Once a tobacco factory. Now a hub of creativity.

The listed architectural gem in Linz offers exceptional space for companies and organizations, start-ups and co-working spaces, events and gastronomy, as well as retail.
A highlight of this creative district is the gigantic glass-block façade realized by INNOVAMETALL.

Montage einer Glasfassade an der Tabakfabrik Linz durch INNOVAMETALL — Montage der neuen Glasfassade an der Tabakfabrik Linz. INNOVAMETALL realisierte die vorgefertigten Fassadenelemente in präziser Metallbauweise – ein Beispiel für innovative Sanierung mit industriellem Charakter.

Client

Construction of the Tabakfabrik began in 1929, based on designs by the renowned architects Peter Behrens and Alexander Popp. Locals affectionately referred to it as the “Tschickbude” (“smoke joint”).
For over 300 years, the site had been used for textile production before becoming a hub of the tobacco industry. The factory closed in 2010 and has since been transformed into an idea factory, creative center, event venue, and shopping hotspot.
Today, it provides space for more than 1,700 people across 250 companies, organizations, start-ups, and co-working spaces, as well as for events, gastronomy, and retail.

Tobacco Factory, Linz (Upper Austria)

Renovation, PORR
Production time: 3 months
Steel frame windows and glass blocks
150 glass façade elements, 70,000 glass blocks

Challenge

The plans for the “revival” of the listed Tabakfabrik Linz included a façade made of around 70,000 glass blocks, intended to transform the previously unlit Magazine 2 building into a bright creative space.
Realizing such an enormous, suspended glass façade was indeed a tremendous challenge — one that INNOVAMETALL was glad to take on and successfully accomplished.

Solution

In our production hall in Linz, INNOVAMETALL experts manufactured the required 150 façade elements, each measuring 4.5 by 3 meters, which were then installed on-site by our assembly team. A five-person team embedded the windows and glass blocks into the steel frames — all completed within just three months. Even during installation, we met all schedule requirements precisely, completing the assembly within only a few weeks.

Result

In early spring 2021, we completed the glass-block façade for the Tabakfabrik Linz. This fulfilled the architect’s vision of creating a façade made of glass blocks — similar to those used in the original 1929/30 construction — that both honors the building’s historic character and adds a contemporary touch, while providing maximum daylight for the offices inside Magazine 2.

There is virtually no alternative method to manufacture a glass-block façade of this scale and quality. Even the production and installation costs are unmatched.

Klaus Pichlbauer CEO INNOVAMETALL

Once a tobacco factory. Now a hub of creativity.

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