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Things that are never
forgotten
Escofet Museum
 Since its foundation, Escofet has designed many products which have become unforgettable in the course of time. Although they are not listed in our catalogue, their unique features have given them enduring value. We would like to remember them with a special space in this virtual museum, in constant expansion as new products are gradually included, a fitting testimony to our company's long history of achievements.
In the beginning
In the splendour of the Modernist period, ESCOFET's founder detected the need to link material quality and input by leading contemporary artists, painters and architects. This beautiful symbiosis between architecture and industry gave rise to materials and techniques that were ahead of their time, a mirror image of the evolution of the arts. |
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1886-1939
Interior tessellated tiling
The tessellated floor tiles produced in this period were a metaphoric materialization of rugs for homes in Barcelona's Ensanche district (see Can Millet tiles), in dynamic expansion at the time.
Escofet quickly became the leading floor tile manufacturer of its time thanks to its industrial-scale production of an utterly new type of paving, which gained widespread popularity on account of its obvious formal and functional potential.
More than 300 tessellated floor tiles are evidence of the evolution of styles, art trends and tastes over a long period of time, from the start of the Modern Movement, Modernism, Novocentism and Art Decó, which culminated in the simple high-tech designs of the 1930'a rationalist proposals.
One exceptional case stands out in this series of Escofet floor tiles: the product designed by Gaudí between 1904 and 1906 for the renovated Casa Batlló. This apple green hexagonal tile features a single relief pattern (see Panot Gaudí). Light is the only agent that makes this sea-inspired design visible. |
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1950 – 1970
Vibrazo or conquering the city
Following the Spanish Civil War, Escofet continued its primary focus on the production of tessellated floor tiles, although our technological research began in the 1920's. In the early 1950's, the result of this effort was a new new product, manufactured using a compacting technique: vibropressed or “vibrazo” concrete tiles with ideal properties for both indoor and outdoor paving. Escofet entered the realm of street paving back in 1916 with a product designed in collaboration with Barcelona City Council, and pedestrian paving tiles known as “panots” in a 20 x 20 cm format (see Barcelona Panot paving). However, the emergence of “vibrazo” marked Escofet's gradual, systematic incursion into major urban projects and collaboration with leading architects, firstly in Spain and soon afterwards on the world stage as well.
1970 – 2004
Architecture and street furniture
In 1968, Joan Miró (1893-1983) produced three major works that welcome visitors arriving in Barcelona by land, sea and air. Those arriving by sea are met by the Pla de la Boqueria pavement, inaugurated on 30 December 1976. In accordance with Miró's personal desire, the Miró pavement (Pla de l'Os) has not been protected as an untouchable museum piece. |
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Instead, it fulfils the purpose of every other pavement: to be walked on, used and restored when necessary.
In 1970, Escofet began to move into a new aspect of concrete-based products, also linked to the shaping of the city: streetscape architecture, in the form of compacted reinforced concrete for facade cladding (see Sagrada Familia project).
Toward the end of the 1970's, Escofet began yet another incursion into the design and production of street furniture. In 1979, Escofet's inaugural product in this field was a line of modular street furniture designed by Ramón Benedito and Josep Lluscà. In 1987, we manufactured a new collection in collaboration with several Barcelona-based architects including Jaume Bach and Gabi Mora, Óscar Tusquets (see Rampante Fence), Elías Torres and José A. Martínez Lapeña, Albert Viaplana and Helio Piñón.
From the outset, Escofet has risen to a succession of challenges presented by the city of Barcelona: the 1888 World Trade Fair, the 1929 World Trade Fair, the Olympic 1992 Games (see the Tram modular bench) and the 2004 Culture Forum have been turning points in Escofet's manufacturing and innovation capacity. Some of the products generated for these events are unforgettable.
+ for more information, see Publications |
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Valla Rampante
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Mosaic Miró al Pla de l’Òs
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Vibrazo La Rambla. Barcelona
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Hydraulic mosaic
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Hydraulic mosaics
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Escofet old offices façade
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Hydraulic mosaics Can Pahissa
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Hydraulic mosaics
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Hydraulic mosaic
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Panot Barcelona
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Hydraulic mosaics
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Hydraulic mosaic
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Hydraulic mosaics Casa Viñas
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Gaudí hydraulic relieve mosaic
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Hydraulic mosaics Casa Rovira-Piera
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Hydraulic mosaics Casa Viñas
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Gaudí hydraulic mosaic mould
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Hydraulic mosaics
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Hydraulic mosaics Casa Viñas
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Hydraulic mosaic
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Hydraulic mosaic
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Hydraulic mosaics Can Millet
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Hydraulic mosaics Casa Coll i Regás
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Hydraulic mosaics Casa Coll i Regás
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Hydraulic mosaics
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Escofet-Tejera y Cia Poster
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All rights reserved.
Update5.22.2013
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