Factory Buildings of the Modern Movement - Different Kinds of (Constructive) Flexibility, Can They Meet the Expectations?

On the basis of case studies of factory buildings of the Modern Movement from Germany and The Netherlands we will look at the historical presupposed flexibility, in the matter of structure, division and loadbearing capacity.

It is interesting to note that right from the start, nearly all our examples of factory buildings were designed to allow for later extensions of the production and office facilities. Together with the effects of other such as choice of materials and location these had effects on the design of the factory buildings.

Factories that were built in the 19th and early 20th century usually had no provisions for expansions of the building. Instead, in most cases, apparently haphazard outbuildings and annexes were added.

After discussing the different kinds of flexibility and if they really met the expectations, the intention is to have also a short look to the possibilities of the examples for conversion.