Fagus Factory
| Fagus Factory in Alfeld | |
|---|---|
| Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List | |
 |
|
| Location | Germany |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | ii, iv |
| Reference | 1368 |
| UNESCO region | Europe and North America |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 2011 (35th Session) |
The Fagus Factory (German: Fagus Fabrik or Fagus Werk), a shoe last factory in Alfeld on the Leine, Lower Saxony, Germany, is an important example of early modern architecture. Commissioned by owner Carl Benscheidt who wanted a radical structure to express the company's break from the past, the factory was designed by Walter Gropius and Adolf Meyer. It was constructed between 1911 and 1913, with additions and interiors completed in 1925.
The building that had the greater influence on the design of Fagus was AEG’s Turbine factory designed by Peter Behrens. Gropius and Meyer had both worked on the project and with Fagus they presented their interpretation and criticism of their teacher’s work. The Fagus main building can be seen as an inversion of the Turbine factory. Both have corners free of supports, and glass surfaces between piers that cover the whole height of the building. However, in the Turbine factory the corners are covered by heavy elements that slant inside. The glass surfaces also slant inside and are recessed in relation to the piers. The load-bearing elements are attenuated and the building has an image of stability and monumentality. In Fagus exactly the opposite happens; the corners are left open and the piers are recessed leaving the glass surface to the front. Gropius describes this transformation by saying,
"The role of the walls becomes restricted to that of mere screens stretched between the upright columns of the framework to keep out rain, cold and noise"
At the time of the design of Fagus, Gropius was collecting photographs of industrial buildings in the USA to be used for a Deutscher Werkbund publication. The design of these American factories was also a source of inspiration for Fagus.
Carl Benscheidt (1858–1947) founded the Fagus company in 1910. He had then started by working for Arnold Rikkli, who practised naturopathic medicine, and it was there that he learned about orthopedic shoe lasts (which were quite rare at that time). In 1887 Benscheidt was hired by the shoe last manufacturer Carl Behrens as works manager in his factory in Alfeld. After the death of Behrens in 1896, Benscheidt became general manager of the company, which was on its way to being one of the biggest in that sector in Germany. In October 1910, he resigned from his position because of differences with Behrens’s son.
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