Guijuelo, S.A.

Book, 2023, Diputación de Salamanca

Author: Patricia Parra Marcos

Collaboration in the creation of maps

How does a town of 5,500 inhabitants configure itself to host more than 200 companies dedicated to the Iberian pig sector? Guijuelo, S.A. examines the architectural and urban transformations generated by one of Spain’s major products - Iberian products - in a village within the Emptied Spain - Guijuelo. Guijuelo is a municipality in the province of Salamanca that found a pathway to development a century and a half ago through the charcuterie industry, an activity that today prevents population decline and preserves its landscape. Its architecture and urban planning have evolved focused on functionality, progressively adapting to the needs of the meat industry. From its origins as a domestic activity to the current industrialisation of the town, residents coexist daily with the various stages of processing. The tasks essentially are the same as those carried out in domestic spaces at the beginning of the 20th century. With the necessary industrialisation to accommodate increased production and sanitary regulations, these spaces have been displaced, enlarged, and spread throughout the village, with public spaces serving as a network that connects them. It could be said that the original Matancera House has gradually transformed into the entire town, characterised by three key periods and architectures: The Matancera Houses of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Factory-Houses of the 1950s-70s, and the Factory-Town, which marks the physical restructuring of the industry from the 1990s. This evolution has generated an aesthetic and hybridisation of uses in its buildings, which Guijuelo, S.A. presents as a distinctive heritage.

Guijuelo, S.A.

Book, 2023, Diputación de Salamanca

Author: Patricia Parra Marcos

Collaboration in the creation of maps

How does a town of 5,500 inhabitants configure itself to host more than 200 companies dedicated to the Iberian pig sector? Guijuelo, S.A. examines the architectural and urban transformations generated by one of Spain’s major products - Iberian products - in a village within the Emptied Spain - Guijuelo. Guijuelo is a municipality in the province of Salamanca that found a pathway to development a century and a half ago through the charcuterie industry, an activity that today prevents population decline and preserves its landscape. Its architecture and urban planning have evolved focused on functionality, progressively adapting to the needs of the meat industry. From its origins as a domestic activity to the current industrialisation of the town, residents coexist daily with the various stages of processing. The tasks essentially are the same as those carried out in domestic spaces at the beginning of the 20th century. With the necessary industrialisation to accommodate increased production and sanitary regulations, these spaces have been displaced, enlarged, and spread throughout the village, with public spaces serving as a network that connects them. It could be said that the original Matancera House has gradually transformed into the entire town, characterised by three key periods and architectures: The Matancera Houses of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Factory-Houses of the 1950s-70s, and the Factory-Town, which marks the physical restructuring of the industry from the 1990s. This evolution has generated an aesthetic and hybridisation of uses in its buildings, which Guijuelo, S.A. presents as a distinctive heritage.

Guijuelo, S.A.

Book, 2023, Diputación de Salamanca

Author: Patricia Parra Marcos

Collaboration in the creation of maps

How does a town of 5,500 inhabitants configure itself to host more than 200 companies dedicated to the Iberian pig sector? Guijuelo, S.A. examines the architectural and urban transformations generated by one of Spain’s major products - Iberian products - in a village within the Emptied Spain - Guijuelo. Guijuelo is a municipality in the province of Salamanca that found a pathway to development a century and a half ago through the charcuterie industry, an activity that today prevents population decline and preserves its landscape. Its architecture and urban planning have evolved focused on functionality, progressively adapting to the needs of the meat industry. From its origins as a domestic activity to the current industrialisation of the town, residents coexist daily with the various stages of processing. The tasks essentially are the same as those carried out in domestic spaces at the beginning of the 20th century. With the necessary industrialisation to accommodate increased production and sanitary regulations, these spaces have been displaced, enlarged, and spread throughout the village, with public spaces serving as a network that connects them. It could be said that the original Matancera House has gradually transformed into the entire town, characterised by three key periods and architectures: The Matancera Houses of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Factory-Houses of the 1950s-70s, and the Factory-Town, which marks the physical restructuring of the industry from the 1990s. This evolution has generated an aesthetic and hybridisation of uses in its buildings, which Guijuelo, S.A. presents as a distinctive heritage.

Interior Covered Guijuelo SA
Interior Covered Guijuelo SA
Interior Covered Guijuelo SA
Image of the flood on July 6, 2023, in Zaragoza with someone taking refuge from the water current on top of a car
Image of the flood on July 6, 2023, in Zaragoza with someone taking refuge from the water current on top of a car
Image of the flood on July 6, 2023, in Zaragoza with someone taking refuge from the water current on top of a car
Dehesas Page
Sierra de Francia Page
Guijuelo Chacina Companies Page
Page processes past and present
Guijuelo Iberian Exports Page
Page curation process
Page curation process
Ham leg advertisement
Ham leg advertisement
Ham leg advertisement
Lorry unloading hams in the street
Lorry unloading hams in the street
Lorry unloading hams in the street
Logistics truck parking Guijuelo
Frame to load hams
Frame to load hams
Frame to load hams
Photograph of the Torrero Pine Forest
Photograph of the Torrero Pine Forest
Photograph of the Torrero Pine Forest