At the beginning of the industrial revolution, the city of Lodz developed at a rate only exceeded by Chicago globally. Many factors accompanied the turbulent development of the cityʼs industry: customs policy and the Russian market, the import of modern technology from the West, the expansion of the railways, and - after the emancipation of the peasants in 1864 - cheap labor. Access to markets and designers from Western Europe and the US, geographical conditions including a rich network of natural canals and rivers have made Central Poland a textile center for decades. Among the richest manufacturers, Karol Scheibler's empire, in addition to modern factories, which covered 1/6 of the urban area, included workers' quarters, hospitals, a fire station, a power plant, gasworks and churches of different denominations as well as a huge farm - all together a total area of about 500ha. Scheibler predicted the cotton market crisis caused by the American Civil War. At the turn of the 1850s and 1860s, he ordered a large amount of cotton in the US, which was the basic raw material for Łódźʼs textile factories. When cotton supplies were reduced as a result of the war, Scheibler had enough raw material to produce when other factories closed . He had such great reserves that they were sufficient not only for his own production, but also for the sale of yarn at three times the price. Scheibler's farm is located on the outskirts of his empire on a small lake by the Jasień River. The farm complex is occupied by buildings standing around a vast, rectangular courtyard. The original wooden buildings have not survived. The oldest buildings include a brick barn and stable, built around 1887 and a former granary. The revitalization of buildings included the renovation and extension of existing buildings as well as the construction of a new residential complex with a huge underground car park. The new buildings include two complexes, each shaping its own courtyard. The highest of them measures 8 floors. The project was commissioned by Vertano, in consultation with the Conservator of Monuments and the City Architect.
Author:
Kasia McCloskey, Maciej Toporek, Michał Kruszyniak, Kasia Jagiełło
Type:
Family Residence, New Construction 1,000,000 sf
Status:
In-Construction
Location:
Lodz, Poland