Herman Miller Factories, Bath
Bath isn’t all Georgian crescents. On opposite banks of the River Avon, a mile west of Bath city centre, stand two Grade II Listed former factory buildings once used by Herman Miller. Today, they re fine examples of how buildings can and should be repurposed. One is now used for education, while the other is used for retail.
Herman Miller Factory (now Bath Spa University Locksbrook Campus), Locksbrook Road
The high-tech Herman Miller Factory, otherwise known as the Action Factory, in Bath. Designed by Terry Farrell and Nicholas Grimshaw in 1976 as the ultimate flexible space. So much so that 40 years later it was transformed from a factory into the Bath Spa University School of Art and Design.
It uses completely demountable cream-coloured fibreglass cladding panels with bronze-framed windows. These panels could be rearranged by factory staff without skilled labour or structural alterations. The building was reconfigured five times during Herman Miller's 15-year occupancy. It’s low wall-to-floor ratio of 1:30 contributed to exceptional energy efficiency for its time.
The building won the Financial Times Industrial Architecture Award in 1977 and RIBA South West Award in 1978. It was Grade II listed in 2013.
In 2019 it was repurposed by Grimshaw to Bath Spa University School of Art and Design.
Former Bath Cabinet Makers Factory, Twerton
This Grade II listed retail park on the opposite side of the River Avon in Bath was built in 1966 for the Bath Furniture Company, which became part of Herman Miller. Used until the late 90s when it was left vacant and vandalised. It now houses a Lidl and other retailers.
It was designed by Brian Henderson of Yorke Rosenberg Mardall between 1966 and 1967 and was the first building in Britain to use the Mero space frame roof system (invented by German engineer Max Mengeringhausen in the 1940s).
It won the Financial Times Industrial Architecture Award in 1968 and Civic Trust commendation in 1969. It was Grade II Listed in 2007.
