Forn de Can Maspons – 08415 Bigues i Riells (Correspondencia: Tetuán, 15 – 08402 Granollers)
The craft has run through the family for generations and has been taught from fathers to sons.
April 2017: they take part in a workshop: “Taller de Volta Catalana” together with the Escola Origens of Girona and the Gremio de Constructores of Mataró.
May 2017: Technical Session of Volta Catalana at the Museum of Ciment Asland, in Castellar de n´Hug.
Collaboration project involving teaching… and learning to increase employability by manufacturing bricks, in Turkana, Kenia.
The business Forn d’obra Duran started more than eighty years ago. Its essential value is that it continues the tradition of manufacturing ceramic pieces manually for construction, restoration and decoration.
The main products they manufacture are: bricks, tiling, tiles of various sizes and measurements, as well… as the manufacture of personalized pieces.
The manufacturing process starts with the sieving of the clay. Then, some water is added and the mixture is transported to the workplace or era, where the process of kneading is carried out. The mixture from the clay kneader machine is moulded and then it is placed on the ground where it will dry naturally until its humidity is practically eliminated, reaching levels between 5% and 10% (this is the percentage of humidity which is necessary to reach in order to introduce the pieces in the furnace and to be able to fire them without them cracking).
The firing of the material is done gradually, for around 42 to 52 hours until the temperature inside the furnace reaches 980º to 1050º. Once the material is fired, it is extracted from the kiln, and the pieces are classified and stacked in different pallets.
Forn d’obra Duran are a family-run business, which from the start has worked with great care and love for the material they manufacture. In their work, genuine human commitment has always come before personal interests. The works they carry out tend to be for private clients, for the building of houses, towers, single-family dwellings, etc.