the Robinson family, combined with the previous British presence and investment in the exploitation of the cork resources of the region, and how can they still be witnessed in the present, linked to the cultural landscape?

4. Quais os primórdios da ligação dos Robinson à indústria da cortiça, em Inglaterra, por que período de tempo perdurou essa actividade e que produtos comercializavam?

5. Qual a primeira instalação de George Robinson, neste ramo, em Portugal e a partir de que data é possível documentar a sua actividade industrial e comercial a partir de Portalegre?

6. Na década de 1850, a um pouco mais de duas centenas de operários na área produtiva da fábrica corticeira Robinson acresceria meia centena de trabalhadores na extracção da cortiça nos campos. Que relações mantinham esses trabalhadores rurais com a fábrica, entre os períodos de extracção ou de poda, nos montados e sobreirais? Como evoluiu ao longo do tempo a dotação de mão-de-obra da própria empresa, dedicada à obtenção da matéria-prima e que mobilidade foi havendo entre trabalho rural e algumas profissões corticeiras exercidas na fábrica?

7. Em complemento ao trabalho organizado na Fábrica Robinson, identifica-se, nalgum período, alguma mão-de-obra empregue na transformação da cortiça em tarefas a domicílio, nomeadamente inerentes à produção rolheira?

8. Como estariam organizados, em 1881, os 560 trabalhadores da fábrica corticeira Robinson e como evoluiu a organização do trabalho, em termos de distribuição de profissões por género, que esteve indissociavelmente ligada à mecanização da indústria?

9. Quando se iniciou a produção de aglomerados na Fábrica Robinson de Portalegre e quais foram os primeiros meios técnicos e mecânicos instalados para esse sector transformador?

4.

What are the origins of the Robinson connection to the cork industry, in England, and how long did this activity last and which products were marketed?

5.

Where did George Robinson first set up in this area in Portugal and what is the date on which his industrial and commercial activity can be documented from Portalegre?

6.

In the 1850s, there were a little more than two hundred workers in the productive area of the Robinson cork factory and a further fifty workers extracting cork in the fields. What relations did these rural workers maintain with the factory, between the extraction or pruning periods, in the cork oak forests? How did the allocation of the company’s labour dedicated to obtaining the raw material evolve over time and was there any mobility between rural work and some of the cork professions carried out in the factory?

7.

In addition to the organized workforce in the Robinson Factory, can any workforce, at any period, be identified which was used in transforming the cork into household chores, particularly those related to the production of cork stoppers?

8.

In 1861 how were the 560 workers of the Robinson cork organised and how did the organisation of work evolve, in terms of the distribution of occupations by gender, and what was inextricably linked to the mechanisation of this industry?

9.

When did production of agglomerates start in the Robinson Factory in Portalegre and what were the first technical and mechanical resources installed for this manufacturing sector?

10. In social and cultural terms, in the second half of the nineteenth century, what were the repercussions on the

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10. Em termos sociais e culturais, como se repercutiu, na segunda metade do século XIX, na população de Portalegre, a ligação com o norte da Europa industrializado, por via do impulso do comércio externo e do desenvolvimento da indústria da cortiça?

11. Quais as principais fases de instalação, em termos espaciais e que repercussões advieram da adaptação da unidade fabril corticeira em Portalegre, em termos de organização do espaço urbano e da sua articulação com o meio rural?

12. Que efeitos concretos, na qualidade de vida dos trabalhadores, teve a obra social dos Robinson em Portalegre e sob que aspectos a cidade beneficiou da permanência da fábrica?

13. De que forma se repercutia ou que aspectos da vida local de Portalegre foram afectados pela ligação dos Robinson e da fábrica, ao longo de vários períodos, à actividade corticeira para além da fronteira, quer em termos de aquisição de matéria-prima, quer em termos de provável estratégia comum em relação à distribuição de produtos das fábricas em território espanhol e até de gestão de mão-de-obra?

14. Terá sido em Portalegre e na Robinson, por volta de 1870, que foram instaladas as primeiras garlopas em Portugal, marcando o início da maquinofactura na indústria rolheira nacional? E quais seriam a proveniência e o fabricante dessas máquinas?

15. Quais os principais clientes ou para que países era vendida a produção de rolhas da Robinson no final do século XIX, quando Portalegre seria o segundo maior centro produtor rolheiro, a seguir a Silves?

16. Como é que a fábrica se abastecia de água no século XIX e a partir de que data recorreu à rede pública municipal?

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population of Portalegre of its connection with industrialised northern Europe, through the impetus of external trade and the development of the cork industry?

11. What were the main stages involving in installation, and in spatial terms what were the repercussions which stemmed from adapting the cork factory in Portalegre, in terms of the organisation of urban space and its relationship with the countryside?

12. What specific effects on the quality of life of workers did the social work of the Robinsons have on Portalegre and in which aspects did the city benefit from it being the location for the factory?

13. How was this shown or which aspects of local Portalegre life had been affected by the linking of the Robinsons and the factory, throughout several periods, to the cork sector beyond the border, both in terms of acquisition of raw materials, and in terms of the probable common strategy regarding the distribution of products from the factories in Spain and including the management of labour?

14. Were the first large planers in Portugal those installed in the Robinson Factory in Portalegre in the 1870s, which marked the beginning of the industrial production in the national cork stopper industry? And who would have manufactured these machines and where?

15.

Who were the main customers or countries where the Robinson cork stoppers would have been sold in the late nineteenth century, when Portalegre was the second largest cork stopper production centre, after Silves?

16. How did the plant in the nineteenth century get its water supply and from what date did it utilise the municipal public network?

17. Que mudanças foram levadas a cabo na transição da fábrica para a administração de responsáveis portugueses, a partir de 1946, quer em termos de organização do trabalho produtivo, quer em termos comerciais?

18. Que especialização da parte da Robinson foi assinalada ou podia ser invocada em termos comerciais, para se distinguir de outras unidades fabris portuguesas igualmente importantes, no domínio dos aglomerados, antes de ter constituído a ISOLA (Sociedade Comercial de Isolamentos de Cortiça Lda), em 1953, juntamente com outras quatro importantes sociedades corticeiras?

19. Que acidentes devem ser lembrados na história da fábrica, em função, por um lado, do número de trabalhadores que deles foram vítimas, ou, por outro lado, das transformações introduzidas em sua consequência?

20. Quando a fábrica encerrou, quantos trabalhadores lhe estavam ainda associados, a que sectores estavam atribuídos e qual era o horário de trabalho instituído?

21. Que impacte ambiental teria hoje a Fábrica Robinson para a cidade e seus habitantes, se permanecesse em funcionamento nos moldes tecnológicos em que se encontrava à data da sua desactivação?

22. Conhecendo o sítio industrial da antiga fábrica corticeira Robinson, e reconhecendo a importância do património imóvel arquitectónico como marca da (e algum desse património anterior à) industrialização do sítio, que critérios podemos definir que possam servir de base à selecção de objectos a preservar in situ, pelo seu valor patrimonial e potencial museológico?

23. Assegurando condições de preservação do património cultural ligado à fábrica, que tempo histórico se quer fixar e transmitir, sob tratamento museográfico, a partir de investigação e de conhecimento multidisciplinar?

17. Which changes were carried out in the transition of the factory to being run by Portuguese administrators, after 1946, both in terms of the organisation of production, and in its commercial aspects?

18. Which unique selling proposition did Robinson have or invoke commercially, to distinguish it from other equally important Portuguese factories, in the area of agglomerates, before founding the Cork Insulation Company, ISOLA (Sociedade Comercial de Isolamentos de Cortiça Lda) in 1953, along with four other major cork companies?

19. Which accidents should be remembered in the history of the factory, due, on the one hand, to the number of workers who were involved or, on the other hand, the transformations introduced as a result?

20. When the factory closed, how many workers were still associated with it, allocated to which sectors and what was the established work schedule?

21. What would be the environmental impact of the Robinson Factory on the city and its inhabitants nowadays, if it had remained in operation using the same technological methods used at the time of its winding up?

22. Knowing the industrial site of the former Robinson cork factory, and recognising the importance of architectural heritage property as a mark (and some of its pre-heritage) of the industrialisation of the site, which criteria can we define that could serve as a basis for the selection of objects to be preserved in situ, due to their museological and patrimonial potential?

23. In assuring the conditions for the preservation of the cultural heritage linked to the factory, which historical time should be established and transmitted, in terms of museographical processing, using multidisciplinary research and knowledge?

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24. Atendendo aos vários espaços da fábrica em processo de musealização e que o museu pode ainda integrar na sua programação museológica, qual deles se poderia escolher para instalar um centro de conservação, onde se pudesse incorporar o saber técnico de antigos e de actuais trabalhadores da indústria, para dar lugar a um processo dinâmico de conservação de património industrial?

25. Como se poderá interpretar e dar a ver aos visitantes deste sítio industrial a sucessão e a complementaridade de cadeias técnicas e operatórias, da preparação e da transformação da cortiça, correspondentes às diferentes exigências do mercado e aos principais produtos impulsionados pelo comércio externo – a cortiça como matéria-prima, os vedantes e os aglomerados, enquanto produtos para isolamento ou revestimento?

24. Given the various spaces of the factory in the pro-

Bibliografia

Bibliography

MENDES, Manuela – «Corticeira Robinson Bros: 160 anos de história da cortiça (1835-…)». In Conferência Internacional Cortiça, Património Industrial e Museologia, Seixal, 2000 – [Actas]. Seixal: Câmara Municipal/Ecomuseu Municipal do Seixal. CD-ROM, 2000.

PEREDA, Ignacio Garcia e MORUNO, Francisco Manuel Parejo – «Indústria Corticeira e Património em Azaruja e San Vicente de Alcàntara desde 1845. Algumas notas». De pé sobre a terra. Estudos sobre a indústria, o trabalho e o movimento operário em Portugal. [Ebook]. Lisboa/Porto: Instituto de História Contemporânea UNL, Instituto de Sociologia UP e Universidade Popular do Porto, pp. 925-940.

SALA I LOPÉZ, Pere – Manufacturas de Corcho SA – Líder de l’exportación industrial espanyola (1900-1930). [Palafrugell (Girona)]: Museo del Suro, 2003.

SALA, Pere e NADAL, Jordi – La contribució catalana al desenvolupament de la indústria surera portuguesa. Barcelona: Generalitat de Catalunya, 2010.

SILVA, Nuno – A Cortiça nos Debates Parlamentares da Nação Portuguesa (1839-1899). Lisboa: Euronatura, 2013.

VENTURA, António – «Para uma cronologia da Fábrica Robinson. 1848-1966».

Publicações da Fundação Robinson n.º 0. Para a história da Fundação. Portalegre: Fundação Robinson, 2007, pp. 8-23.

MENDES, Manuela – “Corticeira Robinson Bros: 160 years of history of Cork

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cesses of musealisation and which the museum may still incorporate within its museum programming, which of these could be chosen to locate a conservation centre, to incorporate the technical know-how of former and current workers in the industry, to give rise to a dynamic process for the conservation of industrial heritage?

25. How can we interpret and make visible to visitors of this industrial site the sequence and linking of technical and operational chains, the preparation and processing of cork, corresponding to different market requirements and the main products driven by external trade - cork as a raw material, the seals and agglomerates, as products for insulation or coating?

(1835 - ...).” International Conference on Cork, Industrial Heritage and Museology, Setúbal, 2000 - [Minutes]. Seixal: City Hall/Ecomuseu Municipal do Seixal. CD-ROM, 2000.

PEREDA, Ignacio Garcia e MORUNO, Francisco Manuel Parejo – “Cork Industry and Patrimony in Azaruja and San Vicente de Alcàntara since 1845. Some notes”.

Standing on the ground. Studies on industry, labour and the labour movement in Portugal. [Ebook]. Lisbon/Porto: UNL Institute of Contemporary History, Institute of Sociology UP and the Popular University of Porto, pp. 925-940.

SALA I LOPÉZ, Pere – Manufacturas de Corcho SA – Líder de l’exportación industrial espanyola (1900-1930). [Palafrugell (Girona)]: Museo del Suro, 2003.

SALA, Pere e NADAL, Jordi – La contribució catalana al desenvolupament de la indústria surera portuguesa. Barcelona: Generalitat de Catalunya, 2010.

SILVA, Nuno - Cork in the Parliamentary Debates of the Portuguese Nation (18391899). Lisbon: Euronatura, 2013.

VENTURA, António - “Towards a chronology of the Robinson Factory. 1848-1966”.

Publications of Robinson Foundation No. 0. Towards the history of the Foundation. Portalegre: Robinson Foundation, 2007, p. 8-23.

La Fábrica Robinson: lugar de encuentro y reflexión.

Apuntes desde su percepción-preguntas desde su interior The Robinson Factory: a place for meeting and reflection.

External views-internal questions

María Dolores Palazón Botella UNIVERSIDADE DE MÚRCIA FACULDADE DE LETRAS – DEPARTAMENTO DE HISTÓRIA DE ARTE UNIVERSIDAD DE MURCIA FACULTAD DE LETRAS – HISTORY OF ART DEPARTMENT

Publicações da Fundação Robinson 20, 2014, p. 36-39, ISSN 1646-7116

La Fábrica Robinson ya no es lo que era. Para algunos es una sombra de su pasado que nada tiene que ver con aquel centro laboral orgullo del Alentejo. Sus chimeneas no expulsan humo. Ni los trabajadores acuden puntuales a su cita. Ya no se vislumbran las entradas de materia prima, ni las salidas de los productos elaborados. El lugar se mantiene pero no está activo, piensan aquellos que creen que ha perdido su razón de ser, y por eso la observan rememorando un pasado que les recuerda lo que una vez fue como si no tuviera futuro.

Otros al vislumbrar su magna silueta creen que la Fábrica Robinson representa un reto constante. Lo fue en sus inicios cuando una pequeña industria fue transformándose con el empeño de sus dirigentes y el esfuerzo de sus obreros, en una empresa de reconocido prestigio a nivel internacional que iría engrandeciéndose y dando respuesta a todas las necesidades que le iban surgiendo. Siguió siéndolo cuando sus trabajadores se resistieron a cerrar sus puertas y en solitario siguieron en su empeño de mantenerla, a la par que el ayuntamiento como respuesta a la pregunta de qué hacer con ella planteó darle una nueva oportunidad transformándola en el «Espacio Robinson». Un lugar donde la fábrica se transmutaría con nuevos espacios, reconvertiría otros, eliminaría algunos de los mismos y donde se apostaría por mantener el patrimonio industrial ligado a ella.

Y es que Portalegre ha decidido no olvidarse de la fábrica, todo lo contrario; le da protagonismo al hacerla participe de las nuevas iniciativas municipales que tendrán en ella su sede y parte de su razón de ser, atrayendo hasta este lugar nuevas ideas y propuestas que la hagan volver a ser un centro vanguardista acorde con la propia idiosincrasia del lugar.

De este modo, en estos momentos, la Robinson vuelve a recomponerse una vez más como tantas veces ha hecho para adaptarse a los nuevos tiempos que marcan su destino.

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The Robinson Factory is not what it was. For some it is a shadow of its past and has nothing to do with that working centre which was a source of pride for the Alentejo. Its chimneys no longer expel smoke. Nor do the workers punch in their timecard. We see neither the entry of raw materials, nor the exit of finished products. The place is maintained but it is not active, and those who believe that it has lost its raison d’être therefore see this factory as a memory of the past which was and which will no longer be again.

Others who view its great silhouette believe the Robinson Factory represents a constant challenge. As it was in the beginning when a modest trade was transformed, with the commitment of its leaders and the efforts of its workers, into a renowned company operating at a worldwide level that would become grandiose and respond to any needs that arose. It remained so when its workers were reluctant to close its doors and alone continued their efforts to keep it going, at the same time as the council, in response to the question of what to do with it, provided it with a new lease of life by transforming it into the “Robinson Space.” A place where the factory would change into new spaces, reclaiming and removing others, and where it was decided to keep the industrial heritage linked to it.

And indeed Portalegre chose not to forget the factory.

On the contrary, it highlighted it and made it part of the new municipal initiatives to be located there along with part of its raison d´être, thus attracting new ideas and proposals to this place which would thus take it back to being a cutting-edge centre in line with the very idiosyncrasy of the place.

In this way, nowadays, the Robinson Factory has reconfigured itself once again, as it has done so many times in adapting to new times that mark its destiny. What is more, contrary to what some say, its doors have not closed, but

Pues en contra de lo que algunos opinan sus puertas no están cerradas, sino que sigue abierta y en plena actividad adaptándose paulatinamente al proyecto diseñado, mientras que los visitantes se aproximan a ella para conocer el lugar logrando que sea un espacio activo que sigue vivo, una tarea que desempeña con gran utilidad la «Fundación Robinson». Pero mientras ese proceso se cumple, nosotros seguimos disfrutando del cambio recorriendo sus entresijos y formulando una serie de preguntas que aquí dejamos esbozadas.

rather they are still open and in full swing gradually adapting to the project designed for it, while visitors go around it and get to know the place and in doing so make it an active space that is still alive, a task that the “Robinson Foundation” is carrying out in an extremely useful manner. But while that process is being completed, we continue to enjoy the intricacies of all the changes which are occurring and ask a series of questions that are outlined here.

Questions

Preguntas General

Generales 1. ¿Qué supuso para la ciudad la llega de los Robinson?

2. ¿Cómo percibieron las gentes del lugar la llegada de los industriales Robinson?

3. ¿Qué tipo de relación se estableció entre los industriales y los habitantes del lugar?

4. ¿Qué novedades culturales, económicas, sociales, políticas, sindicales, educativas y religiosas derivaron de la Fábrica Robinson?

5. ¿Qué tipo de trabajadores/as demandaba el centro?

6. ¿Cuál fue la relación entre patrones y obreros/as a lo largo de la historia de la fábrica?

7. ¿Qué papel jugó la historia sindical de Portugal en el complejo?

1.

What did the arrival of the Robinsons mean for the city?

2.

How did the locals see the arrival of the Robinson

Edificaciones 8. ¿Dónde está la planimetría original del complejo?

9. ¿Quiénes encargaron las edificaciones que se fueron sucediendo en el lugar a lo largo del tiempo?

10. ¿Quiénes fueron los proyectistas de las edificaciones de la fábrica?

8.

Where is the original plan for the site?

9.

Who commissioned the buildings which were erected

industrialists?

3.

What kind of relationship was established between the industrialists and the locals?

4.

Which new cultural, economic, social, political, trade unionist, educational and religious aspects derived from the Robinson Factory?

5.

What type of workers did the centre require?

6.

What was the relationship between the workers and the bosses throughout the history of the factory?

7.

What role did Portugal’s trade union history play in the site?

Buildings

on the site during its existence?

10. Who were the designers of the factory buildings?

11. Where were these designers trained and what were their models?

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11. ¿Dónde se formaron esos proyectistas y cuáles eran sus modelos?

12. ¿Cómo fue la evolución constructiva de los espacios de la fábrica?

13. ¿Cuál era la cadena de producción de cada uno de los espacios fabriles?

14. ¿Por qué no se tuvo necesidad de trasladar el complejo fabril del casco urbano de Portalegre?

15. ¿Qué otros espacios arquitectónicos surgieron por la fábrica? ¿Cuál es su historia?

16. Dentro de la historia arquitectónica industrial de Portugal ¿qué supuso el complejo Robinson?

12. How did the constructive use of the factory space evolve?

13. What was the production chain for each of the factory units?

14. Why was there no need to move the factory complex from Portalegre’s urban centre?

15. Which other architectural spaces were created by the factory? What is their history?

16. What was the meaning of the Robinson complex within Portugal’s industrial architectural history?

Machinery 17. Where did the ideas arise to create its own

Maquinaria 17. ¿De dónde surgieron las ideas para crear su propia maquinaria?

18. ¿Dónde se encuentran los diseños originales de la maquinaria creada por la propia Robinson?

19. ¿Qué medios tenían para conocer la maquinaria que iba surgiendo en el sector?

20. ¿Dónde y cómo adquirían la maquinaria?

21. ¿Cómo funcionaban sus máquinas?

22. ¿Cuál es la cronología de sus máquinas?

23. ¿Qué hacer para conservar su maquinaria sin perder su idiosincrasia y lograr transmitir su importancia sin estar en uso?

24. ¿Cómo re-ubicar en su lugar original aquellas máquinas que se han perdido y son vitales para entender la complejidad productiva de la Fábrica Robinson?

25. ¿Cómo lograr trasmitir que es necesario mantener las máquinas? ¿Qué son importantes? ¿Qué no tienen sólo un valor derivado del peso de su material? ¿Qué son algo más? ¿Qué forman una parte vital del futuro «Espacio Robinson»?

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machinery?

18. Where are the original designs for the machinery created by Robinson itself?

19. What resources did they have to be aware of machinery that was being produced in the sector?

20. From where and how did they purchase machinery?

21. How did the machines operate?

22. What is the time plan of their machines?

23.

What did they do to conserve their machinery without losing its distinctive features and how did they manage to communicate its importance when not in use?

24. How will it be possible to find and relocate in their original place those machines which have been lost and which are vital to understanding the productive complexity of the Robinson Factory?

25. How will it be possible to pass on what is necessary to maintain the machines? Which are important? Which have a value which is more than the weight of their material? Which are something more? Which will form an essential part of the future “Robinson Space?”

El paisaje cultural del complejo Robinson The cultural landscape of the Robinson complex

María Griñán Montealegre UNIVERSIDADE DE MÚRCIA FACULDADE DE LETRAS – DEPARTAMENTO DE HISTÓRIA DE ARTE UNIVERSIDAD DE MURCIA FACULTAD DE LETRAS – HISTORY OF ART DEPARTMENT

Publicações da Fundação Robinson 20, 2014, p. 40-45, ISSN 1646-7116

La presencia de la Fábrica Robinson en el perfil de Portalegre, su ocupación desde el antiguo convento franciscano y la recuperación actual del mismo como espacio multivalente de la ciudad, responde al valor identitario que una gran parte de sus vecinos poseen y reconocen en la explotación fabril centenaria.. Así pude comprobarlo en las actividades académicas y culturales celebradas el pasado día Robinson.

Al conocer el conjunto de la Robinson llamaron mi atención dos elementos, complementarios entre sí, que pueden ser tenidos en cuenta en el análisis de su patrimonio.

En el patrimonio tangible, el conjunto del inmueble configura un potente paisaje cultural, en un relativo buen estado de conservación, con el valor especial de su «reciente» cierre y abandono de la actividad laboral. Aunque con el peso de sus importantes y numerosos restos, complejos de conocer-catalogar y, especialmente de conservar se puede llegar a convertir en un centro de referencia para Portugal y Europa en la preservación del patrimonio industrial. La autenticidad del complejo (según los principios de la Carta de Nara del ICOMOS, 1994), completada y mejorada gracias a las intervenciones realizadas estos años por el arquitecto Souto de Moura desde 2004. Todo ello lo hace precisar de un Plan Director, esto es de un proyecto de actuaciones que permita contemplarlo desde su valor patrimonial, a la vez que lo convierta en un valor activo de la economía local, regional y trasnacional.

En cuanto a los valores intangibles, en lo referente a la memoria del trabajo desde el siglo XIX, la evolución y modernización técnica y energética, las huellas de la actividad filantrópica de los Robinson en la ciudad durante más de un siglo, vienen a influir en las condiciones de trabajo, la tradición conviviendo con las nuevas cadenas de manufacturas, el trabajo femenino y los espacios que se les asignaban, incluso, actual41

The presence of the Robinson Factory in Portalegre’s profile, its occupation of the former Franciscan convent and the current recuperation of this as the multiuse space for the city, is a response to the identity value that a large number of its neighbours have been able to recognise in the use of the centuries-old factory.

This can be seen in the academic and cultural activities celebrated on the last Robinson day.

When getting to know the Robinson site, two mutually complementary elements caught my attention, which can be taken into account when finalising its patrimony: Its tangible heritage, that is, the whole property with its powerful cultural landscape in a relatively good state of preservation, along with the special value afforded it by its “recent” closure and the abandonment of its productive activity. Despite the weight of its important and numerous remains, which it will be difficult to know, catalogue and, in particular, to conserve, it is possible to convert it into a centre which can be a reference to Portugal and Europe for the preservation of industrial heritage. The authenticity of the complex (in accordance with the principles of the Nara Document on Authenticity, ICOMOS, 1994), has been supplemented and enhanced thanks to the intervention works carried out along these years by the architect Souto de Moura since 2004. All this will need a Master plan, that is, a plan of activities which will consider its patrimonial value and at the same time convert it into an active asset for the local, regional and transnational economy.

In terms of intangible assets, and in referring to the memory of work since the 19th century, its technical and energy evolution and modernisation, traces of

mente en la programación, presencia e implicación de una gran parte de la población de Portalegre en las actividades del Día Robinson.

Por ello, la mayoría de las preguntas que a continuación realizamos trataran de llevar implícita una propuesta de actuación.

the philanthropic activity of the Robinsons in the city for more than a century would influence working conditions, with tradition co-existing with new manufacturing stages, female labour and the spaces allocated to them, inclusively, as currently reflected in the programming, presence and involvement of a large part of the

20 preguntas a la Fábrica Robinson 1. ¿Es la Fábrica Robinson un prototipo de la producción del corcho portuguesa?

2. Como tal y teniendo en cuenta la cercanía de otros centos de enseñanazas superior y profesionales¿Podría utilizarse, en parte, como centro de formación superior en industrias y manufacturas?

3. El buen estado de la estructura espacial del conjunto del inmueble lo convierte en un ejemplo magnífico de las fases y evolución del proceso industrial desde las primeras décadas del siglo XIX hasta la última crisis sufrida en la década de 1990. Por ello, ¿podría ser el soporte visual de la memoria del trabajo?

4. ¿Se contemplan nuevos usos del patrimonio sin perder su autenticidad?

5. A la vez que, continuando con la creación de un polo fuerte de formación y enseñanza superior ¿Podría instalarse en una de sus zonas la Escuela de Bellas Artes, donde se impartiera un máster universitario sobre conservación, rehabilitación y tutela del Patrimonio Industrial?

6. La musealización de los bienes muebles que conserva la fábrica in situ ¿pueden ser la base de itinerarios educativos en torno al desarrollo y modernización de los procesos productivos del corcho en Portugal?

7. El espacio diáfano convierte a algunas de sus áreas en lugares de acústica especial. Los sonidos perdidos de la fábrica: la sucesión de los turnos del trabajo, las sirenas, los des-

population of Portalegre in the activities of the Robinson day.

Therefore, most of the questions which follow will implicitly contain a proposal for action.

20 questions for the Robinson Factory 1.

Is the Robinson Factory a prototype for the production of Portuguese cork?

2.

As such, and given the proximity of other higher educational and professional training centres, could it partially be used as a centre for vocational training for industry and manufacturing?

3. The good state of the space throughout the entire property makes it a magnificent example of the stages and evolution of the industrial processes in the first decades of the 19th century until the final crisis it underwent in the 1990s.

As such could it be a visual support for a memory of work?

4.

Are any new uses of the patrimony being considered without losing its authenticity?

5.

While continuing to set up a strong centre for higher educational training and learning, could a School of Fine Arts be set up in one of its areas, to offer a University Masters in the conservation, redevelopment and stewardship of Industrial Patrimony?

42

6.

Could the musealisation of the movable property which the factory conserves in situ form the basis for educational pathways for the development and modernisation of cork production processes in Portugal?

7.

The open space could have some of its areas converted into special acoustic places. The lost sounds of the factory: the succession of work shifts, the sirens, the breaks, the machines that start, run and stop have served as inspiration for artists and composers so, as such, could there be a centre for the Performing Arts?

8. What is the basis for the visual relationship between the factory and the former monastery?

9

As far as immaterial patrimony is concerned, is the memory of the Robinson foundation also maintained within the population?

10. Analysing the profile of part of this popula-

cansos, las máquinas que arrancan, funcionan, paran han servido de inspiración a artistas y compositores ¿Podría ser entonces un centro de estudios de Artes Escénicas?

8. ¿En qué estaría basada la relación visual de la fábrica con el antiguo monasterio?

9. En cuanto al patrimonio inmaterial ¿la memoria de la Fundación Robinson se mantiene también en la población?

10. Analizado el perfil de parte de esa población, posiblemente, jubilados pero en edad todavía activa ¿No serían un buen exponente en la trasmisión de esa cultura para visitantes y población joven?

11. ¿Dónde se realizan las prácticas de la escuela de hostelería? En los usos turísticos de ambos espacios, escuela de hostelería, zona superior de la fábrica aprovechando las visuales del entorno, ¿podría habilitarse un espacio 43

tion, which may be retired but which is still at an active age, would it perhaps be a good idea to transmit this culture to visitors and the younger population?

11. Where are the practical activities for the School of Catering to be carried out? In the tourist uses of both spaces, the school of catering, using the top of the factory and building on the visual environment, could have created a public space where at moderate prices the school of catering could offer its products, following various models which already exist in Portugal and, in particular, in Spain such as those in Seville and Madrid?

12. The FENIX RIEP projects, resulting from the POCTEP call for proposals, in collaboration with

público donde a precios moderados, la escuela de hostelería pudiera ofertar sus productos, según varios modelos que ya existen en Portugal y, especialmente en España como en la de Sevilla o Madrid?

12. Los proyectos FENIX RIEP de la convocatoria POCTEP, la colaboración de la Fundación con el ayuntamiento de Cáceres y otras instituciones españolas, demuestran la viabilidad de programas de colaboración. En este marco ¿Podría firmarse un convenio de colaboración universitaria donde alumnos de las Universidades de Murcia y Politécnica de Cartagena, en el marco del Campus Internacional Mare Nostrum, para el intercambio de alumnos dentro del ámbito del Máster de Investigación y Gestión de Patrimonio Cultural coordinado por el Departamento de Historia del Arte de la Universidad de Murcia?

13. ¿Cómo ha actuado espacialmente el complejo Robinson?

14. ¿Cómo un polo de atracción residencial de Portalegre?

15. ¿Cómo una barrera, invisible, en el espacio urbano? Es decir ¿Actúa, junto a la industria lechera y la franja vacía de alrededor, como separación psicológica entre sus habitantes, entre el centro urbano-histórico y los barrios periféricos?

16. ¿Las chimeneas de la fábrica, verdaderos símbolos de la Fundación y la ciudad de Portalegre, son el reclamo visual del conjunto?

17. Los espacios muertos, abiertos entre las diversas unidades de producción ¿Podrían habilitarse como un espacio de paseo, de jardín que actuase como elemento vertebrados de todo el conjunto?

18. ¿Podría convertirse, como recuerdo del espíritu de innovación de la familia Robinson, en un espacio de experimentación natural, con especies botánicas autóctonas y con especial protagonismo del alcornoque?

the Foundation with the Cáceres Municipal Council and other Spanish institutions, have shown the viability of cooperation programmes. In this context could an agreement for university cooperation be signed for students from the universities of Murcia and the Polytechnic of Cartagena, under the International Mare Nostrum Campus for the exchange of students within the scope of the Masters in Cultural Patrimony Research and Management coordinated by the History of Art Department of the University of Murcia?

13. How has the Robinson complex been spatially determined?

14. As a centre attracting settlement in Portalegre?

15. As an (invisible) barrier in the urban space? That is to say, does it act like the dairy industry and the empty space around it, as a psychological means of separation between its inhabitants, between the historic urban centre and the suburbs?

16. Are the chimneys of the Foundation the true symbols of the Foundation and the city of Portalegre, and indeed the visual attraction for the whole?

17. As for the lifeless, open spaces between the various production units, could these be made into a type of walkway, a garden to act as a backbone for the whole complex?

18. Could this become a remembrance of the spirit of innovation of the Robinson family, within an area involving experiments with nature, with native plant species and with a special emphasis on cork?

19. Taking this as a thematic route already underway with regard to the use and processing of cork, and

44

19. Tomando como eje la ruta temática ya en marcha en torno a la explotación y transformación del corcho y, continuando la política de alianzas y convenios transfronterizos, más allá de la Comunidad extremeña, ¿podría buscarse el sello de patrimonio Europeo? (Declaración de los Ministros de Cultura de la Unión Europea sobre la iniciativa del Sello de Patrimonio Europeo, 2011) 20. ¿Esto supondría impulsar la dimensión transacional europea a través de las relaciones con Reino Unido (Halifax), España, Francia, Alemania?

continuing the policy of protocols and cross-border agreements, beyond the Extremaduran community, would it be possible to obtain the European Heritage Label? (Declaration of the Ministers of Culture of the European Union on the initiative of the European Heritage Label, 2011) 20. Would the European transnational aspect be boosted through the relations with the United Kingdom (Halifax), Spain, France and Germany?

I cannot conclude these reflections without thank-

No quisiera concluir estas reflexiones sin agradecer a la Fundación Robinson el privilegio que me brindó con su invitación para poder conocer y participar en una iniciativa patrimonial como es el Día Robinson que se ha convertido en un foro de referencia para el intercambio de proyectos e ideas en torno al patrimonio industrial internacional.

45

ing the Robinson Foundation for the privilege which it has given me through its invitation to get to know and participate in a patrimonial initiative such as the Robinson Day which has become a leading forum for the exchange of ideas and projects about international industrial heritage.

Nuevos usos para el patrimonio industrial. Espaço Robinson New uses for industrial heritage. Robinson Space

Pilar Biel Ibáñez PROFESSORA TITULAR UNIVERSIDADE DE SARAGOÇA, DEPARTAMENTO DE HISTÓRIA DE ARTE TENURED PROFESSOR UNIVERSIDAD DE ZARAGOZA, HISTORY OF ART DEPARTMENT

Publicações da Fundação Robinson 20, 2014, p. 46-53, ISSN 1646-7116

Introducción Conocer el proyecto de Espacio Robinson fue realmente sorprendente en aquella fecha, septiembre de 2011. El asombro residía no tanto en el hecho de rehabilitar una vieja fábrica como en el proyecto de gestión que previamente se había diseñado y planificado para alcanzar una serie de objetivos que la dirección tenía muy claros. No era habitual en esas fechas, este modelo integral de gestión de un bien de patrimonio industrial. Eran años en los que las actuaciones de reintegración de lo industrial a la dinámica de la sociedad actual relegaban lo patrimonial a un segundo plano en beneficio de los nuevos usos.

Espacio Robinson mima la conservación de los bienes (inmuebles y muebles) que ha heredado y busca reintegrar en la vida cotidiana de los habitantes de Portalegre su historia industrial para que forme parte de su memoria. Y todo ello, sin alardes desde la más absoluta discreción. Esta postura, sin duda se agradece en un mundo donde la grandilocuencia sigue protagonizando las páginas de las revistas de arquitectura.

Preguntas 1. El diseño y planificación del proyecto ¿es el resultado de un trabajo en equipo multidisciplinar? ¿Qué áreas están implicadas?

2. En la puesta en práctica de lo planificado ¿cómo se ha repartido el trabajo entre las diferentes profesiones?

3. ¿Cuáles son los referentes que se han estudiado con anterioridad?

4. En caso de existir estos referentes, ¿Qué aporta de novedoso en proyecto Robinson?

5. ¿Cuál es la implicación política? Y ¿Cómo se establecen las relaciones entre la administración y el proyecto?

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Introduction Getting to know the Robinson Space on that day in September 2011 was really amazing. The surprise lay not so much in the fact that it involved the rehabilitation of an old factory and a project management which had previously been planned and designed to achieve a series of goals with very clear direction. This integrated management model of an industrial heritage asset was unusual at that time. These were years where activities involving the reintegration of the industrial within the dynamics of present-day society relegated that heritage to the background to benefit these new uses.

The Robinson Space pampers the conservation of those assets (movable and immovable) which it inherited, and seeks to integrate the industrial history which forms part of its memory within the daily life of the inhabitants of Portalegre. And all this without fanfare, but rather absolute discretion. This position will undoubtedly be appreciated in a world where bombast stands out from the pages of architectural journals.

Questions 1.

Is the design and planning of the project the result of multidisciplinary team work? Which areas are involved?

2.

In putting the plans into practice, how was the work divided between the different professions?

3.

Which references were previously studied?

4.

In the event of there being references, what is in the Robinson project that is new?

5.

What political implication does it have? And how were relationships established between the administration and the project?

6. ¿Cómo se asegura la financiación? ¿De qué tipo es, pública, privada o un modelo mixto?

7. Desde el punto de vista de los criterios de intervención en las estructuras arquitectónicas ¿cada arquitecto que ha participado ha tenido los suyos?

8. Desde la dirección del proyecto general ¿Se han impuesto unas directrices a nivel de criterios de intervención?

9. ¿Cómo es el proceso de intervención en el patrimonio mueble?

10. A la hora de recuperar este patrimonio ¿Cuáles han sido las principales dificultades?

11. Los nuevos usos ¿Son el resultado del trabajo con las asociaciones de la ciudad?

12. ¿Cómo se integran los colectivos de artistas en este espacio industrial?

13. ¿Cómo percibe la ciudadanía de Portalegre Espacio Robinson?

14. El lema de Fábrica de Cultura ¿está relacionado este Espacio y su gestión con el modelo de las fábricas de creación que se están poniendo en marcha en otros países europeos.

15. Con la construcción y puesta en marcha de la Escuela de Hostelería, ¿se han alcanzado los objetivos que se buscaban?

6.

How was financing assured? What type: public, private or a mixed model?

7.

In terms of the intervention criteria for the architectural structures, did each architect involved have his or her own ideas?

8.

With regard to general project management, were guidelines laid down for intervention criteria?

9.

As regards the movable heritage, what did the intervention process involve?

10. During the conservation work on the patrimony, what were the main difficulties?

11. Are the new uses the results of working with associations from the city?

12. How can artistic collectives be integrated within this industrial space?

13. How is the Robinson Space seen by the citizens of Portalegre?

14. Is the motto of Culture Factory related to this Space and its Management, using the model of creation factories which are being launched in other European countries?

15. With the construction of the School of Catering underway, are the intended goals being realised?

Article

Artículo La sociedad de los productores característica de la revolución industrial y de los tiempos del fordismo ha quedado obsoleta con la llegada de la sociedad de consumo. De aquellos tiempos del trabajo permanecen algunos restos materiales como las fábricas en las que se producía, las máquinas que formaban parte del sistema de trabajo y los productos acabados objeto de consumo. En definitiva, aquello que denomina-

The producer society characteristic of the Industrial Revolution and the times of Fordism have become obsolete with the arrival of the consumer society. From those working times there remain some remnants such as the factories where production was carried out, the machines which form part of the working system and the finished products which were the object of consumption. In short, that which we call industrial heritage is the set of movable

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Complejo minero de Zollverein, Essen, (Alemania) 2010. Foto Carlos Colás.

Zollverein Mining Complex, Essen, (Germany) 2010. Photo Carlos Colás.

mos patrimonio industrial constituye el conjunto de bienes materiales e inmateriales que velan los valores de la historia del trabajo de la primera modernidad.

Pese a la destrucción arrasadora que caracteriza nuestros tiempos, algunas de estas fábricas, de estas máquinas o de estos objetos han pervivido a la constante necesidad de desarrollo tecnológico y su continua sustitución. Así, todavía hoy las ciudades industriales europeas conservan restos de su pasado industrial y los rescatan del olvido con acciones de recuperación encaminadas a su conservación y musealización. A las que se suman, otras centradas en la reconversión 49

and immovable assets which ensure the values of the history of work in early modernity.

Despite the overwhelming destruction that characterises our times, some of these factories, these machines or these objects have survived the constant need for technological development and continuous replacement. Thus, even today European industrial cities retain remains of their industrial past and rescue these from oblivion and act to ensure their conservation and musealisation. To which are added others, focused on the conversion of these large spaces in order

Matadero Municipal de Zaragoza (España) reconvertido para nuevos usos relacionados con las necesidades del Barrio, 2010. Foto Carlos Colás.

Zaragoza Municipal Slaughterhouse (Spain), reconverted to new uses according to the needs of the Barrio, 2010.

Photo Carlos Colás.

de estos grandes espacios para reintegrarlos en la lógica del consumo contemporáneo.

Hasta llegar a esta situación de reconocimiento de los restos industriales como parte del patrimonio cultural de un pueblo se ha recorrido un largo camino en el que las asociaciones locales han sido protagonistas. A su acción reivindicativa de conservación y salvaguarda de los restos industriales se han sumados las acciones de otros colectivos como las administraciones que han promovido la catalogación y protección de estos restos. El resultado de este conjunto de iniciativas es el reconocimiento internacional de ejem-

to reintegrate them within the logic of contemporary consumption.

To reach this situation in recognising that these industrial remains are a part of the cultural heritage of a people we have traversed a long path in which local associations have been the protagonists. Along with their claims for the conservation and protection of industrial remains, one can add the actions of other groups such as administrations which have promoted the documentation and protection of these remains. The result of this set of initiatives has been the international recognition of signif-

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plos significativos con su declaración como Patrimonio de la Humanidad (p.e. Siderurgia de Völklingen, Alemania en 1995).

La integración de las estructuras industriales en el entramado cultural de la sociedad actual se ha realizado de diversas maneras, desde su musealización, su reconversión en modernos espacios para el arte y la cultura más actuales hasta su transformación en los más diversos usos, como centros comerciales o loft, entre otros destinos.

La musealización del patrimonio industrial es cada día más importante ya que además de preservar la memoria, como ya se ha indicado, estos museos favorecen un tipo de turismo que se aleja del habitual fenómeno de consumo para favorecer el turismo cultural que busca satisfacer la curiosidad del visitante por otras formas de vida y otras maneras de producir. De entre los ejemplos de museos industriales no cabe duda que destaca el complejo minero de Zollverein (Essen, Alemania) que va más allá del modelo tradicional de museo para ofrecer una zona de cultura, ocio y servicios con una actuación de recuperación tanto de los restos materiales mineros como del paisaje que la actividad minera había generado a lo largo del tiempo. Esta oferta más globalizadora de productos culturales para el consumo que impulsa este nuevo modelo de turismo, también ha propiciado nuevas formas de gestión del patrimonio que, en el caso del industrial, se han traducido en el diseño de rutas o itinerarios culturales como es el caso de la Ruta Europea del Patrimonio Industrial (ERIH – European Route of Industrial Heritage), con una vocación transfronteriza y paneuropea al implicar a varios países diseminados por el conteniente europeo incluida Gran Bretaña.

No obstante, al revisar y valorar las intervenciones más llamativas en patrimonio industrial (p. e. para el caso de España puede ser CaixaForum Madrid, de Herzog y De Meuron) uno 51

icant examples which have been declared as World Heritage Sites (e.g. Völklingen Steel, Germany in 1995).

The integration of industrial structures in the cultural fabric of our society has been carried out in various ways, from their musealisation, their reconversion into modern spaces for art and culture to the current process of transforming them into different uses, such as shopping centres or galleries, among other destinations.

The musealisation of industrial heritage has become increasingly important because in addition to preserving its memory, as already indicated, these museums favour a type of tourism that departs from the usual consumer phenomenon to promote cultural tourism that seeks to satisfy the curiosity of the visitor regarding other ways of living and other means of production. Among the examples of industrial museums an undoubted highlight is the Zollverein mining complex (Essen, Germany) that goes beyond the traditional museum model to provide an area for culture, leisure and services with a performance that both recovers the material remains of the miners as well as the landscape created by mining over time. This more globalizing offer of cultural products for consumption, which has driven this new model of tourism, has also led to new forms of heritage management which, in the case of industrial heritage, have resulted in the designing of routes and cultural itineraries such as the ERIH - European Route of Industrial Heritage, with a cross-border and pan-European perspective involving several countries spread across the European continent, including Great Britain.

However, in reviewing and assessing the most striking examples of Industrial Heritage (which for Spain for example could be the CaixaForum in Madrid, by Herzog and De Meuron) one of the problems to be faced is recon-

de los problemas que hay que enfrentar es el de compatibilizar los valores patrimoniales que tienen estas instalaciones con las políticas de gestión cultural, extremos no siempre posibles.

Se puede señalar que la tónica que preside las intervenciones en edificios industriales está caracterizada por la despersonalización a la que se somete al edificio. En ellas se prescinde del valor de la historia y se incide fundamentalmente en su valor estilístico, ya que en muchas ocasiones lo único que interesa conservar es la fachada vaciando el contenedor arquitectónico tanto de su valor espacial como tecnológico.

No obstante, se encuentran diseminados por la geografía europea algunos ejemplos en los que la intervención en el patrimonio industrial y su gestión se realiza con total respeto a los valores históricos y tecnológicos del monumento y se buscan alternativas de uso compatibles con el mismo.

Este es el caso del proyecto Espaço Robinson que la Fundación Robinson está desarrollando en la fábrica Robinson dedicada a la producción de corcho desde mediados del siglo XIX. Bajo el lema de Fábrica de Cultura se trata de aunar en un proyecto unitario la conservación de la memoria industrial, la identificación con ella de la población de Portalegre y la integración de un conjunto de actividades que vayan más allá de la mera contemplación estética de piezas y espacios. Para ello, además del museo en el espacio del convento donde se muestra la colección Sequeira, se han recuperado espacios para sede de asociaciones culturales, la conservación del archivo y un auditorio. Además de generar espacios de relación entre los diferentes edificios y entre el conjunto industrial y la ciudad. Este proceso de conexión se cierra con la construcción de una escuela de hostelería y cocina como un nuevo equipamiento capaz de atraer al público más joven. En definitiva, Espaço Robinson es un interesante por su modelo de gestión integral de patrimonio industrial.

ciling the patrimonial assets which these facilities have with their cultural management policies, two extremes where this is not always possible. It may be noted that the tonic presiding over intervention work in industrial buildings is characterised by the depersonalisation to which the building is submitted. This ignores their historical value and deeply affects their stylistic value, since in many cases the only thing that is important to conserve is its facade, its architectural container, emptying it of both spatial and technological value.

However, there are scattered examples throughout Europe where the intervention carried out on industrial heritage and its management is undertaken with complete respect for the historical and technological value of the monument and where alternative uses are sought which are compatible with these. This is the case with the Robinson Space project which the Robinson Foundation is carrying out in the Reynolds factory dedicated to the production of cork from the mid-nineteenth century. Under the theme of Culture Factory the aim is to combine in a single project the conservation of industrial memory, the identification of the population of Portalegre with it and the integration of a set of activities that go beyond the mere aesthetic contemplation of parts and spaces. For this, in addition to the museum in the space in the convent where the Sequeira collection is displayed spaces have been recovered to host cultural associations, the conservation of its archive and an auditorium. In addition, this generates relationship spaces between the different buildings and the industrial complex and the city. This connection process completes its cycle with the construction of a School for Catering and Cooking with new equipment able to attract a younger audience.

Ultimately, the Robinson Space is an interesting integrated management model of industrial heritage.

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Bibliografía

Bibliography

100 ele­mentos del patrimonio industrial en España. Coord. M.ª Pilar Biel Ibáñez y Gerardo Cueto Alonso. Madrid: TICCIH e Instituto del Patrimonio Cultural de España, 2011.

CASTILLO RUIZ, José – «La dimensión territorial del patrimonio histó­rico». Patrimonio histórico y desarrollo territorial. Ed. José Castillo Ruiz, Eugenio Cejudo García y Antonio Ortega Ruiz. Huelva: Universidad Inter­nacional de Andalucía, 2009, pp. 26-50.

HERNÁNDEZ MARTÍNEZ, Ascensión – «El patrimonio industrial, un legado del siglo XIX: su recuperación para usos culturales». El siglo XX. A reflexión y debate.

Ed.Teresa Sauret. Málaga: Universidad de Málaga, 2013, pp. 238-289.

HERNÁNDEZ MARTÍNEZ, Ascensión – «La musealización de la arquitectura industrial. Algunos casos de estudio». AR&PA Actas del IV Congreso Inter­ nacional «Restaurar la memoria» Arqueología, Arte y Restauración. Valladolid: Junta de Castilla y León, 2006, pp. 533-556.

Jornadas de Patrimonio Industrial y la Obra Pública. Coord. M.ª Pilar Biel Ibáñez.

Zaragoza: Gobierno de Aragón, 2007.

La arquitectura de la industria, 1925-1965. Registro Docomomo Ibérico. Dir. Celestino García Braña, Susana Landrove, Ana Tostões. Barcelona: Fundación Docomomo Ibérico.

100 aspects of industrial heritage in Spain. Coord. M.ª Pilar Biel Ibáñez y Gerardo Cueto Alonso. Madrid: TICCIH and the Institute for the Cultural Pat­rimony of Spain, 2011.

CASTILLO RUIZ, José – «The territorial dimension of historical patrimony». His­ torical patrimony and territorial development. Ed. José Castillo Ruiz, Eugenio Cejudo García y Antonio Ortega Ruiz. Huelva: International University of Andalusia, 2009, pp. 26-50.

HERNÁNDEZ MARTÍNEZ, Ascensión – «Industrial patrimony, a legacy of the 19th cen­tury: its recuperation for cultural purposes». The 20th cen­tury. Reflection and debate. Ed.Teresa Sauret. Malaga: University of Malaga, 2013, pp.

238-289.

HERNÁNDEZ MARTÍNEZ, Ascensión – «The musealisation of industrial architec­ture. Some case studies». AR&PA Minutes of the 4th International Congress “Restor­ing Memory” Archaeology, Art and Restoration. Valladolid: Castilla y Leon Regional Government, 2006, pp. 533-556..

Meetings on Industrial Heritage and Public Works. Coord. M.ª Pilar Biel Ibáñez.

Zaragoza: Regional Government of Aragon, 2007.

The archi­tecture of industry, 1925-1965. Registro Docomomo Ibérico. Dir. Celestino García Braña, Susana Landrove, Ana Tostões. Barcelona: Fundación Docomomo Ibérico.

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Resumos e palavras-chave Abstracts and key-words Resúmenes y palabras clave

Publicações da Fundação Robinson 20, 2014, p. 54-55, ISSN 1646-7116

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PORTUGUÊS

ENGLISH

E S PA Ñ O L

Perguntas à fábrica I

Questions to the factory I

Preguntas a la fábrica I

Se interrogar é uma arte, o investigador é um artista… E é mais quando para além de se questionar sobre o que não sabe, aprimora a sua arte na investigação repetindo perguntas sobre o seu objecto de estudo. Tal significa que sobre o que estuda pode ter aprendido muito, mas não o suficiente para encerrar conclusões. As perguntas à fábrica I são o registo das várias possibilidades de estudo em torno da Fábrica Robinson formuladas a partir do Seminário Regeneração Urbana «Espaço Robinson: novos usos, novos habitantes» realizado a 17 de Setembro de 2011 (Dia Robinson) numa reunião pública de estudos, de pesquisas, teses, análises e ideias apresentadas por especialistas da área do património industrial, da história, da história da arte, da história económica e da museologia. Questionar é o exercício que aqui se propõe.

If questioning is an art, then researchers are artists ... And even more so when besides ques­ tioning about what is not known, this enhances their research art by repeating questions about their object of study. This means that although a lot has been learned from what has been stud­ ied, it is not enough to put the shutters up on our conclusions. The questions to the factory I is a record of the dif­ferent possibilities of studying the Robinson Factory as formulated in the Urban Regenera­tion Seminar “Robinson Space: new uses, new residents” which was held on 17 September 2011 (Robinson Day) in a public meeting con­sisted of studies, research, theses, analyses and ideas presented by experts in the areas of indus­trial heritage, history, history of art, economic history and museology. Questioning is the exercise pro­posed here.

Si plantearse cues­tiones es un arte, el investigador es un artista… Labor que se acrecienta cuando, más allá de esas pregun­tas sobre lo que no sabe, mejora sus artes investiga­doras repitiendo preguntas sobre su propio objeto de estudio. Eso implica que sobre lo que investiga puede haber aprendido mucho, pero nunca lo suficiente como para dar por cerradas las conclusiones. Las preguntas a la fábrica I son el registro de las varias posibilidades de estudio que existen en torno a la Fábrica Robinson. Fueron formuladas a partir del se-minario sobre Regeneración Urbana «Espacio Robin­son: nuevos usos, nuevos habitantes» realizado en el día Robinson, el 17 de Septiembre de 2011, en una reunión pública de estudios, de investigaciones, de tesis, de análisis y de ideas pre­sentadas por especialistas de las áreas del Patrimonio Industrial, de la Historia, de la Historia del Arte, de la Historia Económica y de la Museología. Plantear cuestiones es el ejercicio que aquí se propone.

palavras-chave Regeneração Urbana Património Industrial Novos Usos Museologia Fábrica Robinson

keywords Urban Regeneration Industrial Heritage New Uses Museology Robinson Factory

palavras clave Regeneración Urbana Patrimonio Industrial Nuevos Usos Museología Fábrica Robinson

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