Alejandro S. Garrido. The Eagle. Four glances

In the 1970s, advanced economies embarked on a cycle of transformations that would give rise to a new framework for economic development. In a matter of a few years, a large part of the industrial fabric located on the margins of large cities was relocated, causing the appearance of a surplus of disused spaces. In Madrid, the old El Águila beer factory was closed in 1985, when the Dutch company Heineken, which had taken control of the company, centralized production in the most modern plant in San Sebastián de los Reyes. After years of disuse, in 1990 the old brewery was, together with Osram, the first building of a purely industrial nature to be declared a BIC in Madrid. Between 1996 and 2003, the Mansilla + Tuñón studio was in charge of the construction of a new complex prepared to house the Regional Archive and Library. This intervention positioned the complex as one of the pioneering examples of industrial building reconversion in the region. Thus, throughout its history, the building has adapted to the demands imposed by a changing economic model. When I was commissioned to photograph the complex, I wanted to focus on its current production and portray it as the workspace that it has always been. The classification, custody, care and preservation of historical documents as a laborious activity. Documentary memory as the new product of the old plant.

Alexander S. Garrido