Sigaren Fabriek
Berlage Design Masterclass, 2016
Material Culture | Prototypes for a New Industrial Vernacular
Led by Assemble & Hugo Corbett
In collaboration with: Gustav Kjær Vad Nielsen, James Taylor, Jelena Bottani, Marcela Montalvao and Nick Rose
A New Vernacular?
Cigar Factory is a factory in Historic Delft area from 1800s. The Complex consists of three historic buildigns built in order in different time zones.
We are keeping the factory as it is now - an accidental archive and exchange for materials. Out of necessity the building is a storage space for materials that are too valuable to discard. This in itself is an exciting and interesting use for the building - a historic builder’s merchants for the city of Delft. The Cigar Factory is not perfect however, from the street the building is isolated, and to many, anonymous.
Our proposals bring a new sense of theatre and performance to the factory to make it more recognisable from the street. We’re proposing a new entrance for the building, and treating people like the materials. On arrival into the central courtyard, people get into an external lift and are taken to the top floor via a hoist. It is with this principle that materials are moved in and out of the building also. The facade is comprised of a single material that is processed in different way that conveys the history of the building. In the same way that the current owner has heightened an existing chimney brick to be used as a floor tile, we are proposing enrichment through process.
Cigar Factory is a factory in Historic Delft area from 1800s. The Complex consists of three historic buildigns built in order in different time zones.
We are keeping the factory as it is now - an accidental archive and exchange for materials. Out of necessity the building is a storage space for materials that are too valuable to discard. This in itself is an exciting and interesting use for the building - a historic builder’s merchants for the city of Delft. The Cigar Factory is not perfect however, from the street the building is isolated, and to many, anonymous.
Our proposals bring a new sense of theatre and performance to the factory to make it more recognisable from the street. We’re proposing a new entrance for the building, and treating people like the materials. On arrival into the central courtyard, people get into an external lift and are taken to the top floor via a hoist. It is with this principle that materials are moved in and out of the building also. The facade is comprised of a single material that is processed in different way that conveys the history of the building. In the same way that the current owner has heightened an existing chimney brick to be used as a floor tile, we are proposing enrichment through process.
What?
Our proposal explores the tectonic characteristics of the derived from the history of place.
Where?
The space we want to focus on is the existing main building of production and the most visible building on the site.
Why?
The presence of an industry in a city must be recognised by give the industrial activity a public character
Who?
People who want to can contribute or withdraw materials like makers, designer, homeowners or general public
How?
By taking an ordinary, readily accessible material like the contemporary roof tile, we will process and assemble it differently, to speak of the history of the building. Proposing a new entrance and means of circulation that takes precedent from factories such as “Van Nelle” where raw materials start at the top and work their way down.
How long for?
Install a longterm system inspired by the existing owner for future use, general public or new owners.