The renovation project for the Vic Tanneries forms part of the municipal strategy for the recovery of industrial heritage and the urban revitalisation of the Mèder riverfront, within an area declared an Ethnological Interest Zone by the Generalitat de Catalunya. After years of public advocacy and mobilisation led by the Salvem les Adoberies platform, the 2019 Municipal Urban Planning Scheme classified part of the complex as public facilities and, in 2020, the Vic City Council acquired two singular buildings to allocate them to public, cultural and service uses. The intervention is conceived with the aim of combining the preservation of the industrial character — maintaining material elements from the leatherworking past — with the incorporation of new uses linked to administration, culture and innovation.
An executive project and construction management are carried out for the installations and fire protection systems required for the implementation of an administrative and public-use activity in buildings located on Adoberies Street, within a neighbourhood classified as a Cultural Asset of National Interest (BCIN). The intervention includes the design and sizing of the domestic cold and hot water systems, drainage network, air conditioning, electrical installation, lighting, telecommunications, lightning protection system, and the full set of active and passive fire safety measures. The project is developed by integrating the requirements derived from the BCIN heritage classification.
From a technical perspective, a new domestic cold and hot water supply connection and internal network are defined using copper piping, with electric storage tanks and a storage temperature set at 60 ºC to prevent legionella. The drainage network is designed as a separate system for wastewater and rainwater, with a new connection to the municipal network and a predominantly gravity-based layout. Thermal installations are designed through a mixed system combining underfloor heating and fan-coils in specific areas, together with direct expansion systems for the coworking spaces, with independent zone control. At the same time, a complete electrical installation is designed with distribution boards, general and emergency lighting, as well as a telecommunications infrastructure centralised in a single rack with WiFi network, RJ45 points, audiovisual systems — including projectors and public address systems — and integrated access control.
In terms of fire safety, compartmentalisation measures and EI-rated doors on the staircase are defined, together with the signage and sizing of evacuation routes. Active fire protection systems are also designed in accordance with the Fire Protection Installations Regulation, and compensatory measures such as occupancy limitations in the basement are foreseen.
The set of interventions makes it possible to rehabilitate a disused space of high heritage value for the municipality of Vic, transforming the building floors into offices and coworking spaces. The basement, meanwhile, becomes an ethnological museum preserving the municipality’s history related to leather industry activities. Thanks to the project, the safe and functional implementation of the new facility is guaranteed, reinforcing the role of the Tanneries as a cultural and administrative hub and contributing to the urban transformation of the neighbourhood without losing its historic identity.
