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Fagus Works

Property names are listed in the language in which they have been submitted by the State Party.

Germany (Europe and North America)
Date of Submission: 20/09/1999
Category: Cultural
Submitted by: Niedersächsisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege- Abteilung Bau- und Kunstdenkmalpflege-Scharnhorstst.1
State, Province or Region: Lower Saxony, Alfeld (Leine), Hannoversche Str. - 50km south of Hannover
Ref.: 1364

Description

Between 1911 and 1914, the architect's offices of Edward Werner and Walter Gropius in conjunction with Adolf Meyer erected a new building for a factory belonging to the Alfeld industrialist Carl Benscheidt directly to the east of the Hannover-Gottingen railway line, in the centre of the German shoe last industry.

From north to south, the asymmetrical arrangement consists of a more or less informal group of production-linked buildings with sawmill, storage and drying building, production hall, forwarding department, machine building, office block and, at a slight distance from the rest, the locksmith's shop and the porter's building with access road.

The task of Gropius' office was to use purely architectural means to achieve a distinctively modern design for the building complex, whose cross-section and spatial programme were already defined. The solution aimed at by the owner was, in competition to the existing shoe last factories in the town, also to be a symbol of technical progress and social commitment.

Justification for Outstanding Universal Value

Satements of authenticity and/or integrity

The Fagus Works present a high extension of authenticity because they were producing shoemakers'lasts still up to now.

Comparison with other similar properties

The Fagus Works designed by Walter Gropius and Adolf Meyer are widely considered one of the origines of modern architecture; constructed from 1911 onwards, they were worldwide unique in their time.