Santa Maria d’Oló Ecomuseum
Client:
Santa Maria d’Oló Council
Date:
2017
Location:
Santa Maria d'Oló
‘Oló to the rhythm of the loom’ highlights the importance of the town’s manufacturing history through a museographic project that recovers spaces, pieces and accounts from the past
Santa Maria d’Oló has inaugurated a new facility for the town with the aim of recovering part of its historical memory by restoring and emphasising the value of the old industrial building of the Hemalosa factory. This new facility, called the Hemalosa Space, is home to the Santa Maria d’Oló Ecomuseum, a branch of the Moianès Ecomuseum which is a regional and multi-disciplinary project with ten museum spaces distributed throughout the county of Moianès.
This space, conceptualised, designed and produced by Grup Transversal, looks back at the town’s history from its origins until the mid-19th–20th century and, in particular, helps visitors relive how the establishment of two factories, the Borràs factory and the Hemalosa factory, completely changed the lives of those in Oló.
The facility's museography is based on a unique display, combining honeycomb cardboard and small wooden panels, which gives a rustic but at the same time contemporary look and which blends perfectly with the restored space. The exhibition is completed with two restored power looms, as well as different display cabinets containing industrial objects from the two factories. Lastly, an audiovisual presentation in interview format provides personal accounts of the town’s industrial past.