The Brown-Lipe Gear Company factory designed by Albert Kahn is such a significant artifact in the city of Syracuse because it was one of Kahn's first factories using reinforced concrete, having been built less than a year after his very first concrete factory, building no. 10 for the Packard Motor Car Company. Therefore, in 1906, the Brown-Lipe Gear Company Factory served as one of many precedents for Ford's later expansions to Highland Park and River Rouge where Kahn was also the head architect. In this way, the architecture of the factory, down to its smallest details, represents the concepts that drove Kahn's designs throughout his career, but lives within the context of a time that came before the assembly line. Therefore, it would not be as accurate to draw conclusions about the building itself by comparing it to Highland Park or River Rouge because so many changes had taken place regarding efficiency and labor disciplines in the years between the projects. Instead, by comparing the Brown-Lipe Gear Factory to its contemporaries, greater insight can be acquired about its relationships of economy, equity, and ecology.

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FASCINATION WITH NEWNESS

When the Brown-Lipe Gear Factory was built it was an exciting moment in Syracuse's history because it was such a novel endeavor. No building in the city had ever been built using a structure of reinforced concrete at such an impressive scale. In the second half of the nineteenth century essentially any structure five stories or taller could be considered a skyscraper, and by the turn of the century new technologies like metal-frame construction and curtain walls emerged that enabled the construction of some of the era's tallest towers in places like New York City and Chicago. To put it in perspective, in 1906 when the Brown-Lipe Gear Factory was being built, the tallest building in the world was the Park Row Building in New York City at twenty-six stories and 391 feet tall. However the first ever skyscraper of reinforced concrete was the Ingalls Building in Cincinnate which was not completed until 1903; it stood at a commendable fifteen stories and height of 210 feet. Therefore, while skyscrapers were making statements in cities, the same methods used in their construction were not realized for factory applications until later. During that time period most factories were still modeled after the New England textile mill, but Kahn's projects would transform the image of the factory typology.

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The only other reinforced concrete factories in 1906 were basically being built simultaneously with the Brown-LIpe Gear Factory, but they were actually very different in their designs. First, building no. 10 for the Packard Motor Car Company in Detroit was a fairly simple solution that responded better to industrial issues than traditional structures. Second, the Pierce Great Arrow Automobile Plant in Buffalo was different because insted of having multiple stories like most factories, "the layout was articulated in seven one-story buildings of reinforced concrete with shed roofs, each corresponding to one segment of the production process" (Bucci, 37). The main objectives for transitioning to concrete for the primary structure from timber, iron, stone, and brick, were to provide architecture that was more durable, efficient, safe, and pleasurable.

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STRENGTH IN MATERIALS

Factories preceding Kahn's reinforced concrete ones were typically modeled after textile mills, "multi-storied, framed with heavy timbers, floored with planks, and usually covered with brick" (Sherman). However these materials generated problems that inhibited production and put workers at risk. These problems included: gigantic machinery vibrating the timber frames, oil and gasoline spills on wooden floors constantly posing fire hazards, and dozens of men working in small assembly rooms which were uncomfortable and inefficient. Reinforced concrete resolved these issues because of its strengths.

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First, reinforced concrete is simply a stronger material than timber and was therefore better suited to support the dead loads of the building itself and the machinery and the live loads of workers and materials constantly moving about during production. Concrete alone, with a strength of 3-5ksi, is only about three times stronger that timber with a strength of 1.2ksi, but when concrete is combined with the incredible strength of steel, twenty times greater at 60ksi, its strength is drastically improved. The stronger structure of steel and concrete ebabled wider spans to create larger spaces for production procedures and its heaviness dampered the vibrations felt from the operating machinery.

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Reinforced concrete is also superior to timber or iron frame for a number of other reasons. First, it is overall much more durable, so the building lasts longer. The building also lives longers because it is better protected from fire by the fireproofing capabilities of concrete, which also keeps workers safer from the factory's many fire hazards. As the Syracuse Herald acclaimed, the structure was absolutely fireproof so that it "withstands fire and the ravages of time" (Syracuse Herald). Timber is also susceptible to rotting and water damage, while concrete is not. Finally, from an economical standpoint, the reinforced concrete structure was cheaper and quicker to erect, let alone having excellent physical properties that could save time and money. Perhaps the only negative aspects were more ecological, and less important in a time when there was not as much concern about the deteriorating natural environment. Reinforced concrete is a material with a lot of embodied energy because a lot of energy goes into making it, and it is not as renewable/reusable as timber might be. It is easy to forget that the construction of the building alone could be a topic of discussion in terms of economy, equity, and ecology, but those details are not explored in depth here.

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THE OPEN PLAN

Because the reinforced concrete enabled wider spans, the interior space could be left open with only minimal obstructions of columns, which in the Brown-Lipe Gear Factory are spaced at various intervals from fourteen to twenty-two feet due to the irregular shape of the plan. The resulting openness offered more space for machinery and workers which improved efficiency and made workspaces less crowded. The only evidence of how production was executed by the Brown-LIpe Gear are the remnants of a system where wood was bolted to and hung off the ceiling with machinery attached. Given the time period and product being produced, it can be deducted that the company used more of a station assembly method where the product remains in one place and various components are manufactured elsewhere in the building and brought over to it for assembly, much like in Ford's Piquette Avenue plant. Using this method, heavy machinery such as drill presses and workbench stations requiring more labor-intensive handwork using tools like wrenches, screwdrivers, and hammers, were positioned throughout the workspace (Ford Motor History). Of course these tasks were probably not the most amusing or dynamic, and whether the pay compensated for the monotony and strain on the body is not documented, but overall, opening up the factory floor resulted in more efficiency and flexibility for production's sake and gave workers a little bit more elbow room.

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Looking at the plan of the Brown-Lipe Gear Factory, its organization strives to maximize production space. Other than the offices located on the first floor above the basement, nearly the entire plan is free of partitions. Additionally, the vertical circulation of the cargo and passenger elevators, and stairs, the wash rooms for workers, and the loading dock are grouped in the same portion of the building. Thus the sides of the building facing the streets may be fully exposed to take advantage of glazing and the workspace is left as open as possible.

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Another topic that this all draws upon is the workforce itself. Factory labor at this time was predominantly male. At Ford's Piquette plant for example, the workforce was exclusively male with the exception of women workers who assembled flywheel magnetos in the Winding and Insulation Department in an area on the second floor completely separated from the working men (Ford Motor History). Similarly, the inclusion of only one wash room on each level of the Gear Factory suggests that it workforce was only of one gender and women were not encouraged to work there. While perhaps this may sound like prejudice, the truth is that women probably weren't that interested in partaking in the filthy, noisy, strenuous environment of the factory, especially in a time when women were still subjected to men and confined to domestic responsibilities. Eventually women did enter the factory workforce, but only after a series of changing social conditions and perceptions.

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LET THERE BE LIGHT

Kahn's innovations of reinforced concrete also accentuated natural light and ventilation which he believed to be important for the workers' health and comfort. Again, the strength of the underlying structure granted the extensive use of glazing along the majority of the facade, allowing daylight to penetrate into the workspaces. While some of the Brown-Lipe Gear Factory's exterior has brick infill, windows were sized to be as close as possible to the full height of the level from floor to ceiling. This let in an invigorating amount of light that decreased dependence on artificial lighting and increased visibility to perform tasks. The windows were also operable so fresh air could circulate throughout the interior. Additionally, the floor structure included hollow terra cotta tile between beams of reinforced concrete not only to reduce the weight of the floor slabs for structural reasons, but also to help facilitate air flow. The workers always had ample light, circulating air, and a view outside. These strategies intended to provide workers with a more pleasant experience where they felt happier and healthier compared to other factories. Unfortunately, later on the need for daylighting was de-emphasized because the exteriors of glass increasd heating costs, which would especially add up during the Syrcuse winters. In contrast, during the summer, if there were no natural breezes, the heat generated from running the machinery, people, and the outdoor temperature probably resulted in humid, hot conditions and the windows had no shading devices to alleviate that. Later, it ws also believed that the views offered by extensive glazing would distract workers, delaying productivity.