The new ArtStudio CaixaForum will bring together more than a thousand works by 445 artists from the collection of the 'la Caixa' Foundation

The 'la Caixa' Foundation has presented the project to reform and expand a warehouse to turn it into the ArtStudio CaixaForum Collection, a center that will bring together and revitalize the set of works from the Contemporary Art Collection of the 'la Caixa' Foundation, made up of 1,069 works by 445 artists. The building will have an area of 10,000 square meters, will involve an investment of 12 million euros and will be located in the Cultural District of l'Hospitalet de Llobregat. The ArtStudio CaixaForum, which is expected to be operational in 2026, will not be an exhibition space, but is conceived as a center for research and conservation of works, in addition to being a 'think tank' that will allow the meeting of professionals of art, culture and thought.

Accompanied by the mayor of L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Núria Marín, the president of the 'la Caixa' Foundation, Isidre Fainé, has announced an agreement to convert a warehouse in L'Hospitalet, which is currently dedicated to hosting part of the fund of works of art from the 'la Caixa' Foundation, in a new cultural center called ArtStudio CaixaForum.

The aim is for it to house the Foundation's private collection, made up of 1,069 works by 445 artists, including Bruce Nauman, Gerhardt Richter, Sigmar Polke, Doris Salcedo, Mona Hatoum, Cristina Iglesias, Tacita Dean, Cindy Sherman , Juan Muñoz, Pierre Huyghe, Antoni Tàpies, Ignasi Aballí or Soledad Sevilla.

With the reform and expansion of the building, which will involve an investment of 12 million euros, the entity wants to contribute to "giving new life to the warehouse, designed to be a future national reference center". At the same time, the new infrastructure will make it possible to bring together all the works of art from the Contemporary Art Collection of the 'la Caixa' Foundation in a single space that will display great potential for conservation, restoration and storage unique works

El presidente de la Fundación 'la Caixa', Isidro Fainé, y la alcaldesa de L’Hospitalet, Núria Marín, han presentado un acuerdo para reconvertir un almacén de L’Hospitalet en un nuevo centro cultural llamado ArtStudio CaixaForum.

Concentrate all the work

The entirety of the collection's deposit of works is distributed between CaixaForum Barcelona and this warehouse, but, after working with two headquarters for two decades, these spaces have reached the limit of storage capacity, they explained from the Foundation in a statement. This is where the idea arises to concentrate all the work, the workshop and conservation laboratory, and the collection equipment, and also to include the common uses of the entire Exhibition and Collection Area , which will free up spaces in CaixaForum Barcelona so that from now on this center has more capacity and can increase its activity.

The renovation of the ship, which will have a total area of 10,000 square meters, is scheduled to begin in mid-2024 and be operational in 2026.

The president of the 'la Caixa' Foundation, Isidre Fainé, has stated that "ArtStudio CaixaForum represents the culmination of 40 years of work with our Collection and will represent an impetus in our commitment to bring culture to everyone as engine of social transformation. With this project, we want to give even more value to this unique heritage and continue working on the connection with the most alive reality of the art of our days and on the ability to create associations and establish links between art and the world that we surrounds".

For her part, the mayor of l'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Núria Marín, has declared that "l'Hospitalet is a culturally very lively city. Since the Cultural District was launched, one of its objectives as a strategic city project has been to promote collaboration between artistic and cultural agents and other agents, entities and institutions. Now, with the arrival of the ArtStudio CaixaForum Collection, a unique and singular heritage is brought closer to our artists and creatives and a district that has never stopped growing is strengthened."

The Foundation has highlighted that its Contemporary Art Collection, which was born in the mid-1980s, "has become the first private collection in Spain and a reference in the European field ".

think tank

The building that will house the center, built in 1976 and owned by the 'la Caixa' Foundation, aspires to be a 'think tank' that allows professionals from art, culture and thought to meet national and international scope for the study and dissemination of works both in the area of content and scientific conservation of heritage. It is designed to open up through visits by interest groups and groups of professionals, and through seminars for the sector and activities that will bring closer the conservation of artistic heritage.

ArtStudio CaixaForum will be located in the Cultural District of l'Hospitalet, specifically on the corner between Carrer Leonardo da Vinci and Avenida del Carrilet, in a new area that the city wants to allocate to the location of companies linked to creativity and cultural activity.

En el centro de la imagen, la alcaldesa de L’Hospitalet, Núria Marín, y el presidente de la Fundación ”la Caixa”, Isidro Fainé, junto a la directora general adjunta de la Fundación ”la Caixa”, Elisa Durán.

Pretel Architecture

The entity has selected the architectural project of Pretel Arquitectura, which has worked on the reform of the Annex Hall of the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, on the reform of the stands of the Barcelona Olympic Stadium, on the renovation and integral reform of the offices D532 of Colonial and in the adaptation of spaces of CaixaForum Barcelona. Currently, he collaborates with the 'la Caixa' Foundation in projects of different CaixaForum cultural centres.

The architectural proposal, the Foundation has highlighted, consists in the creation of a building with an identity that responds both to the needs and purposes of the 'la Caixa' Foundation and to those of the environment, within the industrial and cultural fabric of the city It therefore becomes primarily a warehouse of works of art equipped with all the necessary infrastructure for good conservation, restoration and storage. In this line, it proposes the extension of a basement and a side plot, two accesses for vehicles and two accesses for the staff of the center and staff; the design of spaces and circulation within the building, and the implementation of optimal office space and work areas with natural light, always respecting sustainability criteria.

ArtStudio CaixaForum will be composed of spaces with different uses, such as the conservation, study, management and storage of works that require strict climate conditions (light, temperature and humidity) for their preservation. In addition, it will have spaces to store the works, packaging, museum furniture and equipment, audio-visual equipment and high-level office furniture that do not require climate conditions with restrictive parameters. It will also include another unit for the logistical, technical and maintenance support of the new warehouse, as well as spaces that will accommodate the installations, machines and equipment necessary for the correct operation of the building.