HOW WAS OUR
HISTORY WRITTEN?

From Olivetti factory to Westfield Glòries

Westfield Glòries: much more than a shopping center

Did you know that the history of Westfield Glòries is a bit peculiar? We're currently the most urban shopping center in Barcelona, right in the heart of the 22@ district, with more than 100 shops and 30 restaurants, a cinema in Spanish, and a wide variety of services. We're a meeting point for friends, a family destination on weekends, and an after-work hangout for employees. But what if we told you that in every corner of the shopping center, there's a story that few people know about?

The Hispano Olivetti factory: its history

In 1929, the company Hispano Olivetti S.A was created in Barcelona, a subsidiary of the Italian company Olivetti, dedicated to the manufacture of typewriters. Its initial headquarters were located in the Poble Nou neighborhood and after the Spanish Civil War (1940), the company acquired a 10,000 square meter plot on Gran Vía de les Corts Catalanes, next to what is now Plaza de las Glòries📍

From the Hispano Olivetti factory to Westfield Glòries

Over the years, the Hispano Olivetti factory would become the Westfield Glòries shopping center 🛍️, as it is known today. However, it wouldn't be until 2017 that the shopping center would look as you and many others know it. What happened from 1942 to 2017? Here's a brief and interesting history👇:

1940: The beginning

In 1940, Josep Soteras i Mauri began construction of the industrial complex for the Italian company after acquiring the site on Gran Vía de les Corts Catalanes. Two years later, Hispano Olivetti opened, marking the beginning of everything.

1942: The Hispano Olivetti factory

The factory complex was designed with its industrial function in mind, but also as a model business, offering numerous services for its workers and families, such as a swimming pool and a nursery. The factory was built in a functionalist style.

1963: Olivetti, design and innovation

Typewriters began to gain significant popularity in the 1950s thanks to their radical changes in design; portable, comfortable, and easy-to-use models. Olivetti marketed the most innovative models on the market.

1987: The world changes and innovation takes over

Olivetti stood out with typewriters, but computing accelerated its decline. Workers went on strike to prevent layoffs. In 1987, the company closed, coinciding with the urban transformation ahead of the Olympic Games.

2017: Mariscal contributes to the visual identity of the new Glòries center.

Between 2013 and 2017, Westfield Glòries was renovated with a design by Javier Mariscal, preserving the post-Olympic spirit. The space blends modernity and industrial heritage, with icons like the original factory chimneys, honoring its past.

1940: The beginning

1942: The Hispano Olivetti factory

1963: Olivetti, design and innovation

1987: The world changes and innovation takes over

2017: Mariscal contributes to the visual identity of the new Glòries center.

The evolution of Westfield Glòries

So now you’ve discovered a new side of Westfield Glòries; and it’s true when we say it’s much more than just a shopping center. Westfield Glòries, or simply Glòries as many of you still call it, has always been a landmark for many; in the past, a workplace that provided jobs to many families until the rise of computing. Today, this small space has grown into a shopping center where many of you spend your days and nights shopping, going to the cinema, or grabbing a bite at our restaurants.

One way or another, Westfield Glòries is an iconic and well-known spot in Barcelona—whether you know it as Westfield Glòries, “Glòries Shopping Center” or the former Hispano Olivetti factory.