The 1900s
In 1900, Marshall Field & Company—Chicago's famous department store—built a state-of-the-art factory to manufacture its own goods. This architectural blueprint shows how designers organized workers, machines, and materials across an entire rooftop to maximize efficiency and output.
The 1900s · Full story
You climb the narrow stairs to the factory floor. Sunlight floods through skylights overhead. Around you, hundreds of workers—mostly women—sit at machines and tables, their hands moving in practiced rhythm. Bolts of fabric roll past. Finished goods stack higher. Every inch of space is planned to move things faster.
Reflect
What would it feel like to work in a place designed to maximize your speed and output?