Zürich-Wollishofen , Seestrasse 407, 395, 409, CHE

1892–1893

The silk weaving mill was built according to Arnold Séquin-Bronner’s project for Karl Gustav Henneberg(1847–1918) by an architect and constructor Emil Schmid-Kerez (1843–1915) in two construction phases, albeit with an identical frame construction, consisting of cast-iron pillars carrying steel I-beams with the span of 5.9 × 5.4 metres. At first, between 1892 and 1893, it was a two-storey building of a hand weaving mill no. 407 situated along the Seestraße street formed by 9 × 4 frame sections with spans reduced lengthwise by inserted pillars to 2.7 metres in the ground floor. In 1895, following the completion of Lake Zürich embankment, it was extended to the east by a single-storey shed of a mechanical weaving mill served by 280 looms no. 409, comprising 10 × 7 frame sections. The characteristic cement-wood roof fitted with saddle skylights is carried by metre-high trusses in the transverse direction, with the resulting clear height of 6 m enabling easy installation of programmable Jacquard heads above the looms. To the north was annexed a 120 HP steam engine house in the centre of the hall, with a boiler house comprising three boilers situated next to it, separated by a yard with an original chimney. At the same time, a three-storey administrative building no. 395 was built, followed by the construction of a covered footbridge connecting the two buildings in 1898. Additional storeys to the shed hall were built in 1935 and 1942, probably together with a new boiler house no. 397, with a chimney preserved until today. In 1952, when the two-storey building was raised, a dome roof covering its corner was demolished. In 1972 the factory was taken over by the city of Zürich, with the intension to demolish the complex in order to extend the neighbouring street of Seestraße. In autumn 1976 the first theatre festival took place there, followed by a referendum next year when the decision was made to preserve the building for the purposes of a cultural and community centre. Rote Fabrik was opened on 25 October 1980, with the Interessengemeinschaft in charge of its organization and administration.