Page 42 - Beyond Decommissioning

The fundamentals of industrial redevelopment 23

ornament on building exteriors; prompted open internal spaces; promoted flat roofs
and discouraged the attics; encouraged large windows; and recommended flat floor
areas be detached from interior stairs. The stair towers that punctuated flat facades
became typical. Any ornament was placed on the towers, which were often capped
with roof tops or domes. In the early 1900s, the growth of both buildings and machin-
ery required structures that could support more weight and spread over greater length.
Moreover, new industrial processes demanded more flexible and adaptable layouts.
The solution came from well-known materials that needed new applications: concrete
and steel. Single-story buildings became of common use for their adaptability. Light
entered through clerestories or monitors on the roofs which were supported by wide-
span structural grids. These buildings required larger land expanses and enhanced the
use of steel. The mass-produced steel could span great distances compared with cast
iron or concrete, so providing the flexibility needed for the continuous change of the
industrial processes.
Industrial shapes, materials, and aesthetics had a great influence on the orientation of
modern architecture. Aroundthe early 1900s, the factory was regarded as a buildingtype
deserving architectural attention in order to dignify the workplace and establish corpo-
rate identities. One example is emblematic of this period, Otto Wagner’s Hofpavillon
(Court Pavilion), Hietzing, Vienna, Austria, completed in 1899 (Fig. 2.4). By using a
small number of striking motifs—the broad, curved approach, the wrought-iron portico,
and the central dome—the famous Austrian architect was able to distinguish the Court
Pavilion from the other stations of the City Train network. But Wagner managed to give
all the network of mass transport (stations, bridges, and railings) a unified character, the

Fig. 2.4 Otto Wagner’s Hofpavilion, Hietzing, Vienna.
Photo by M. Laraia (May 2018).