As W.H. Auden, one of the most influential poets of the 20th century, once said, “One cannot walk through an assembly factory and not feel that one is in Hell.” These days you’re more likely to find the cavernous concrete foundries of a bygone industrial era chock full of Eames chairs and ironic art. As more and more factories are converted into lofts or carefully-curated creative office spaces, we got to wondering if functioning factories are actually still being built. Or, have we evolved entirely beyond our messy manufacturing heyday? Well dear readers, we’re here to report that the modern factory is alive and well, and thanks to some incredibly innovative designers, it’s seeing a renaissance all its own. From Mexico’s playful Nestlé laboratories that are Wonka’s chocolate factory come to life to an imaginative masking tape factory in Japan, click through to check out some of the most beautiful factories in operation today.
Olisur Olive Oil Factory by GH + A Architects – Santiago, Chile
Images via archdaily
Nestlé Chocolate Factory by Rojkind Arquitectos – Mexico City, Mexico
Images via Arch/dez/art
Nestlé Application Group by Rojkind Arquitectos – Querétaro, Mexico
Images via archdaily
McLaren Production Centre by Foster + Partners – Woking, England
Images via The UK Office; dezeen
BMW Central Building by Zaha Hadid – Leipzig, Germany
Images via interagora
Hanil Visitors Center and Guest House at a Cement Factory – Chungbuk, Korea
Image credit: Yong Gwan Kim via simbiosis
Vitra Factory by Alvaro Siza – Weil am Rhein, Germany
Image credit: k_man123; Vitra.; Pedro Kok
mt Masking Tape Factory – Kamoi, Japan
Image credit: hello sandwich
Bacardi Rum Factory – Cataño, Puerto Rico
Images via xoxocastro
Dongguan Toy Factory by Atelier Liu Yuyang Architects – Pearl River Delta, China
[via Design Exhibit]