High-Rise Switchgear Plant (1928)

Europe’s First High-Rise Factory – Alternating current proved more efficient than direct current, but it required special switchgear. Hans Hertlein added a high-rise to the flat-roofed switchgear factory, originally built in 1917. The new steel-frame building became an icon of industrial history. Its 175-meter-long production floors were breathtaking. External piers allowed for workbenches to run continuously along the glass facade, where they were illuminated by daylight. Hertlein placed stairwells, elevators, and other rooms in lateral towers. The sober architecture became a Siemens trademark and a prototype for future industrial building. Today the high-rise is home to an education and advanced training center.