Fagus Factory in Alfeld, Germany
On 2nd October 2014, the German Postal authorities, Deutsche Post released a stamp related to World Heritage site – Fagus Factory in Alfeld.
The Fagus Factory (German: Fagus Werk), a shoe last factory in Alfeld on the Leine, Lower Saxony, Germany, is an important example of early modern architecture. Commissioned by owner Carl Benscheidt, who wanted a radical structure to express the company's break from the past, the factory was designed by Walter Gropius and Adolf Meyer. It was constructed between 1911 and 1913.
The Fagus factory in Alfeld illustrates a moment of considerable interchange between different generations of German, European and North American architects, which gave rise to a rational and modernist architecture. It was a site of synthesis of these influences, which were technical, artistic and humanistic; it went on to influence many other architectural works; it was the starting point of the Bauhaus movement.
"Let the sun shine in!" This fresh motto could the distinguished architect Walter Gropius (1883-1969) has inspired. In his time was in the architecture redesign of factories as the greatest challenge and task for the future. Gropius had new ideas and a little luck. Carl Benscheidt, the head of the company was planning just a new factory and was impressed by the plans of the young architects. Cubic shapes, glass and steel as the dominant building material, generous window surfaces: An impression of light transmission and brightness.
For the first time a complete facade is conceived in glass. The supporting piers are reduced to narrow mullions of brick. The corners are left without any support, yielding an unprecedented sense of openness and continuity between inside and out. The expression of the flat roof has also changed. Only in the building [the Steiner House, Vienna] by Adolf Loos which was done one year before the Fagus Factory, had the same feeling for the pure cube. Another exceedingly important quality of Gropius's building is that, thanks to the large expanses of clear glass, the usual hard separation of exterior and interior is annihilated.
A manifesto of modernity in architecture, the Fagus factory won its designer, Walter Gropius, an international reputation. It exemplifies the innovation of the curtain wall, which optimises both luminosity and lightness. It is a concrete expression of the functionality of the industrial complex in the interest of productivity and the humanisation of the working environment. It incorporates into the scheme the concepts of industrial aesthetics and design.
In the imperial era factory buildings were dark, windowless and stuffy. The three-story main building of the Fagus-Werk, however, was up on bases and covers almost fully glazed, wherein interconnect metal windows with rich support freely around the corners. The result is a nearly weightless window facade. Gropius intends to operate its projects "human", it deals with the social issue: "Giving the factory workers, the slaves of the modern industrial labor, not only light, air and cleanliness, but let him feel something of the dignity of the common big idea that drives the whole thing. The shoe last factory marks the beginning of modern industrial architecture. To date, this shoe lasts are made, but also modern metrology systems for the woodworking industry. Since the year 1946, the Fagus Factory is classified as a historical monument since 2011, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Before the release of this stamp, there were only two types of philatelic material related to Fagus Factory were available. There are shown nearby for reference.
Commercially used Cover with Special Postmark
Commercially used Customized Envelope issued by the German Postal authority, Deutsche Post
- Pradeep Kumar Malik : email : mallikphila@gmail.com
Club News
Stamp Exhibition on Art and Culture in Bangalore
A philately exhibition is proposed to be held from 09.10.2014 to 30.10.2014 at National Gallery of Modern Art, Bangalore on the theme "Ärt and Culture". The exhibitor are Mr Vernon Paul, Mr MR Prabakar and other KPS members. A talk on Philately by Sh.M.S.Ramu has been arranged on 12.10.2014 between 05.30 pm to 07.00 pm at NGMA, Bangalore during this exhibition period.
- Jagannath Mani - Bangalore
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