LABORAL - CENTRO DE ARTE Y CREACIÓN INDUSTRIAL

The history of the building can be traced back to 1945 when it was decided to create a Miners' Orphanage for the children of workers killed in occupational accidents. It was initially named Fundación José Antonio Girón after the Ministry for Work at that time, who had declared it a "work of urgent execution". The centre encompassed a residence for 1000 students, industrial workshops, sports facilities, a farm to cater for the students' needs and to train them in agriculture, as well as land big enough for commercial farming. It was also conceived to cater for day students.

The land acquired by the Foundation by the Gijon-Villaviciosa road, reached a total of 1,544,572 square metres, 381,551 of them obtained through compulsory purchase. A supplementary area with 1,464,300 square metres was bought for the Lloreda Farm, at El Infanzón.

The design was commissioned to a team of architects led by Luis Moya Blanco, including his brother Ramiro Moya Blanco, Pedro Rodríguez A. de la Puente and the architect from Gijon José Díez Canteli. The best professionals of the time were in charge of the various specialties required by the project. The gardens were designed by Javier de Winthuyssen, the then National Inspector of Artistic Gardens and Parks; the project for the agronomic farm was commissioned to the agronomist Gabino Figar; the sculptures were created by Manuel Álvarez Laviada and Florentino Trapero while the mosaics were commissioned to Santiago Padrós, who based the final design on works made by Joaquín Valverde, a painter from Seville.

While the building was being constructed, the Ministry for Work decided to create vocational universities to train young people in trades and so the Miners' Orphanage actually ended up as the Universidad Laboral de Gijón. This kind of vocational educational was adapted and assimilated by technical institutes in the United States and the United Kingdom. The education and management of the centre was entrusted to the Society of Jesus, and the administrative control to the Poor Clare Nuns.

In 1978 the Jesuits were replaced, and the management was handed over to the teaching staff. The contract with the nuns was also terminated some years later.

In 1979, the vocational training centres were incorporated into the national curriculum, and in 1996 the complex was renamed as Enseñanza Secundaria Universidad Laboral, with 2250 students