chimneys in the industrial park kalle-albert in mainz-amöneburg.
wiesbaden, being an aesthetically very pleasing city with historic wilhelminian structures, also has a different side to offer: a rustic industrial part in the south of the city, close to the rhine river. the industrial park kalle-albert is situated in mainz-amöneburg, which is ACTUALLY a district of wiesbaden, not mainz - that's because it is a district that once belonged to mainz, but got ascribed to wiesbaden after the second world war, since it is situated on the right side of the river and therefore was better manageable when it came to administrative problems. the industrial park is a conglomeration of about 80 chemical plants. the first plants on the 1 square kilometer area were founded in 1858 and 1863 ( chemical factories albert & kalle ). in 1989 these two factories merged into one. over time more and more companies took up residence inside the big area, until infraserv wiesbaden, a municipal operator, started to coordinate and manage the agglomeration. today it is viewed as wiesbaden's main industrial hub, generating quite a bit of revenue and employing about 5600 people.
i used to dislike industrial parts of any city, but a few years ago i visited a really old iron work in the state of saarland ( völklinger hütte ) and since then i have to say that i got quite hooked in exploring these sites as well. of course the iron work in völklingen is a behemoth of historic importance, and its rusty exterior ( and interior ) is more impressing than a clean, functional industrial park that is still in operation, BUT i figured that maybe there was a chance to stumble upon something equal in these parts of germany as well. turns out that, indeed, you can find pretty amazing structures in industrial neighborhoods, even in those that are relatively young and not from the early days of the industrial age.
from the kalle-albert park you get a glimpse of a different industrial area on the other side of the rhine: the power stations of mainz ( and wiesbaden ) ( kmw ) and a container terminal.
the customs office of wiesbaden is also headquartering in the park. this building was a later addition to the original kalle administration building from 1938 ( which still exists today ). it's pretty unremarkable, but in addition with the old gnarled and knobby growth on the fence in front of it, it looked kinda nice - you know, because contrasts ^^;
winter jasmine was blooming by the river! that bridge you see in the background is a one of kind one in germany - a slightly reinforced concrete bridge that everyone calls 'kallebrücke'. it's canopied so the structure is not exposed to pitting corrosion. it leads onto the petersaue - one of many river islands in the rhine. there's a sewerage treatment plant on that island as well, making sure that the sewerage from the industrial park is properly processed and not discharged into the rhine river.
a tiny bit of the kalle property. kalle produces mostly artificial sausage casings these days, and is one of the market-leading producers of these world-wide. they also have sponge cloths in their product range. it originally produced paints and contact printing paper, until that part of the production was outsourced to the hoechst AG - a formerly really big chemics producer from frankfurt.
i visited the park on a sunday, which meant that it was basically deserted! under the week this place is always in a hustle of course. i love checking out places like this, when no one's around, it always gives it an apocalyptic atmosphere 😏 ( and no one is watching you... probably )
loved the mosaic clinker facade of this building and the pipes leading out and into it. i think it is a filtering facility, as a small stream ( the salzbach ) runs underneath it.
rhine river views. this is into the direction of the two districts of biebrich and schierstein ( you can even make out the raiffeisen mash silo in schierstein ).
kallebrücke again!
i think this is another power plant of the kmw company, though i am really not sure at this point. it's situated a bit further away from the heaquarters.
underneath a metal overpass, passing by elevated tanks.
there's something so ugly, yet still fascinating about these industrial structures. sometimes i imagine what these would look like if no one operated them anymore, and that nature might reclaim these and turn them into something pretty amazing, like an industrial jungle or something equal.
doomsday atmosphere. this crane sits on the premises of the dyckerhoff concrete factory.
nearing the dyckerhoff company grounds.
the water tower of the factory. it was built in 1882 and had once been one of the biggest water towers in wiesbaden. it's not in operations anymore and also not accessible for public.
directly next to the water tower is this old building. it was formerly the old power plant of the dyckerhoff company, but now seems to be just a depot of some sorts. old industrial buildings like this really are my cup of tea, they exude a steam-punk air that really strikes something within me.
for contrast, some modern curves and angles.
the dyckerhoff company is located in wiesbaden since 1864, when it was founded by wilhelm gustav dykerhoff as a producer of portland cement. the company is well-known worldwide ( it has some factories in the US and all throughout europe as well ). dyckerhoff-weiß, a white portland cement, was the product that the company got international accolades for, it's a cement that stands out for being extra white ( that's achieved because of very low iron oxide levels ). wiesbaden is really proud that this company was founded here, you can find buildings and structures dedicated to the dyckerhoff family everywhere.
the former headquarters of the company resided in this building, but unfortunately it's not used now. ernst neufert, a former bauhaus student and house architect of the dyckerhoff company, was responsible for this remarkable building and experimented with several cement varieties for the concrete used to build it, which basically is a testament to the company's products. the administration building was erected from 1959 to 1963 and it's a landmarked object for modern industrial structures. neufert also built a few more buildings on the dyckerhoff premises, for example heat exchanger towers and a rotary kiln. there's also a building that seems to have been a dispatching facility.
when i encountered it i was immediately lovestruck. the exposed concrete facade with the many little square windows emanated an elegance that is rare with buildings of this kind. it also had a futuristic touch, probably because of the rounded corners of the windows, which reminded me of spaceship windows. even from the inside it continued to impress me as the walls were decorated with a design that we would consider as absolutely en vogue today.
it just is a shame that the building is not used, but apparently it doesn't uphold contemporary energetic standards anymore. there were plans to revive it and renovate it, but as of now, nothing has happened. it would be nice to see this building rejuvenated in some way, at least i feel like it should be predestined to be some sort of office building for small start-ups or artists who need an atelier or something! something cool and not dry. maybe it would also attract more people into the district, making it more diverse, instead of just being that place were people only go to work, rendering it a forgotten and dull city district.
a close-up of the windows and the facade. it looks like a perforator punched out some holes on extra thin pages.
even though the main administration moved out of the building, it still looks pretty pristine from afar. the bigger windows have a design you can find throughout the factory's grounds. i remember while researching for this building, that i found a picture of a production facility that had gates like this.
i feel like this building is absolutely typical for the mid-century style. the rounded edgings are characteristic for that era, it brings to mind kidney-shaped tables and the soft organic curves of tulip chairs.
the main entry. can you spot me in the side entrance?
okay, NOW you can! and you also get a glimpse of the inside as well.
the walls are absolutely gorgeous inside the foyer, almost psychedelic! i wouldn't mind this design in my very own flat! the floor is made out of terrazzo floortiles, and apparently they are different on every single one of the 11 levels of the building. oh, what i'd give to see this building up close for once! hopefully there will be a time were i get to see it, it would be neat to check it out on memorial day or something. hurry up, city planners of wiesbaden, decide what you want to do with this gem!
the window glass itself was heavily mirroring the outside world. it had a pink tint to it.
looking up! here you can see the concrete claddings of the facade very well.
love how the window at this corner is basically cutting a corner.
this angle 😍😍😍
from the terrace you actually have a good view on the rhine river, but i didn't even waste a glance, lol. i was too pre-occupied with the building.
another sneek-peak inside the foyer, this time from the other side of the building.
the view when you take two steps back.
from the side the building is not very expanded. i reaaaaaally like the tiny windows here, making it look a little bit like this building should actually not exist on earth but on a different planet far away.
and this, dear readers, is why brutalist architecture can be a work of art, too! especially when it is executed like this. ernst neufert did a really awesome job at designing this ( but he also learned from the best - she thought and side-eyed the big bauhaus lettering inside her head 😅 ) oh, and between. i am sorry for the dark pictures, but january usually provides HORRIBLE light. especially on days were there's only little sun, and mostly clouds.
i moved on and left the beautiful neufert building behind. directly next to it was the current administrative building of the company, but other than this glass window facade it was rather unremarkable.
i checked out the heat exchanger towers next, though this was the closest i could get. these were also designed by ernst neufert, in addition to the kiln lines that are attached right behind the towers. for more information on how hydraulic cement is created, you'd better check out wikipedia, because my knowledge about this is not good enough to explain it.
in front of the wilhelm-dyckerhoff institute ( which researches all kinds of problems, tests new products and helps with keeping the quality of the cement stable and perfect ) you can find something strange, a relief that seems pretty antique, like straight out of roman times. i don't know why exactly this is on display here instead of in a museum. maybe they found it here, before they bulldozed everything to the ground to erect cement factories and other chemical plants everyhwere and they just thought it'd be neat to put up something that was left here centuries ago just to commemorate the history. it is actually proven that romans settled down in biebrich somewhen in history, so it's not too far off to assume that they even had some settlements a little bit further up the rhine.
oh, a church in dismal industrial land? yes, indeed! maria immaculata church stands at this spot since 1905 and was built by the hands of architect august greifzu. it is directly situated next to the dyckerhoff plant on a big meadow, rather exposed. it didn't feel like a lively religious site, though, rather meek and rundown. i am not even sure if such a big church is even justified in that part of the city, as amöneburg only has about 2000 citizens? i'm sure they thought that the district would start to grow eventually when they developed it, but right now... it seems like not many people want to live here so close to the factories.
the church is rather lovely, though, sporting a neo-classicist exterior.
not far from the church is a war memorial. i reckon that the memorial was done with dyckerhoff concrete ;) not much else to tell you about here, i didn't find any infos on this.
i liked this stone relief, though, it was so simple but pretty powerful. it says: for the victims of war and violence.
i ended my industrial park walk at this building, another part of the dyckerhoff cement plant. it was/is probably used as a dispatching facility, though i am really unsure about that. thing with the whole factory is, that there is no map of the area that points out which building is where and what the functions are. i only know for a fact that this building is another remnant of ernst neufert's work for dyckerhoff, which makes this structure worth preserving, of course! ( i hope - it is kind of cool in its massiveness ).
leaving y'all with some wavy concrete roof situation, basically waving good-bye ;) hope you liked my little foray through industrial wiesbaden and especially looking at the gem that is the former main administration of the dyckerhoff cement factory ❤
next up: a snow day in heidenrod-kemel.
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