On a windy winter day, I visited the Fagus Factory, a pioneering work of modern architecture and today a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Given the season, I expected the site to be quiet, but to my surprise the guided tour drew more than 25 participants, many of them architects or students of architecture. The visit began with a short documentary about the company’s history and its role in the shoe last industry. While the film was somewhat dry, watching it in a warm interior was a welcome start before braving the cold.

The Fagus Factory is not a single building but a complex of structures serving different functions, such as manufacturing, storage, and offices. Gropius was concerned with creating an overall design language that could unify these varied buildings. One of the key unifying elements is the use of brick, particularly a 40-centimeter-high, dark brick base that projects slightly from the façade. This feature appears repeatedly across the site, tying together the complex with a consistent rhythm. The most architecturally significant part of the ensemble is the office building, which broke with industrial conventions of the time. Instead of traditional load-bearing exterior walls, Gropius placed reinforced concrete columns inside, freeing the façade for innovation. The result was a building where glass dominates over brick, with iron frames suspending large glass panels and concealing the floor slabs with thin metal sheets. Most striking of all are the fully glazed exterior corners, which eliminated visible structural elements altogether. These daring details not only improved light and working conditions inside but also made the building a bold architectural statement, one that foreshadowed the Bauhaus approach to transparency and modern construction. As the tour continued, the guide explained the company’s central role in the shoe last industry, the molds that give shoes their shape. This industrial heritage is still alive, making the Fagus Factory a rare combination of a working factory and an architectural monument. One drawback, however, was that the tour was conducted only in German. For international visitors, even those with some German knowledge, it was difficult to fully understand the detailed explanations. While the architecture itself communicates its significance visually, multilingual support would make the visit more inclusive.

Before leaving, I explored the souvenir section, which turned out to be unexpectedly delightful. Many of the items were inspired by the shoe last itself, cleverly reimagined into different forms. This creative approach not only reflects the company’s heritage but also turns an industrial tool into a charming design object. I found it to be one of the most memorable touches of the visit, showing how industrial heritage can be celebrated in a playful yet meaningful way. Despite the language barrier, the visit was highly rewarding. The blend of personal experience, industrial history, and architectural innovation made the Fagus Factory an inspiring site. Seeing how a design created more than a century ago continues to function both practically and symbolically was a reminder of why this place remains such an enduring landmark.