Vint-i-nou xemeneies i una torre

The Arxiu Històric del Poblenou is celebrating fifty years with a project dedicated to tracing the legacies of the industrial past. For eight months we will present an evolving exhibition that changes each month, a series of artistic interventions at the Archive's headquarters, the Torre de les Aigües del Besòs, and an exhibition in collaboration with BAU in Palo Alto.The industrial past of Poblenou has left twenty-nine chimneys out of the more than two hundred that existed at the time. Now they appear as ornamental elements, detached from their original context and often framed by new architecture, which has surpassed them in height, giving a new appearance to the urban landscape. Although Poblenou was originally an agricultural area, the abundance of water and land facilitated the establishment of industries during the 19th century. A century later, deindustrialisation and the Olympic renewal brought a change in its orientation, turning it into an area for testing new urban models, from the 22@ to the superilles.Now the Arxiu Històric del Poblenou celebrates its first fifty years with a multifaceted project dedicated to tracing the legacies of the industrial past. At the Archive's headquarters, the Torre de les Aigües del Besòs, we present an evolving exhibition, which will change every month, to address aspects related to the histories of the factories, their workers, their architecture, and the neighbourhood movements that fought for their preservation. Climbing the stairs, in the Tower itself, a series of artistic interventions will inhabit this emblematic and unknown space, from which we can observe an unusual perspective of the city.The Arxiu Històric del Poblenou, founded by architecture students in 1976, was key to the recovery of the neighbourhood's collective memory during the democratic transition. Since then, the Archive has worked on the research and dissemination of the history of Poblenou. The current project arises from the research carried out by Isi Cervantes and Quique Tárraga dedicated to the twenty-nine chimneys, the factories that built them, and the Torre de les Aigües del Besòs.Among others, participating are members of the Archive, residents of Poblenou; the researchers and teachers Marià Hispano, Ioseba Landa (Institut Quatre Cantons), Sheila García (Institut Icària), Isaac Marrero, Pepa Martínez, Maribel Rosselló (Observatori dels Barris del Poblenou), Tura Tusell and Eduard Page; and the artists Joan Bennàssar, Sara Fontán + Clara Tena, Violeta Mayoral and Eulàlia Rovira. The project is curated by Xavier Acarín, with mediation by Berta Fontboté and design by Esteve Padilla (Paratext.studio).The exhibition at the Arxiu Històric del Poblenou will be expanded with a collaboration with BAU, Centre Universitari d'Arts i Disseny, which will present an exhibition in Palo Alto. This part approaches the architectural and urban evolution of Poblenou by proposing uchronias, revisiting the past, and speculating on futures. In parallel, a series of activities will be programmed to accompany and expand the social and conceptual implications of each thematic block. Throughout the year we will carry out a participatory process to decide the contents of a time capsule to be sent to 2043, when we will celebrate the two hundred years of Poblenou.