Ten atriums. That’s what architect Philipp Jakob Manz initially planned for Fabrik in Karlsruhe. This wasn’t just any factory. It was the Hallenbau A of the Industriewerke Karlsruhe-Augsburg. Fabrik in Karlsruhe started as the Henri Ehrmann & Cie bullet casing factory in 1872. A small partnership it began. It grew. Wilhelm Lorenz took over in 1878. He renamed it Deutsche Metallpatronenfabrik Lorenz. In 1883 they got a license to make live ammunition. Lorenz designed the machines himself. Mass production began.
The Fabrik expanded. It was sold to Ludwig Loewe & Co. It became part of Deutsche Metallpatronenfabrik. They supplied the Prussian army with bullets. In 1896 the headquarters moved to Berlin. The Karlsruhe branch became Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabrik or DWM. By 1914 DWM offered a full range of munitions. World War I started. Kaiser Wilhelm II ordered mobilization. The DWM factory in Karlsruhe worked at full speed.
Manz got the commission to expand the Fabrik. Construction was urgent. He planned ten atriums. Only eight with a water tower were approved. Ten were built anyway. No water tower. The Fabrik’s design was modern industrial architecture. Reinforced concrete. A floor area of 312 meters by 56.4 meters. It was 25.8 meters high. The usable area was 16500 square meters. The Fabrik was both a functional building and a statement from its owner.
Manz used rhythm in his design. Six avant-corps 12 meters wide. Eight 48-meter grid fields. Stairwells were in the avant-corps. The external pillars were rhythmically arranged. Floors tapered upwards. Daylight streamed in through large windows. The double-comb floor plan was efficient. Material personnel and information flowed along the long buildings. Processing and machining happened in the cross buildings. A works railway ran through the building. It still does. Heavy goods could be delivered and transported easily.
The plans for eight atriums called for 750 people per floor. Five hundred were to be women. Workers accessed the building through decentralized entrances. Between 1915 and 1918 employment exploded. Six thousand workers in 1915. Nine thousand in 1916. More women than men worked there. Manz added eight new buildings. 62000 square meters more. Completion was in 1918. Too late for the war effort. Supply problems and worker shortages caused delays.
The Fabrik changed hands. It became BERKA. Then DWM again. Countless slave laborers worked there during the Third Reich. After the war it became IWK then IWKA. Finally KUKA in 2007. Production moved to the outskirts of Karlsruhe. The Fabrik became an industrial wasteland. In 1981 the Kammertheater started using Hallenbau A. Unauthorized cultural events followed. In 1989 the ZKM Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe was founded. They wanted a new building. Rem Koolhaas’ design was too expensive. They chose Fabrik. Renovation began in 1993. The original structure remained. Bridges and walkways were added. A media theatre and a cube for a music studio. The ZKM opened in 1997. Fabrik transformed. From munitions to art. A remarkable history.