Let’s face it: For the most part industrial parks are not known for their aesthetic. The endless grids of single-story factory buildings, often found along highway roads, leave much to be desired. Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman has created a playful critique of this architectural bore with his latest work “Little Factory.” The creative mind behind those giant silly sculptures, such as the tipped over bunny rabbit in Sweden or the massive rubber ducky floating down Osaka’s waterways, has created a mini-factory all his own on the side of a freeway in Azeven Noord, a new industrial yard in the Netherlands. His Lego-like construction points out the repetitive and banal nature of these everyday sites, while jovially supporting his artistic endeavors. Read more.

From the outside, Little Factory does not look like anything out of the ordinary. The steel building is wrapped in corrugated metal sheets and roofing, with a plain, repetitive facade. The factory resembles a monopoly piece that could be lined up over and over again along the landscape to create a larger compound.

While the piece is critical of factory spaces, Hofman actually furnished the inside as an artist’s studio! He made sure the interior was comfortable enough (raised loft included), for an artist to work in isolation. This added dimension can be seen as a further critique of the artist as a machine, producing work like a tiny one-man factory. Regardless, we think the Little Factory will bring some much-needed personality to the highway roadside.

Photos: courtesy of Florentijn Hofman

[via designboom]

by Molly Cotter

posted in Uncategorized

tagged factory, Florentijn Hofman, highway, Little Factory, netherlands, roadside

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