Objects that speak. Material memory of the Hospital Vilardebó: student experience

Abstract

This paper presents the student experience developed in the Comprehensive Training Space (EFI) “Objects that Speak: Material Memory of the Hospital Vilardebó”, carried out during the first semester of 2025. The project originated from the need to address the museum collection of the Hospital Vilardebó's Heritage Recovery Space (ERP). The lack of a standardised inventory and records had created risks in terms of the conservation, control, and dissemination of the objects, within a context of institutional vulnerability and public debate about the hospital's future.

The EFI focused on the “Pharmaceuticals Collection”, addressing objects with limited contextual information and conservation issues. From an interdisciplinary perspective, tasks such as identification, mechanical cleaning, coding, inventorying, and photographic documentation were undertaken, conceived not only as technical procedures but also as reflective practices of dialogue with material memory.

The methodology was based on situated and collaborative learning, integrating knowledge from archival science, museology, and other disciplines. As a result, basic tools for the control and management of the collection were generated, the ERP system was strengthened, and the enhancement of the hospital's heritage was promoted. The experience highlighted both the structural limitations of the space and the educational and social potential of an interdisciplinary approach to non-traditional heritage objects.