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0 PUBLICAÇÕES DA FUNDAÇÃO ROBINSON 20ISSN1646-7116

União EuropeiaFEDER

Investimos no seu futuro

Perguntas à fábrica IQuestions to the factory I

PUBLICAÇÕES DA FUNDAÇÃO ROBINSON

Perguntas à fábrica IQuestions to the factory I

20

PUBLICAÇÕES DA FUNDAÇÃO ROBINSON N.º 20ROBINSON FOUNDATION PUBLICATIONS No. 20

Perguntas à fábrica I Questions to the factory IPortalegre, Dezembro de 2013 Portalegre, December 2013

Fundação RobinsonRobinson Foundation

CONSELHO DE CURADORESCOUNCIL OF CURATORS

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

CONSELHO DE ADMINISTRAÇÃOADMINISTRATIVE 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 CONSULTIVOEDITORIAL 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 PUBLICAÇÕESPUBLICATIONS 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 aAll correspondence to be addressed to

Fundação Robinson Robinson FoundationApartado 1377300-901 PortalegreTel. 245 307 463fund.rob@cm-portalegre.pt

www.fundacaorobinson.pt

DESIGNDESIGN

TVM designers

COORDENAÇÃOCOORDINATED BY

António Camões Gouveia

COORDENAÇÃO EDITORIAL EDITORIAL COORDINATION

Há Cultura Lda.

FOTOGRAFIASPHOTOS

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

TRADUÇÃOTRANSLATED 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 378 576/14issn 1646-7116

Na capa, fotografia de Cover photograph byPaulo 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 Viagem à ilha Robinson no Alentejo português Julián Sobrino Simal

14 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

18 «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 «Fábrica Robinson». Oportunidade, empreendimento e comunidade. «Clio» dá as respostas. Façamos as perguntas Francisco Parejo Moruno

30 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

36 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

40 El paisaje cultural del complejo Robinson The cultural landscape of the Robinson complex A paisagem cultural do complexo Robinson Maria Griñan Montealegre

46 Nuevos usos para el patrimonio industrial. Espaço Robinson New uses for industrial heritage. Robinson Space Novos usos para o património industrial. Espaço Robinson. Pilar Biel Ibánez

54 Síntese: resumos e palavras-chave Abstracts and key-words Resúmenes y palabras clave

4

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

Nota de aberturaOpening 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

5

It could be the case that we still know little about the Rob-

inson Factory in its temporal, human and technological lon-

gevity. 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 Pub-

lications of the Robinson Foundation.

Questions to the Factory I follows on from Number 19, pub-

lished 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!

Pode ser que ainda saibamos pouco sobre a Fábrica Robin-son na sua longevidade temporal, humana e tecnológica. Pode ser que o que sabemos não nos satisfaça ou o conside-remos superficial ou impreciso. Claro que pode. Mas é certo que sabemos o que queremos conhecer, sabemos o conte-údo do inquérito que queremos lançar para obter respos-tas, 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, satisfei-tos com a conclusão deste número das Publicações da Fun-dação 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 inves-tigação 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 indus-trial, durante o V Dia Robinson, em 2011.

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

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

7

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 luga-res 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, pode-mos 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, fun-dada 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 aden-tro, en un lugar clave para la revolución industrial del Alen-tejo portugués, introduciendo los avances dela civilización técnica de su tiempo gracias a la máquina de vapor, la ener-gía 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 diri-gir: la ciudad de Portalegre y, como en otras ocasiones, con-vertí esta invitación en una pequeña aventura como forma de hacerme más mágico ese compromiso al tiempo que convir-tiera 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

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 con-

tain, 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 space-

time paradox. This is the location of the Robinson Fac-

tory, 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 indus-

trial revolution of the Portuguese Alentejo, introducing

the advances of technical civilisation of his time thanks to

the steam engine, electricity, novel methods to manufac-

turing Cork, new modes of organising labour and an inno-

vative 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 invita-

tion into a small adventure as a way of making this com-

mitment 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 abso-

lute 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”,

8

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 naufra-gio que bien pudiera servir para ilustrar el carácter de nues-tro 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 Cru-soe 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 robin-sonadas no expresan en ningún modo, como se lo figuran los historiadores de la civilización, una simple reacción con-tra un excesivo refinamente y el entorno a una vida primi-tiva mal comprendida. Como tampoco El Contrato Social de Rousseau, que mediante una convención relaciona y comu-nica a sujetos independientes por naturaleza, reposa sobre semejante naturalismo. Ésa es la apariencia, y la apariencia estética solamente, de las pequeñas y grandes robinsona-das. 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 conglome-rado humano determinado, delimitado».

Por tanto, no solo me dirigía al encuentro de uno de los espacios más interesantes de la revolución industrial por-tuguesa, 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.

a work published in 1719 by Daniel Defoe which is recog-

nised as the first novel in the English language, which pro-

vides the portrait of Robinson Crusoe and his shipwreck

that could well serve to illustrate the character of our Rob-

inson - 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 becom-

ing a myth of early English capitalism, as Karl Marx him-

self expressed it in his Contribution to the critique of eco-

nomic 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 conven-

tion describes and communicates subjects independent

by nature, rest on similar naturalism. That is the appear-

ance, and the aesthetic appearance only, of the small and

large Robinsons. They rather anticipate bourgeois soci-

ety, which was under way in the 16th century and which in

the 18th century was marching with great steps towards its

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

Adventures of Robinson Crusoe.

9

Partiendo de Sevilla, me dirigí hacia el norte, por anti-gua 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 cami-nero, que bordeaba antiguas propiedades rurales, era sinuosa, protegida por quitamiedos de fábrica. Encauzada por un hermoso bosque de galería formada por alcorno-ques, castaños de Indias, pinos y encinas. Discurría pláci-damente 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 con-duciría a Portalegre y que, al rato, me mostró a esa ciudad en una ladera de la Sierra de S. Mamede, bien orientada y dis-puesta 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 habita-ción 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

maturity. In this society of free competition, the individ-

ual 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 rev-

olution, but a place where you could delve into the founda-

tional 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, bor-

dering 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 chest-

nuts, 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. Tra-

versing the different villages I found interesting folk archi-

tecture consisting of ground floor units, in a door and win-

dow 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 Man-

sion, near the Cathedral, Rua 19 de Junho, No. 59. From my

room I could see a spectacular view: The Castle and the New

10

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:

LO PROTOPATRIMONIALLO TRANSPATRIMONIAL

Lo protopatrimonial era el territorio, la energía, los usos, los conflictos, los cambios y las permanencias. Lo transpa-trimonial 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+BARRIOEXTRAMUROS+FÁBRICA+PORTUGAL+HALIFAX

En lá Fábrica Robinson encontramosPROTOTOPOLOGÍA

silvicultura+ofícios+ARTESANÍA+casa-taller Espacio CeroTIPOLOGÍA

convento+fábrica+espacio cluster+máquinas ESPACIO CODIFICADO

TRANSTIPOLOGÍAcrisis+reutilización+rehabilitación ESPACIO ROBINSON

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 albo-res del siglo XX: «Un monumento antiguo es, en muy con-tadas ocasiones, de un mismo estilo en todas sus partes. Ha vivido, y viviendo se ha transformado. Porque el cam-bio es la condición esencial de la vida. Cada edade lo ha ido

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 mod-

els: the preindustrial agrarian-artisan and the urban-mech-

anised industry.

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

Robinson Day starting from the central sequence of ideas,

that cork is:

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,

the conflicts, the exchanges and that which is permanent.

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

production.

That is, the Robinson Factory is a rehabitable place

that can be colonised by new ways of understanding time

and space.

ROBINSON SYSTEM: PASTURELAND+ROADS +

CITY+NEIGHBORHOOD

EXTRAMURAL+FACTORY+PORTUGAL+HALIFAX

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

11

marcando con su huella. Es un libro sobre el cual cada gene-ración ha escrito una página.» y al entrar en la recién res-taurada iglesia conventual de San Francisco, me doy de bru-ces 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 nues-tro viaje, el sábado 17 de septiembre se nos abren las puer-tas 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, rehabi-tada, transformada…

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 ROBINSONCualidades históricasTestimonia 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.

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 condi-

tion 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 jour-

ney, on Saturday, 17 September when the doors of the Rob-

inson Factory were opened and appearing in all its glory

was the magnificent Robinson space, with all the positive

and negative charge of industrialisation. And there arose

the major question how to inhabit a fossil without destroy-

ing 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.

12

Cualidades industrialesEs la memoria de la cultura del trabajo industrial en la ciudad de Portalegre desde en sus factores económico, sociales y tecnológicos.Cualidades arquitectónicasConstituye 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 urbanísticasForma 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 ocioTiene 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 territorialesCon los paisajes de la producción de la dehesa, de carácter evolutivo, en diferentes escalas.

THE PATRIMONIAL VALUE SYSTEM OF THE ROBINSON

FACTORY

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

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

Ilha Robinson em Portalegre, por Julián Sobrino Simal.Robinson Island in Portalegre,

by Julián Sobrino Simal.

13

Como decía Pilar Biel en el encuentro del V Día Robin-son: «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 incre-mente de los valores patrimoniales allí existentes».

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

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 arquitectónico-

proyectuales 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.

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 estanda-rizado, 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.

extraordinary contribution in terms of increasing the patri-

monial values present therein”.

An aspect worthy of taking into account as Maria da

Graça Filipe commented “because the authenticity of the his-

torical 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.

• 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-

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.

14

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

15

Located in the extensive Alentejan plain, characterised

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 exam-

ple of the mobility of industries and technicians and a tes-

timony to the transfer of technology from its evolution and

the innovations that were introduced within the produc-

tion 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 manu-

facturing facility marked the daily life of the people of Por-

talegre. 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 pro-

duces a series of questions and considerations.

1. 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 peo-

ple to participate actively in the preservation and

enhancement of the industrial heritage of the city?

Situada na extensa planície alentejana, caracteri-zada por uma paisagem de montado, a cidade de Portale-gre 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 esten-deu-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, pro-cura-se hoje recuperar o espaço e a memória de uma activi-dade que teve uma importância tão grande na cidade. Pro-cesso que leva a uma série de interrogações e reflexões.

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 pro-cesso 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?

16

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 mobil-

ity 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 evolu-

tion of technology linked to working with cork?

11. Will it be possible to reconstruct the working environ-

ment present in the Robinson Factory?

12. Could a visit to the factory by young people from vari-

ous 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?

6. Como se deve proceder para registar, preservar e trans-mitir essas memórias e saberes à população, nomeada-mente a que não esteve envolvida nesta actividade?

7. Como pode o passado industrial de Portalegre contri-buir para a compreensão das características da econo-mia da região?

8. A história da Fábrica Robinson é um contributo impor-tante 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 possí-vel 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 estabelecimen-tos 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?

17

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 Funda-

ção Robinson contribuir para o desenvolvimento sus-tentado da região?

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 Robin-

son Foundation contribute to the sustainable devel-

opment 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

19

La experiencia vital de los Robinson en Portalegre se puede explicar a partir de los términos «oportunidad», «emprendi-miento» y «comunidad». «Oportunidad», porque sus activi-dades empresariales estuvieron vinculadas a las oportunida-des que surgieron en el sector agrario portugués a lo largo del siglo XIX, una de las fuentes de aprovisionamiento de produc-tos primarios de Inglaterra. «Emprendimiento», porque fue-ron capaces de llevar a cabo una estrategia empresarial exitosa de larga duración que fue más allá de la mera comercializa-ción 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 ori-gen 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 econó-mico inglés David Ricardo en su obra magistral On the Princi-ples of Political Economy and Taxation (1817). Esta teoría jus-tificaba 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 sus-ceptibles de ser comercializados. Sobre esta base, Portugal e Inglaterra establecieron un comercio mutuo de larga tradición que, de acuerdo a algunos historiadores económicos portugue-

The life experience of the Robinsons in Portalegre can be

explained using the words “opportunity”, “entrepreneur-

ship” and “community”. “Opportunity”, because their busi-

ness activities were linked to the opportunities that arose

in the Portuguese agricultural sector throughout the nine-

teenth century, one of the sources of supply of raw materi-

als for England. “Entrepreneurship” because they were able

to carry out a successful long-term business strategy that

went beyond mere commercialisation of agricultural prod-

ucts, 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 com-

munity, 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 asso-

ciated 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 estab-

lished a long tradition of mutual trade which, according to

some Portuguese economic historians, constituted a handi-

20

ses, constituyó un lastre para la industrialización lusa. Para estos autores que defienden la llamada «tesis de dependen-cia», encabezados por la profesora M. H. Pereira, el atraso eco-nómico e industrial de Portugal estaría vinculado con su acti-tud dependiente (y sumisa, tal vez) ante Inglaterra, al adquirir la nación lusa de forma sistemática las manufacturas produci-das 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 debe-mos situar la llegada de muchos comerciantes ingleses a Por-tugal, cuya misión no era otra que establecerse en las regio-nes 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 peninsu-lar, 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 ini-cial, en que los alcornocales del suroeste ibérico no formaban parte, todavía, del mapa de la explotación forestal y comer-cial. 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 mon-tados algarvios y alentejanos, por un lado, y las dehesas anda-luzas 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 Pro-

fessor M. H. Pereira, the economic and industrial backward-

ness 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 materi-

als 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 pro-

ductions 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 bot-

tleneck, 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 Anda-

lusia 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 Wil-

liam Robinson, the patriarch.

21

La oportunidad de negocio había llevado también al bri-tánico 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 orien-tación empresarial hacia otros productos agrarios o a su deci-sión 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 Portale-gre 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 alcorno-cal 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 contempla-dos 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 comu-nicaciones existentes en Portugal en el ecuador decimonónico. Tampoco se producían en el entorno portalegrense economías externas o de aglomeración que garantizaran la competitivi-dad de las industrias allí instaladas, de acuerdo a la «nueva

This business opportunity also led the British citizen

Thomas Reynolds to undertake trading in cork in the Portu-

guese 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 Portu-

guese 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 dis-

trict, 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-nine-

teenth 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 communica-

tions in 19th-century Portugal. Portalegre also did not pos-

sess external or agglomeration economies which would guar-

antee the competitiveness of the industries which had been

established there, according to the “new economic geogra-

phy” developed by Paul Krugman and other writers. Neither

22

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 mod-

ern 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 prod-

ucts (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 Por-

tuguese 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 deci-

sive. 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

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 fun-cionaba con una estructura de gran empresa moderna en el sentido «chandleriano», esto es con una capitalización impro-pia 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 capitaliza-ción más acusada que los talleres existentes en el negocio cor-chero 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 prepara-ción 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 tra-bajadores 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 desencade-nante 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 fami-lia Bucknall una antigua fábrica dedicada a la manufactura corchera en San Vicente de Alcántara (Badajoz, España); la

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 entrepre-

neurship, the entrepreneurship of the Robinsons in Por-

talegre ended up making a contribution to the commu-

nity; that is, the integration of the family within the eco-

nomic, social and cultural aspects of this Alentejan commu-

nity. Or the Alentejan-Extremadura, if you prefer, due to its

economic and social connections with some of the popula-

tions 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 Rob-

insons carried out considerable trade in the Alentejo and

Extremadura countryside. For example, the works of Anto-

nio García García on the cork forest and its commercialisa-

tion in the province of Badajoz, found that in the last quar-

ter of the nineteenth century they frequently purchased cork

in the pasturelands of San Vicente de Alcántara and Valen-

cia de Alcántara.

In the same way, the magnificent documental archive of

the Robinson Factory, currently being organised for consul-

tation (a commendable work of the Robinson foundation),

denominada «Fábrica del Inglés». Con esta venta, los Buck-nall 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 (práctica-mente 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 Portale-gre 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 Alcán-tara y Valencia de Alcántara.

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

24

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 influ-

ence. 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 fam-

ily in the social life of Portalegre, although this facet of the

Robinsons needs to be better studied and made more pre-

cise. 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 remark-

able. For example, the decline of the factory the Robin-

sons had there had led to the arrival of San Vincentian

workers to the Portalegre factory, with the company pro-

viding many families from the Extremadura with an eco-

nomic and employment solution, which formed a signifi-

cant 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 exempli-

fied in other events, such as George Wheelhouse Robin-

son’s initiative in setting up the Portalegre Voluntary Fire-

fighters Association and the private Fire-fighter Brigade

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 Alen-tejo portugués. Aunque, por supuesto, los Robinson mantu-vieron otro tipo de actividades comerciales e industriales al margen del corcho.

Pero, sin duda, la influencia de los Robinson en Portale-gre 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 par-ticipación de esta familia en la vida social de Portalegre fue amplia, si bien esta faceta de los Robinson debe ser mejor estu-diada y precisada. Parece sensato pensar que la llegada de la familia a la localidad supuso un impulso para la sociedad por-talegrense, 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 Robin-son 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 demográ-fico 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 influen-cia 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 alen-tejano, 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-

25

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 Portu-

guese cork business (called the “Union of the Cork Work-

ers 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 facto-

ries 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 life-

long commitment to the Alentejo and Extremadura was his

purchase of the well-known Dehesa de Casilla, one of the big-

gest 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 Alentejo-

Extremadura 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 attor-

ney 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. Proba-

bly the default setting of the “new Portuguese cork indus-

try” 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-

legre y del Cuerpo de Bomberos privado de la Fábrica Robin-son. 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 sin-dical 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 dificulta-des, con el objeto de que se preservasen los puestos de trabajo en la localidad. Por todo lo anterior, su fallecimiento inespe-rado en enero de 1932 se sintió profundamente en la locali-dad, 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 tra-taba 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 presen-tando hoy más sombras que luces. Probablemente, el estable-cimiento prioritario de la «nueva industria corchera portu-guesa» en la margen sur del Tajo, en su desembocadura, y el cambio de paradigma del negocio corchero acontecido a prin-cipios del siglo XX (del corcho natural hacia el aglomerado de corcho) pudieron condicionar el acierto o fracaso de las deci-

26

tegic decisions they took. Robinson’s early focus on agglom-

erated cork (the Robinson Factory was the first of the Por-

tuguese firms to embark on the manufacture of agglomer-

ated 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 abandon-

ment (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 Por-

talegre, 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 fac-

tors that led to the setting up of this family business in

Portalegre?

• Upon arriving in Portugal, what was the business struc-

ture 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

siones estratégicas adoptadas. La temprana apuesta de Robin-son 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 estu-diar para arrojar luz sobre el inicio del fin de este majestuoso ejemplo de historia empresarial.

PreguntasPara completar esta historia empresarial es necesario plan-

tear 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 (York-shire, Inglaterra) desde comienzos del siglo XIX y su emigra-ción 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 condi-cionaron el establecimiento de esta empresa familiar en Portalegre?

• ¿Cuál era la estructura de negocio de los Robinson a su lle-gada a Portugal y cómo fue evolucionando a lo largo del siglo XIX? ¿Y qué peso tenía el corcho en ella, tanto en tér-minos 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

27

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 Robin-

son 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 inter-

esting 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 cen-

tury 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 loca-

tions; Portuguese versus foreigner; number of those

from San Vicente or other settlements in Extremadura;

etc.), qualifications, skills, etc.? And how did this compo-

sition evolve?

• What was the economic performance and business results

of the Robinson Factory from its inception until the mid-

20th 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 Rob-

inson 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 pur-

chasing cost of raw materials and salaries, and that of

other charges such as transportation and energy?

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 mer-cados exteriores atendía? También es interesante saber cómo evolucionaron estos mercados y, en el caso del abas-tecimiento 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 portugue-ses 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 empresaria-les 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 importan-cia 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?

28

• 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 Fac-

tory 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 Mun-

det & Sons company?

• What were the relations between the Robinson fam-

ily 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 car-

ried out by George Wheelhouse Robinson in the “Fac-

tory” for his workers, and how did that paternalism

evolve over time?

• Starting from the importance given by George Wheel-

house 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 meth-

ods 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 indus-

trial activities carried out by the Robinsons in Portu-

gal and Spain, how did the “Robinson space” (this being

• Dada la atípica localización industrial de la Fábrica Robin-son, 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 nego-cio corchero portugués de la época como la familia Rey-nolds, 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 con-tribuciones realizadas por George Wheelhouse Robinson?

• ¿En qué acciones específicas se concretó el paternalismo empresarial llevado a cabo por George Wheelhouse Robin-son 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 cir-cunscribir éstas a los denominados «métodos de organiza-ción 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» (enten-diendo por este el área de influencia económica y social de la familia) a lo largo del tiempo? ¿Fue el papel ejercido por

29

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 dis-

appeared 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 work-

ers 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 con-

tribution of the Robinson family to economic and indus-

trial 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.

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 Robin-son 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 (traba-jadores 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 rea-lizarse una última pregunta: ¿Cuál fue la contribución de la familia Robinson al desarrollo económico e indus-trial de Portugal, o más concretamente del Alentejo y de Portalegre?

Esta última cuestión resume, al fin y al cabo, todas las ante-riores, e ilustra uno de los mayores intereses que tiene para mí el estudio de la historia de esta empresa familiar: su capa-cidad 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.

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

31

Portalegre, com a Fábrica Robinson, associa-se a um dos projectos mais importantes de valorização de patrimó-nio ligado à cortiça e corresponde a um dos sítios mais inte-ressantes, em consequência da desindustrialização dos cen-tros 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 patri-mónio cultural legalmente protegido e sob a perspectiva de musealização, estimula o conhecimento e necessidade de compreensão do espaço e do tempo industriais. As pergun-tas que formulamos em seguida podem constituir um con-tributo para aquela investigação e a busca de compreensão da fábrica.

Perguntas1. 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 recur-sos 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 con-fiou a responsabilidade técnica da produção?

3. Que factores específicos terão contribuído para a esco-lha 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?

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 interest-

ing places, perhaps worldwide, as a consequence of the de-

industrialization 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

1. To what extent was the industrialisation of Por-

talegre, in the area of cork, representative of a com-

mon pattern for the various cork centres of the Ibe-

rian south (Pereda & Moruno, 2013) based, besides

the raw materials resources in the region, on Eng-

lish 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?

32

4. Quais os primórdios da ligação dos Robinson à indús-tria 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 cente-nas de operários na área produtiva da fábrica corticeira Robinson acresceria meia centena de trabalhadores na extracção da cortiça nos campos. Que relações manti-nham 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 obten-ção 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 produ-ção rolheira?

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

9. Quando se iniciou a produção de aglomerados na Fábrica Robinson de Portalegre e quais foram os pri-meiros 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 activ-

ity 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 indus-

trial and commercial activity can be documented from

Portalegre?

6. In the 1850s, there were a little more than two hun-

dred 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 obtain-

ing 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 house-

hold chores, particularly those related to the produc-

tion 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 mech-

anisation of this industry?

9. When did production of agglomerates start in the Rob-

inson 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

33

10. Em termos sociais e culturais, como se repercutiu, na segunda metade do século XIX, na população de Porta-legre, a ligação com o norte da Europa industrializado, por via do impulso do comércio externo e do desenvol-vimento 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 traba-lhadores, teve a obra social dos Robinson em Portale-gre e sob que aspectos a cidade beneficiou da perma-nência 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 distribui-ção 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 proveni-ência 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?

population of Portalegre of its connection with industri-

alised northern Europe, through the impetus of exter-

nal 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 Por-

talegre, in terms of the organisation of urban space

and its relationship with the countryside?

12. What specific effects on the quality of life of work-

ers did the social work of the Robinsons have on Por-

talegre 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 Por-

talegre life had been affected by the linking of the Rob-

insons 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 prob-

able 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 produc-

tion 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?

34

17. Que mudanças foram levadas a cabo na transição da fábrica para a administração de responsáveis portu-gueses, a partir de 1946, quer em termos de organiza-ção 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 igual-mente 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 traba-lhadores 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 atri-buídos 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 cor-ticeira 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 par-tir 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 pro-

duction, 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 agglom-

erates, 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 Robin-

son Factory on the city and its inhabitants nowadays, if

it had remained in operation using the same technolog-

ical 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 archi-

tectural 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?

35

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 tra-balhadores 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 complementari-dade de cadeias técnicas e operatórias, da preparação e da transformação da cortiça, correspondentes às dife-rentes exigências do mercado e aos principais produ-tos impulsionados pelo comércio externo – a cortiça como matéria-prima, os vedantes e os aglomerados, enquanto produtos para isolamento ou revestimento?

B i b l i o g r a f i a

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

PEREDA, Ignacio Garcia e MORUNO, Francisco Manuel Parejo – «Indústria Corti-ceira e Património em Azaruja e San Vicente de Alcàntara desde 1845. Algu-mas notas». De pé sobre a terra. Estudos sobre a indústria, o trabalho e o movi-mento operário em Portugal. [Ebook]. Lisboa/Porto: Instituto de História Con-temporânea 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 indus-trial 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. Portale-gre: Fundação Robinson, 2007, pp. 8-23.

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

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 for-

mer 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 tech-

nical and operational chains, the preparation and pro-

cessing of cork, corresponding to different market

requirements and the main products driven by exter-

nal trade - cork as a raw material, the seals and agglom-

erates, as products for insulation or coating?

B i b l i o g r a p h y

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

(1835 - ...).” International Conference on Cork, Industrial Heritage and Muse-

ology, 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 indús-

tria surera portuguesa. Barcelona: Generalitat de Catalunya, 2010.

SILVA, Nuno - Cork in the Parliamentary Debates of the Portuguese Nation (1839-

1899). 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 Foun-

dation. Portalegre: Robinson Foundation, 2007, p. 8-23.

La Fábrica Robinson: lugar de encuentro y reflexión. Apuntes desde su percepción-preguntas desde su interiorThe 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

37

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 expul-san humo. Ni los trabajadores acuden puntuales a su cita. Ya no se vislumbran las entradas de materia prima, ni las sali-das 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 ini-cios cuando una pequeña industria fue transformándose con el empeño de sus dirigentes y el esfuerzo de sus obre-ros, en una empresa de reconocido prestigio a nivel inter-nacional 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 trans-formándola en el «Espacio Robinson». Un lugar donde la fábrica se transmutaría con nuevos espacios, reconvertiría otros, eliminaría algunos de los mismos y donde se aposta-ría 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 cen-tro 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.

The Robinson Factory is not what it was. For some it is

a shadow of its past and has nothing to do with that work-

ing 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 rai-

son 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 Rob-

inson 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 work-

ers, 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 recon-

figured 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

38

Pues en contra de lo que algunos opinan sus puertas no están cerradas, sino que sigue abierta y en plena actividad adaptán-dose 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 des-empeña con gran utilidad la «Fundación Robinson». Pero mientras ese proceso se cumple, nosotros seguimos disfru-tando del cambio recorriendo sus entresijos y formulando una serie de preguntas que aquí dejamos esbozadas.

Preguntas

Generales1. ¿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 industria-

les y los habitantes del lugar?4. ¿Qué novedades culturales, económicas, sociales, polí-

ticas, 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?

Edificaciones8. ¿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?

rather they are still open and in full swing gradually adapt-

ing 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 intrica-

cies of all the changes which are occurring and ask a series of

questions that are outlined here.

Questions

General

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

2. How did the locals see the arrival of the Robinson

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

8. Where is the original plan for the site?

9. Who commissioned the buildings which were erected

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?

39

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 Portu-gal ¿qué supuso el complejo Robinson?

Maquinaria17. ¿De dónde surgieron las ideas para crear su propia

maquinaria?18. ¿Dónde se encuentran los diseños originales de la maqui-

naria 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 comple-jidad 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»?

12. How did the constructive use of the factory space

evolve?

13. What was the production chain for each of the fac-

tory 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

machinery?

18. Where are the original designs for the machinery

created by Robinson itself?

19. What resources did they have to be aware of machin-

ery 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 RobinsonThe 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

41

La presencia de la Fábrica Robinson en el perfil de Porta-legre, 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 cente-naria.. Así pude comprobarlo en las actividades académicas y culturales celebradas el pasado día Robinson.

Al conocer el conjunto de la Robinson llamaron mi aten-ción 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 con-figura un potente paisaje cultural, en un relativo buen estado de conservación, con el valor especial de su «reciente» cie-rre y abandono de la actividad laboral. Aunque con el peso de sus importantes y numerosos restos, complejos de cono-cer-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 autentici-dad del complejo (según los principios de la Carta de Nara del ICOMOS, 1994), completada y mejorada gracias a las inter-venciones 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 con-vierta 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 moder-nización técnica y energética, las huellas de la actividad filan-trópica de los Robinson en la ciudad durante más de un siglo, vienen a influir en las condiciones de trabajo, la tradición con-viviendo con las nuevas cadenas de manufacturas, el trabajo femenino y los espacios que se les asignaban, incluso, actual-

The presence of the Robinson Factory in Por-

talegre’s profile, its occupation of the former Francis-

can 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 atten-

tion, 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 rela-

tively good state of preservation, along with the special

value afforded it by its “recent” closure and the aban-

donment 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 pres-

ervation 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 interven-

tion works carried out along these years by the archi-

tect Souto de Moura since 2004. All this will need a

Master plan, that is, a plan of activities which will con-

sider its patrimonial value and at the same time con-

vert 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 techni-

cal and energy evolution and modernisation, traces of

42

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 rea-lizamos trataran de llevar implícita una propuesta de actuación.

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 cen-

tos de enseñanazas superior y profesionales¿Podría uti-lizarse, 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 prime-ras 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 insta-larse en una de sus zonas la Escuela de Bellas Artes, donde se impartiera un máster universitario sobre conserva-ción, 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 educati-vos en torno al desarrollo y modernización de los proce-sos productivos del corcho en Portugal?

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

the philanthropic activity of the Robinsons in the city

for more than a century would influence working con-

ditions, with tradition co-existing with new manufac-

turing stages, female labour and the spaces allocated to

them, inclusively, as currently reflected in the program-

ming, presence and involvement of a large part of the

population of Portalegre in the activities of the Robin-

son 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 pro-

duction 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 pro-

cesses 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 consid-

ered 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?

43

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 Fun-dación Robinson se mantiene también en la población?

10. Analizado el perfil de parte de esa población, posible-mente, 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 hoste-lería? En los usos turísticos de ambos espacios, escuela de hostelería, zona superior de la fábrica aprovechando las visuales del entorno, ¿podría habilitarse un espacio

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 con-

verted 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-

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 envi-

ronment, 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

44

the Foundation with the Cáceres Municipal Coun-

cil and other Spanish institutions, have shown the

viability of cooperation programmes. In this con-

text could an agreement for university coopera-

tion 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 Mas-

ters in Cultural Patrimony Research and Manage-

ment coordinated by the History of Art Depart-

ment 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 Por-

talegre, and indeed the visual attraction for the

whole?

17. As for the lifeless, open spaces between the vari-

ous 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

público donde a precios moderados, la escuela de hoste-lería pudiera ofertar sus productos, según varios mode-los 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 universita-ria donde alumnos de las Universidades de Murcia y Poli-técnica de Cartagena, en el marco del Campus Interna-cional 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 habi-tantes, 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 unida-des de producción ¿Podrían habilitarse como un espacio de paseo, de jardín que actuase como elemento vertebra-dos de todo el conjunto?

18. ¿Podría convertirse, como recuerdo del espíritu de inno-vación de la familia Robinson, en un espacio de experi-mentación natural, con especies botánicas autóctonas y con especial protagonismo del alcornoque?

45

19. Tomando como eje la ruta temática ya en marcha en torno a la explotación y transformación del corcho y, con-tinuando la política de alianzas y convenios transfronte-rizos, más allá de la Comunidad extremeña, ¿podría bus-carse el sello de patrimonio Europeo? (Declaración de los Ministros de Cultura de la Unión Europea sobre la inicia-tiva del Sello de Patrimonio Europeo, 2011)

20. ¿Esto supondría impulsar la dimensión transacional euro-pea a través de las relaciones con Reino Unido (Halifax), España, Francia, Alemania?

No quisiera concluir estas reflexiones sin agradecer a la Fundación Robinson el privilegio que me brindó con su invi-tación para poder conocer y participar en una iniciativa patri-monial 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.

continuing the policy of protocols and cross-bor-

der agreements, beyond the Extremaduran com-

munity, would it be possible to obtain the Euro-

pean Heritage Label? (Declaration of the Minis-

ters of Culture of the European Union on the initi-

ative 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-

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 Rob-

inson 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 RobinsonNew 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

47

IntroducciónConocer el proyecto de Espacio Robinson fue realmente

sorprendente en aquella fecha, septiembre de 2011. El asom-bro 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 obje-tivos 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 bene-ficio 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 his-toria industrial para que forme parte de su memoria. Y todo ello, sin alardes desde la más absoluta discreción. Esta pos-tura, sin duda se agradece en un mundo donde la grandilo-cuencia sigue protagonizando las páginas de las revistas de arquitectura.

Preguntas1. 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 nove-doso en proyecto Robinson?

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

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 pre-

viously been planned and designed to achieve a series of

goals with very clear direction. This integrated manage-

ment 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 pre-

sent-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 abso-

lute discretion. This position will undoubtedly be appreci-

ated 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 admin-

istration and the project?

48

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 aso-ciaciones de la ciudad?

12. ¿Cómo se integran los colectivos de artistas en este espa-cio 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 cre-ación 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?

ArtículoLa sociedad de los productores característica de la revo-

lución 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 acaba-dos objeto de consumo. En definitiva, aquello que denomina-

6. How was financing assured? What type: public, pri-

vate or a mixed model?

7. In terms of the intervention criteria for the architec-

tural 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 inter-

vention 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 associ-

ations 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 Euro-

pean countries?

15. With the construction of the School of Catering

underway, are the intended goals being realised?

Article

The producer society characteristic of the Industrial

Revolution and the times of Fordism have become obso-

lete 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

49

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 nues-tros 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, toda-vía 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 musealiza-ción. A las que se suman, otras centradas en la reconversión

and immovable assets which ensure the values of the his-

tory of work in early modernity.

Despite the overwhelming destruction that char-

acterises 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 res-

cue these from oblivion and act to ensure their conser-

vation and musealisation. To which are added others,

focused on the conversion of these large spaces in order

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

(Germany) 2010. Photo Carlos Colás.

50

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 associ-

ations 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 admin-

istrations which have promoted the documentation and

protection of these remains. The result of this set of ini-

tiatives has been the international recognition of signif-

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 aso-ciaciones locales han sido protagonistas. A su acción reivin-dicativa de conservación y salvaguarda de los restos indus-triales 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-

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.

51

icant examples which have been declared as World Herit-

age 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 trans-

forming them into different uses, such as shopping cen-

tres 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 exam-

ples 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 glo-

balizing 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 indus-

trial 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-Euro-

pean perspective involving several countries spread across

the European continent, including Great Britain.

However, in reviewing and assessing the most strik-

ing 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-

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 entra-mado cultural de la sociedad actual se ha realizado de diversas maneras, desde su musealización, su reconversión en moder-nos 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 curiosi-dad 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 gene-rado 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 dise-minados por el conteniente europeo incluida Gran Bretaña.

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

52

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 presid-

ing over intervention work in industrial buildings is character-

ised by the depersonalisation to which the building is submit-

ted. This ignores their historical value and deeply affects their

stylistic value, since in many cases the only thing that is impor-

tant to conserve is its facade, its architectural container, emp-

tying 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 Robin-

son Space project which the Robinson Foundation is carry-

ing 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 con-

templation of parts and spaces. For this, in addition to the

museum in the space in the convent where the Sequeira col-

lection is displayed spaces have been recovered to host cul-

tural 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 Cook-

ing with new equipment able to attract a younger audience.

Ultimately, the Robinson Space is an interesting integrated

management model of industrial heritage.

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 despersona-lización 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 geogra-fía europea algunos ejemplos en los que la intervención en el patrimonio industrial y su gestión se realiza con total res-peto 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 Funda-ción 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 indus-trial, la identificación con ella de la población de Portale-gre y la integración de un conjunto de actividades que vayan más allá de la mera contemplación estética de piezas y espa-cios. 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 conserva-ción 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.

53

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momo Ibérico.

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Resumos e palavras-chaveAbstracts and key-wordsResúmenes y palabras clave

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

Perguntas à fábrica I

Se interrogar é uma arte, o investigador é um artista… E é mais quando para além de se ques-tionar 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 pergun-tas à fábrica I são o registo das várias possibili-dades 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 estu-dos, de pesquisas, teses, análises e ideias apre-sentadas por especialistas da área do patrimó-nio industrial, da história, da história da arte, da história económica e da museologia. Questionar é o exercício que aqui se propõe.

palavras-chaveRegeneração UrbanaPatrimónio IndustrialNovos UsosMuseologiaFábrica Robinson

Questions to the factory I

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 dif erent possibilities of study-ing the Robinson Factory as formulated in the Urban Regenera tion Seminar “Robinson Space: new uses, new residents” which was held on 17 September 2011 (Robinson Day) in a public meeting con sisted of studies, research, theses, analyses and ideas presented by experts in the areas of indus trial heritage, history, history of art, economic history and museology. Question-ing is the exercise pro posed here.

keywordsUrban RegenerationIndustrial HeritageNew UsesMuseologyRobinson Factory

Preguntas a la fábrica I

Si plantearse cues tiones es un arte, el investigador es un artista… Labor que se acrecienta cuando, más allá de esas pregun tas sobre lo que no sabe, mejora sus artes investiga doras repitiendo preguntas sobre su propio objeto de estudio. Eso implica que sobre lo que inves-tiga puede haber aprendido mucho, pero nunca lo sufi-ciente como para dar por cerradas las conclusiones. Las preguntas a la fábrica I son el registro de las varias posi-bilidades de estudio que existen en torno a la Fábrica Robinson. Fueron formuladas a partir del se-minario sobre Regeneración Urbana «Espacio Robin son: 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 pre sentadas por especialistas de las áreas del Patrimonio Industrial, de la Historia, de la Historia del Arte, de la Historia Económica y de la Museología. Plan-tear cuestiones es el ejercicio que aquí se propone.

palavras claveRegeneración UrbanaPatrimonio IndustrialNuevos UsosMuseologíaFábrica Robinson

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0 PUBLICAÇÕES DA FUNDAÇÃO ROBINSON 20ISSN1646-7116

União EuropeiaFEDER

Investimos no seu futuro

Perguntas à fábrica IQuestions to the factory I