Do Factories Belong in Dense Urban Environments?

Vertical Urban Factory is a new book by architectural historian and critic Nina Rappaport. It's a dense study of urban industrial spaces—approximately 500 pages and 400 images. The book arises from a traveling exhibition of the same title that opened in 2010. 

Carol Berens, author and former VP of the Empire State Development Corporation, reviews the book. She observes that the book is more than just a study of what is or what was. The book advocates for industries’ place in the present and future urban environment. 

Rappaport is a connoisseur of the beauty and utilitarian design of urban factories. However, she does not simply advocate for the preservation and repurposing of urban factories, particularly "vertical" multi-storied factories. She advocates for the role of industry in dense urban environments going forward into the future. The book is organized in three sections: "The Modern Factory," "The Contemporary Factory," and "The Future Factory."

For more on Vertical Urban Factory, please visit Berens's full review.