av福利社

Highlights from av福利社ARA: Factories

Apr 12, 2016 by Jacqueline Spafford and Jeffrey Klee, av福利社ARA Co-Editors
This month we’re highlighting the rich collection of industrial architecture in av福利社ARA, specifically factories. Our contributors have documented numerous nineteenth-century factories and mills, as well as early foundries, assembly plants, distilleries, workers’ housing, and much more. Below are a few samples. Please visit av福利社ARA to explore more—a search on “factory” will produce 554 results!

To visit this collection and others in av福利社ARA go to:

And to learn more about contributing to av福利社ARA, visit:


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The Philip Morris Cigarette Factory, Richmond, Virginia. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, 1972-74. Photo by G.E. Kidder Smith (contributed by Rotch Visual Collections, MIT)

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Cambria Iron Works (also known as the Cambria Steel Company), Johnstown, Pennsylvania. In operation from 1852 until its closure in 1992. Photo by Dell Upton, 1990.

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Textile factory in Delhi, India.  Designed by Vasant Kamath, late 20th century. Photo by Peter Serenyi (contributed by Rotch Visual Collections, MIT)

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Vitra Factory building, Weil am Rhein, Germany. Designed by Frank Gehry, 1989. Photo by Lisa Schrenk, 2011.

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Menier Chocolate Factory, Noisiel, France. Designed by Jules Saulnier, 1871-72. Photo by Lauren Soth.

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Fieni Cement Plant, Dimbovita, Romania. Built 1914, modified 1947. Photo by Juliana Maxim, 2013.

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Hoover Building, London, UK.  Designed by Wallis, Gilbert and Partners, 1933 (the canteen building at left was added in 1938). Built to manufacture vacuum cleaners, the factory also built airplane parts during WWII. Purchased by supermarket chain Tesco in 1989. Photo by Richard Longstreth.

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Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site, Massachusetts. Created ca. 1648, reconstructed 2005-8 by Perry, Shaw & Hepburn, Kehoe & Dean. Photo by G.E. Kidder Smith (contributed by Rotch Visual Collections, MIT)