Site Verrier de Meisenthal by SO – IL and FREAKS | 2022-02-01 | Architectural Record

Thanks to its abundant forests, water, and sand, the Pays de Bitche, in the Moselle département of France, has long been a center for glassmaking. Initially a nomadic activity, glass production in the region began to settle at fixed sites in the 18th century, and the Meisenthal glassworks, which began operating in 1711, is among the oldest. Continually expanded over the following two and a half centuries, the plant, which employed the celebrated Art Nouveau glass artist Émile Gallé for 27 years (1867–94), reached the peak of its production in the 1920s. But, after World War II, Meisenthal’s artisanal methods were unable to compete with mechanized glass production, and its furnaces shut down, seemingly for good, in 1969.The reimagined glassworks (top) lies within a bucolic, resource-rich setting and is accessed from the street (above) at the center of town. Photo © Iwan Baan, click to enlarge.

Source: Site Verrier de Meisenthal by SO – IL and FREAKS | 2022-02-01 | Architectural Record