The works at Cau Ferrat are entering in their final stretch. The works on the structural reform of the building are practically over and technicians and workers are currently working on the interior restoration: stained glass, tiles, flooring, ceramics, wall paintings, etc. All are vital aspects if we want Cau Ferrat to recover the spirit of 1933 - when it was opened, and to become again the temple of modernism devised by Santiago Rusiñol.
For the Government of Sitges, the preservation and protection of the architectural and historical structure has been and is a priority. For this reason, one of the first decisions we made when we won elections was to stop the project designed by the previous government, which involved the internal and external destruction of the building. The horrendous walkway that altered the waterfront, the construction of an oversized platform to hide heating ducts, the lack of a suitable solution for the preservation of the stained glass windows ... the project was lacking in many ways and what was worse, the project smashed the aesthetic harmony of one of the most emblematic sites in town.
We stopped the erroneous project without a wink, redirecting it toward more aesthetic solutions, and at the same time harmonious with the past and the conservation of our legacy. The large majority of residents of Sitges shared the same opinion: more respect for our legacy and a less disruptive construction. It was a public outcry that we fully assumed and that we are committed to apply, not only in museums, but in the whole town at large.
The Cau Ferrat will open during the current year of 2013 if all goes according to plans. Maricel de Mar will open next year. In a few months, once the interior restoration is over, museum professionals will begin another task of vital importance: the placement of works and the introduction of a new museum approach, integrating all the arts (architecture, literature and music) in the Cau Ferrat. A visit to the Cau Ferrat will be an artistic experience, but also aesthetic and intellectual, an approach to Modernism movement that opened the cultural transformation of Catalonia in the late nineteenth century and placed Sitges on cultural map.
This will be possible thanks to the museum project led by the Director of the Heritage Consortium of Sitges, Vinyet Panyella, which has already brought a new dimension and projection to the museums of Sitges (a solid program of permanent activities, an enhanced institutional dimension and a professional approach to museums), in accordance with the role and profile they deserve.
The Cau Ferrat you will see this year will maintain the standards of respect to our legacy deserved by buildings having such a uniqueness. Museu Maricel, in the same reform project, and also Can Rocamora, will enjoy the same level-headed reform policy. Sitges will have fully restored museums that will exhibit their architectural legacy and their art collections, everything sheltered by sound edge facilities and showing off a cutting edge approach.
