Workshop space for the materialisation and development of concepts.
An open workshop, equipped with industrial machines, to fabricate any idea you have in your mind. A flexible infrastructure for carpenters, metal workers, designers, engineers, artists,s and architects, and for anybody that likes to get hands-on. A growing community and network of skilled craft man and material enthusiasts. A place where ideas are transformed into tangible objects.
Regional
Spain
Barcelona
Mainly urban
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
No
No
Yes
2022-02-22
As a representative of an organisation
Name of the organisation(s): Taller para la Materializacion y Desarrollo de Conceptos Type of organisation: For-profit company First name of representative: Pedro Last name of representative: Pineda Gender: Male Nationality: Spain Function: General Coordinator Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Rambla Prim 258 Town: BARCELONA Postal code: 08020 Country: Spain Direct Tel:+34646739018 E-mail:Taller@tmdc.es Website:https://www.tmdc.es/
Having access to infrastructure, machines, shared techniques and knowledge is a cornerstone to autonomy and self-reliance. Most citizens do not have access to tools and infrastructure and thus are reliant on large corporations, perhaps thousands of kilometers from where they live.
This project gives access to infrastructure for carpenters, metal workers, designers, engineers, artists and other neighbors in 4,500 square meters of workshop space. It is a place where ideas are transformed into tangible objects and a local community of skilled craftsmen and material enthusiasts are thriving. Our workshop space, built in a repurposed industrial warehouse that was originally destined to be demolished, is now filled with 300.000€ worth of machines for makers of all kinds.
13 Sunlight filled, spacious warehouses, where fabrication is dignified and celebrated. Here more than 150 people come monthly to work with wood, plástics, metal, electronics, concrete and glass. More than 1000 people have been initiated in making techniques. And it isn't just about making objects, it is about building culture. Thursdays at TMDC are already famous for the community meets for bbq and pizzas, because here isn't just about work, but a lifestyle.
Without trying to compete with current forms of industrial production, we see not just a necessity but an opportunity in developing open infrastructures accessible to all neighbors of any city, to have a chance at producing whatever idea they have in their mind for themselves and their communities. From beautiful furniture and household products to prototypes, new material testing and industrial or medical devices, TMDC is open for whoever wants to make something.
Coworking applied to fabrication
Sharing instead of owning machines
Resilient networks of makers
Knowledge transfer handworkers
New open access industry
Preservation of industrial warehouses through new industrial uses. The majority of industrial buildings within cities are demolished or in the best case repurpose for offices or housing. We have managed to re-open 13 warehouses (4500m2) that were closed for 10-15 years, maintaining industrial activity.
Regeneration of the local industrial ecosystem. Our workshop facilitates the relationship between the consumers and the producers by maintaining production locally, making it reachable to neighbors. The location, right in between the residential neighborhoods and industrial areas. In this way the fabricators can use local transportation to come to work, and possible buyers can visit them. At the same the fabricators can maintain their activity by being in an area where it is permitted to fabricate.
Efficient fabrication accessible to all. By accessing more modern and developed technologies, fabricators can keep production costs lower thus having more competitive and affordable prices for the consumers. In this way, securing activity.
Machine and infrastructure sharing. By creating a coworking space for fabrication, its users have access to industrial machines without having to buy individually. This is more environmentally friendly not just because we need less machines, but also because it promotes the use of more quality machines changing the paradigm of obsolescence.
Material sharing and economizing. By working in a shared space, the materials that one does not need might be used by someone else in the space. In this way we lower the material waste.
Local sourcing of materials. We find and facilitate access to local manufacturers of raw materials. We work closely with projects that develop recycled materials (Honext, Precious Plastics, … ) and also local sawmills that foster the use of local woods (ie singularwoods.cat ) Being a small fabricator, this connections might be difficult, but with a conglomerate of small business, we can facilitate that access.
Dignifying manual labor culture. Fabrication in its different forms has been diminished for decades. A person that didn't go to university is often looked over the shoulder by society. We wanted to create a space where manual labor is celebrated, and where a person that strives in this area feels good at work. By using design, we have created a space that makes you feel good and proud at work.
Re-mixing backgrounds, skills, and visions. A coworking space facilitates people from different backgrounds getting together. It creates a rich ecosystem of skills, techniques, and knowledge. This gives possibilities for richer, complex and more diverse types of outcomes.
The relationship with the material. As the production of goods has gone away from the cities, the relationship with the materials is becoming ever more abstract. Most universities in Spain do not have workshops, and careers like design, architecture and engineering rely solely on computer-aided design and theory. TMDC has become the workshop where students can come to play with materials.
Better conditions for working. Due to the high rental prices in the city and the low income generated by manual labor activities, workshops have become dark, cramped and dusty places to work. TMDC, using the sharing model, has managed to maintain a spacious, light-filled organized workshop.
Home feeling in industry. We have used design to interpret and rethink how an industrial warehouse should be today. While maintaining an utilitarian design, we have added a feeling of home in it. Today's work environment isn't just about efficiency, but about feeling good.
Sense of belonging through BBQ and pizzas & common areas. Creating culture goes beyond work. Creating a network starts by getting to know each other. BBQ and Pizza Thursdays is one of the activities that happen at TMDC to spark new connections and a sense of ownership.
Infrastructure and tools made affordable: Starting a business that needs fabrication requires a big investment upfront. TMDC lowers that entry-level to 61€ and does not require a long-term commitment. This allows people to start their projects and services.
New models require flexibility. Access when you need it: Owning a workshop in Barcelona means a fixed cost of around 2000€/month. Maintaining that infrastructure (if you can) often means being forced to do projects that you are not interested in. By having a structure that can take your highs and lows, TMDC users can focus on undertaking those projects where they thrive, which means living a more fulfilling life.
Fabrication for all. TMDC is designed for all people. We have courses to teach with no prior skills. Every skill and background is welcome. Also, we take pride in being a place for all genders and ages, trying to stay away from the traditionally male-dominated industry stereotype.
Accessible for immigrants. When you come to a new city, you do not have a network that can help you start. An open workshop can become that place. We have more than 20 nationalities, they choose to work from here because of its accessibility and welcome community.
When making is the common language. TMDC is open to all kinds of levels. That has made it attractive not just for professionals but also for passionate hobbyists. Because of this, you can find carpenters and metal workers building things next to judges, doctors and programmers. “Making” is the common language that they use to interact. This helps make a more cohesive society in and out of the workshop.
Made for fabricators by fabricators. TMDC was started by the need to access a workshop in a flexible way. The decision-making has been through the engagement of the end user through a direct relationship. The project has grown by forging partnerships with like-minded people and companies.
Understanding what already exists in Barcelona and what is needed. Before starting TMDC, research was done to understand what already existed and what could complement and add to the city (instead of competing). In Barcelona, there was already the Fablab (experimentation and divulgation of digital fabrication) Ateneos de Fabricacio (teaching digital fabrication) or Made Barcelona (community open digital-lab). There is also the Fabricas de Creacio (spaces for artists in different fields) But there was no place to do production of furniture or products. TMDC was adapted to that particular need and grew from there. Catering to those who did not have a place to go, and also collaborating with the existing initiatives to co-create a more diverse ecosystem in the city.
New activity in La Verneda Neighborhood. La Verneda is listed as one of the 15 most poor neighborhoods in Barcelona. The city is dedicating a special effort to revitalizing its economy and culture. By placing TMDC in this barrio, we are both aligning with the city initiative and the community's desire of seeing it again as an active and vibrant quarter. The warehouses, built in 1963 have been the working places for many neighbors; however, they closed over a decade ago. We have worked with neighborhood associations from the beginning to find the best way to get involved.
Revitalizing Cataluña industrial heritage. Cataluñas has historically been an industrial province in Spain. A big part of it was the textile industry that left for far east countries decades ago. TMDC is reinterpreting today's needs and opportunities to build upon that heritage at the same time that it adapts to citizens' demands.
Direct relationship with consumers. By being in the city, the fabricators that work from TMDC´s facilities can invite in and have a more direct contact with Barcelona´s consumers.
Makerlab Europe is a platform aiming to give access to machines and design methodologies at design festivals. We used the platform, by harnessing the creative energy at each gathering, to co-ideate and prototype solutions for local problems. It was born at DMY Berlin in 2010. And traveled to different design festivals like Salone del Mobile in Milan, 1st Design Biennial in Istanbul and EME3 in Barcelona. After the first session, we realized that we needed a permanent version of it.
Betahaus Berlin and Betahaus Barcelona. Betahaus Berlin is pioneering coworking in Europe and was supportive from the beginning of the idea of a fabrication lab. The first iteration of the idea was called Open Design City. When developing Betahaus Barcelona, a more mature idea of the lab was prototyped within the facility. Here we tried the coworking model applied to a workshop.
Ayuntamiento de Barcelona. Barcelona´s city hall has realized the importance of developing fabrication labs since 2013. They also promoted maker district to help keep making activities within the city. Now they are developing a bigger plan to maintain certain industrial activities within the city. TMDC has aligned from the beginning with those strategies and we have kept in communication to ensure coordinated efforts.
Makerspaces in Europe: (Hafven, Hannover; Makerspace, Munich; Building Bloqs, London) TMDC idea started in 2010, pioneering the coworking concept applied to shared workshops. But other initiatives have started in the last few years. We have kept close contact to be able to share experiences, strategies, and exchanges.
Elisava University. Elisava is probably the biggest design university in Barcelona, also known for its forward attitude. We have partnered with them since 2020 to explore how access to building facilities might improve the experience and the output of design students.
Designers, Architects, Makers, Engineers, Hand workers, Geeks and Artists. This conglomerate sparked TMDC. The common need was to be able to transform ideas into tangible objects. Then, each discipline brings its unique approach to making, TMDC got its wide array of machines and infrastructural design.
Political Science, Social work, Entrepreneurship, and Finances. Once the idea was set for TMDC, we needed to learn from other knowledge fields to make a sustainable project. These fields, not common to the workshop environment, are the ones that gave the project conceptual solidity (political sciences), a wider purpose (social work), a lean approach to business development (entrepreneurship), and economical coherence (finances).
Industry. We understood that if we want to change something, we need to look at competitive and efficient ways of producing goods. That is why we investigate how new industrial models can be applied to local production. (Industry 4.0, circular economy, robotics, IOT, smart factory)
The main result is that TMDC has managed to be a project that is sustainable and that is helping small fabricators start their projects. For our qualitative impact list we can quote sentences from our members:
I would like to leave Barcelona, but how could I work in other places if there is not TMDC. Howard, English, handyman.
This is the happiest I have been. Doing something I like between people I like. Jose, Spanish, machine operator.
It would be so great if there would be more TMDC around the world to be able to travel and work. Billy, Australian, carpenter.
It would have been impossible to start our business if we didn´t had TMDC. Marc, Cataluña, designer.
I have been able to start a new life. Saeid, Iran, Luthier.
Impressive space with all the machines you can imagine at your disposal. Michael, German, Concrete worker.
For quantitative results, we have the following list.
A multidisciplinary, intergenerational, international team managing the project.
13 warehouses that were empty for 10+ years have been renovated and are in use.
4500m2 open workshop in the city of Barcelona to work wood, metal, plástics, electronics, concrete or glass.
Industrial machinery worth more than 300.000€ accessible from 61€ to everybody.
54 workshop spaces for small companies that are starting their fabrication business.
150+ members from different backgrounds, ages, genders and nationalities.
200+ university students per year are learning to fabricate in a professional workshop.
400+ formed participants per year. They have learned básics to be able to fabricate by themselves.
TMDC is listed in the new urban plan for Barcelona as a key player in the industrial revitalization of the city.
Innovation against unemployment. We were awarded the prize Innovation against unemployment by ASCA (Barcelona) because we are creating a platform where each individual or collective can create their own job. This is proven to be not just more secure for them, but also more fulfilling.
Innovative use of coworking´s concept. While most coworking spaces are dedicated to office jobs, we believed that the same idea could be applied to any other field. And that coworking spaces actually make more sense when there are high infrastructural costs involved. We were the first ones to test the idea back in 2010.
Incubator for fabricators. In Barcelona, there is no open access space where entrepreneurs that have an idea that involves fabrication can go to. We have seen the power of a space like TMDC turn individual ideas into companies because of access to infrastructure.
Incubator for industrial tech startups. TMDC provides the space and machinery to Stage2´s accelerating program. Stage2 takes startups with a functional prototype, to the first industrial series, complemented with market validation, and a growth strategy.
R&D space for local companies. Having your own inhouse workshop to test new ideas is expensive and most companies don't have it. Companies have a place to test and prototype new products and ideas. Thus we are helping local companies innovate without high added costs.
Design Education beyond the computer. Design education in Spain has been mainly theoretical for many years. We have seen how, by accessing the workshop, students are understanding the material better and thus improving their projects.
"It ultimately boils down to the emergence of the network as the productive model par excellence of our time. It’s a complete shift away from the heroic figure of the designer towards the absence of any single figure as the author; more of a collaborative, networked approach." Joseph Grima, curator at the first design biennial in Istanbul.
Lean methodology. Originated with the Toyota Production System, revolutionizing the manufacture of physical goods in the 1950s, ‘60s, and beyond. Lean methodology has been widely used in startups, but it maintains its hold in manufacturing.
Adhoc. Rigid top-down systems established to optimize mass production are being replaced by flexible peer-to-peer networks and agile decision-making in order to stay alive.
Cooperative. Influenced by Catalunya heritage and as a natural way to work, we have decided to keep the cooperative model as the organizational foundation.
Open. The TMDC idea was first called Open Design City. From the beginning, we have believed that all models should be open to facilitate the flowing of ideas.
Organic growth. The project had to grow according to demand and its own possibilities. This has allowed us to stay true to the idea (not having to comply with investors' ROI demands.) and also pivot towards the demands and necessities of its users.
Besides the physical space, everythings can be transferred to other cities in Europe. In fact, TMDC has already been approached for consulting from different cities in Europe, the Middle East and South America.
Any major city, especially those where rent is high or where access to machines is scarce, would benefit from open access workshops. Those would facilitate fabricators to start to do services and cater to local needs. Of course, there has to be research to understand local needs and opportunities.
Developing cities would need a different adaptation than those more established. For example, a developing city might focus on covering basic needs like house furniture. Established cities might want to have a stronger innovation or experimentation area to support new ideas developing.
But fields of expertise, machine repertoire, amount of m2 and location, culture creation methodologies, learning programs, etc, could be transferred almost exactly.
Self reliance / Autonomy, Industrial activity in the city. According to the MISTA project conducted as part of the ESPON, industry is a catalyst for growth, research and innovation, but it is also a crucial element to guarantee greater resilience in the face of various crises.
KM0 / Local production and consumption. Transportation is a major generator of C02 Emissions. By producing products to be consumed locally, we are helping reach the Green Deal goals.
Shared infrastructures. The EU’s new circular action plan states that it will incentivize product-as-a-service or other models where producers keep the ownership of the product or the responsibility for its performance throughout its lifecycle. This is the TMDC model in respect to machines.
Technical knowledge and skills. The European Commission warns about the need to study vocational training to cover job prospects. TMDC acts as an informal place to learn technical skills that might lead towards job opportunities or towards further education in technical studies.
Gender inclusivity. According to Eurostat, the share of women in crafts and related trades workers is around 10%. We have more than 30% women in TMDC.
