The Council of Mallorca has begun emergency works to install a large temporary roof over the Fàbrica Nova de Sóller, with an investment of 1.5 million euros. The action aims to prevent the collapse of the industrial complex while progress is made on the future Textile Museum.
The president of the Council of Mallorca, Llorenç Galmés, visited the emergency works at the Fàbrica Nova de Sóller on Monday, accompanied by the vice president and councillor of Culture and Heritage, Antònia Roca; the councillor of Finance, Rafel Bosch; the island director of Heritage, Maribel Arnau, and the mayor of Sóller, Miquel Nadal. The intervention, which has a budget of 1.5 million euros, has an execution period of five months.
A temporary structure manufactured in Portugal
The action focuses on buildings 1 and 2 and the adjacent property of the industrial complex, after building 3 was controlledly demolished in January, as it was in imminent ruin. Technicians from the Historical Heritage Service confirmed that the rest of the complex presented a high risk of collapse due to severe deterioration of the roofs and floors from decades of water infiltration.
Perimeter scaffolding is already being erected outside to install a large temporary roof, manufactured in Portugal, with assembly scheduled for September, before the arrival of the rains. This structure will prevent further infiltrations, the main cause of the progressive deterioration of the property.
Interior shoring without damaging the historical machinery
Inside, the work consists of installing a complex structure of trusses and props to support the floors and prevent sinking. The difficulty lies in that all shoring must be done while keeping all the historical machinery in place, protected as Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC), which requires working in confined spaces and on a very deteriorated structure.
At the same time, technicians have carried out a thorough cataloguing of the preserved industrial elements, inventorying 55 pieces of heritage interest, including the historic gas engine that generated energy for the textile facilities.
The future Textile Museum of Mallorca
This emergency work is the preliminary step to the definitive rehabilitation of the Fàbrica Nova, which will house the Textile Museum of Mallorca. The Council acquired the property in 2025 following a historic agreement, and since then, actions have been taken to halt its deterioration. For the residents of Sóller, the preservation of this industrial complex means preserving a key testimony of the island's textile history, as well as a future cultural and tourist attraction.
The emergency works, which are expected to conclude by early 2027, will ensure that the factory does not collapse while the definitive rehabilitation projects are drafted. The Council anticipates that the museum will become a reality in the coming years, although there is still no specific date.
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