Empty Architectures | Lluís Bort

Empty Architectures is a photographic work about abandoned buildings all over the island of Mallorca. These constructions, on many occasions, were built to fulfill a very specific function and nowadays they are obsolete and forgotten in the Balearic landscape.

Administration could take change of these constructions by financial aid such as The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) aims to strengthen economic, social and territorial cohesion in the European Union by correcting imbalances between its regions. In addition, a very useful tool for refurbishing these buildings is the drafting of a Master Plan which would establish strategies and phases of intervention of the spaces in each building.

Back to the photographic work, it includes different building typologies such as a hospital which was abandoned when a new one was built on the outskirts of the city; a Mallorcan textile factory which was one of the island's economic motors during the Civil War, when Franco's troops bombed the industrial center of Barcelona; or the island's largest wine cellar, which was closed in the 1990s after 4 extensions.

In the work each building is presented as an “architectural jewel” against a deep blue, gradient sky which reflects the beauty on each of them.

“Empty Architectures” seeks to highlight the value of these constructions which were of great importance for the history of Mallorca. They are located in privileged locations and if they were turned into new facilities for the cities, they would have many guarantees of success. This photographic project began in 2019 and since then some of the buildings photographed have undergone renovation works, which will hopefully allow the constructions to be restored and they enrich the city with new cultural offerings.

Moreover, this work wants to show the opportunity to rehabilitate these strategic and abandoned architectures of the Majorcan territory for new uses such as museums, exhibition halls or neighborhood houses, among others.