The largest lifestyle centre in Central Europe, the 150,000 sqm Manufaktura in Lód´z, Poland, is located in the former Poznanski textile mills, dating from 1852. Developer Apsys sought to preserve and celebrate the site’s history, creating a unique Museum of the Factory to tell the stories of the thousands of factory workers who kept this area alive and to create a close relationship with the community. Implementation Apsys hired famed Polish architect Miroslaw Nizio to design the museum and contacted the media, local museums and collectors to locate exhibits and memorabilia. The company also worked with the local media to obtain personal recollections of people connected with the factory and the city’s history. Lód´z inhabitants voted by mail and via Internet on the museum’s name, selecting “Museum of the Factory”. A principal guide for the museum was a former factory worker for 48 years. A local public relations agency, Telma Group, was retained. For the 27 January 2007 opening, special Historical Days were organised, attended by the president of the city of Lód´z and former mill workers. Children’s workshops demonstrating textile crafts such as knitting are held regularly, and a special exhibition created for International Woman’s Day. In December 2007, a book, “People and their Factory”, documenting the stories of 24 people who worked at various levels in the factory, was published. Programmes are ongoing. Results More than 2,500 people visited the museum on opening weekend, with a total of 49,351 visitors during 2007. |