Weisbach House
The Weisbach House in Plauen, one of the last surviving Baroque manufactory buildings in Saxony, was a ruin after the Second World War. After initial repairs in the 1990s, the city of Plauen decided to completely renovate the building in 2015 so that the βFactory of Threadsβ, a museum that brings together the collections from the Plauen Lace Museum and the Vogtland Museum, could move in. After restoring the outer structure of the building, the late baroque plaster faΓ§ade with its yellow-ochre colour scheme was reconstructed. This also included painting the faΓ§ade with KEIM Soldalit faΓ§ade paint. With this building, Neumann Architekten not only resurrected a piece of baroque architecture from the outside, they also set the scene for the old with the new and created a unique selling point with a use that incorporates the tradition of Plauen lace, which has met with a very positive response.
- Architect:
- Neumann Architekten
- Builder:
- City of Plauen
- Photos:
- Chris Gonz Photographie
- Location:
- Plauen, Germany
- Products:
- Soldalit
From ruin to museum
The city of Plauen decided to completely renovate the factory building, which has been a listed building since 1935, and convert it into a museum. Local firm Neumann Architekten was awarded the contract in 2016. βWe've been working towards this for a long time; back in the 2000s, we developed ideas for the building together with the family - especially with our friend and mentor Claus Weisbach. Ultimately, we are very grateful that we as an architectural firm were awarded this contract,β summarises Roger Neumann. Around 40 per cent of the entire building was renovated in cooperation with the heritage office so that the βFactory of Threadsβ, a museum that brings together the collections from the Plauen Lace Museum and the Vogtland Museum, could move in. Today, art and architecture workshops are held in the remaining part of the house, and one of the Weisbach brothers lives there and looks after the house's garden as a landscape architect.
Baroque facade restored
Andreas Stephan, Managing Director of Maler Plauen GmbH, who was entrusted with the painting work on the facade, describes the former condition of the facade as dilapidated. The bricks were visible and plaster was crumbling off everywhere. The first task was to secure the fabric of the building, remove the sponge infestation and restore the building structure from the outside. βOne of the requirements of the Monuments Office also included the reconstruction of the late baroque plaster faΓ§ade with its yellow-ochre colour scheme based on old documents and paintings from the first half of the 19th century. A stucco artist from Plauen also used these tools to recreate many stucco elements, including crowning, rocaille and acanthus leaves. A beautiful task with special requirements, for which a feel for historical building fabric was indispensable,β says Roger Neumann. Andreas Stephan also reports on the special faΓ§ade structure with window axes. Among these windows, there were also bricked-up blind windows, which were imitated in colour so that they looked like real windows. The master painter also redesigned this detail with line drawing work and imitation light and shadow.
Mineral painted and brushed
Once the external structure of the building had been restored, lime plaster was applied to 1,500 square metres of the facade. Stephan explains: βNew plaster has a certain alkalinity that needs to be neutralised, so we applied a Keimfarben etch to the plaster, which removed the sintered layer that forms when the plaster is rubbed or matted, creating a wonderful bond between the plaster and the paint.β
This was followed by a double coat of KEIM Soldalit in various shades of yellow and ochre. This silicate facade paint based on sol-silicate binder is water-repellent, highly diffusible, lightfast, UV-stable and very weather-resistant. βWe painted the pilaster strips, recesses, mouldings and jambs in a lighter shade of ochre and used a darker shade of ochre for the recessed areas. We also applied the final coat of paint with a brush, just like in the 18th century, to give it a certain texture,β explains Andreas Stephan. The construction work took over three years in total, and the painting work on the facade was completed in two months with two journeymen. According to Stephan, this went quickly and worked well with KEIM Soldalit. βWe have painted several properties with Keim paints. We are impressed by the product with its attractive colour chart, which is popular everywhere,β says Stephan.
KEIM products work
Roger Neumann is also positive about KEIM products: βWhenever possible, our office uses products from Keimfarben because we know they work inside and out. I've had to learn the hard way because paints have faded and there has been algae infestation. This is where the advantages of KEIM, such as resistance to algae, colour stability and fast re-drying, pay off. In addition, the mill race with fish and ducks is located on the north side of the building, so one of the requirements was to avoid leaching of chemical components from the facade. This was also one of the deciding factors in favour of using silicate paints.β
Plauen's great pride
After a four-year construction phase, the renovated part of the Weisbach House was opened as the βFactory of Threadsβ museum in November 2023. With over 1,200 square metres of exhibition space, visitors can now discover the world of lace and technology in the listed buildings and the new building. The βFactory of Threadsβ was included for the first time in the recently organised Night of Museums in Plauen. The flood of visitors and the enthusiasm of the people of Plauen for their Weisbach House knew no bounds and was reflected in the long queue of people outside the museum. Roger Neumann summarises: βThe restored oldest manufactory building in Saxony, which combines the tradition of Plauen lace with its use, is a unique selling point that every Plauen resident can be proud of.β