The industrial stronghold that wants to overcome its expiration date

From spaces of coworking There are many, usually linked to white-collar jobs, basically in offices. But shared work spaces for industrial jobs, blue-collar trades, are not so common, and even less so in the heart of the city of Barcelona, ​​​​where industry is becoming an endangered species. At the top of Rambla Prim there is TMDC, a shared industrial space, where carpenters, metalworkers and many other professionals share space and tools to carry out their work.

It is 5,000 square meters where you can rent everything from a simple workbench to a 3D printer. Among the warehouses there are everything from half-finished kitchens to a flat that is part of a wooden building under construction in Poble-sec. Users have lathes, welding machines, laser machines, precision cutters, a car paint booth, all kinds of tools and machinery to be able to do their work.

But TMDC occupies warehouses that have an expiration date, since the change of urban use foresees that it will stop being industrial land and will house housing and facilities. In a year it will have to leave. In fact, part of the warehouses have already been demolished. These warehouses were the old laundry of the Hospital de Sant Pau, which is its owner, and when TMDC landed, in 2018, they were quite dilapidated.

In any case, the urban change should not put an end to the project. Pedro Pineda, the visible face of that space, and his three partners believe that it can be an opportunity to grow and improve. "The main current mission is to look for a new site, get some loans and attract some investment," Pineda explains to theCompanies. For the change, Pineda estimates that an investment of around three million euros will be necessary. It is necessary to invest this, he says, in finding a new space, adapting it and buying new machines, because the idea is to grow: currently TMDC occupies 5,000 m² and wants to find a new space of 10,000 m².

At the moment, Pineda acknowledges that in Barcelona "it is very difficult to find such a space," but he hopes to find one in the metropolitan area. He has maintained contacts with some municipalities interested in hosting this initiative, such as Cornellà and Sant Adrià de Besòs. The promoters of the coworking They are looking at potential investors, but they are clear that they want someone who is specialized in industrial issues and with an interest in social impact rather than quick profits.

Let it be a coworking Although industrial, it doesn't lack the spirit that permeates other co-working centres in the city. A bit of a garden, common spaces where the different users can meet and even a barbecue. "On Thursdays we have pizza," explains Pineda, pointing to a wood-fired oven in an open space between the warehouses. "We make it ourselves," he explains.

Obviously, you have to pay to work. The space currently has 170 users, who pay based on the use they make of it and the surface area they occupy. The basic rate is 111 euros per month. The maximum rate exceeds 600 euros per month for occupying 50 m² surface and have access to all the tools available on site.

User profile

The profile of users is quite diverse. There are young people starting their careers who cannot afford to make a significant initial investment, especially in tools. There are also professionals who worked for others and have decided to set up on their own. But not all are self-employed or SMEs. There are also large companies that rent a space for specific jobs, such as Puig. A whole series of installations have just left the TMDC workshops that will go to the Mobile World Congress. Architects also work there, especially interior designers, since they can custom make the elements they need.

One of the advantages, explains Pineda, is that working in the coworking Users interact with each other, share experiences and can even work for each other or join forces to work for third parties. "Many times," explains Pineda, "new users fear that other professionals in the same field will take them over as clients." But he explains that, on the contrary, they end up joining forces and collaborating or working together.

The idea of coworking The industrial sector has a long history. Pedro Pineda says that he experienced something similar when he lived in Berlin, but not as structured, more collaborative. Then, in Barcelona, ​​he made a first attempt in Gràcia, but the premises were not big enough and the neighbours complained about the noise. Later he moved to Poblenou, but there was not enough space, until he found the warehouses of the old laundry of the Hospital de Sant Pau. The relationship with the property, he explains, has been very good, but now he is looking for a new location, not because of a problem with the property or the rent but because of the new urban plans that scare away this industrial stronghold of the city.