Many industrial heritage sites are abandoned and empty or in danger of being demolished. Unfortunately, many old textile factory sites have already been torn down and replaced by houses and parking places. Only a few buildings were repurposed. Examples of beautiful repurposed buildings are Mommers en Dröge factory complex on the Goirkestraat and Thomas de Beer factory on the Wilhelminapark (now Museum De Pont).

Buildings were also saved from demolition in other places. De Ploeg weaving mill in Bergeijk, for example. This factory, designed in the ‘50s by Gerrit Rietveld, is an icon of industrial heritage of the province of Noord-Brabant. The curved saw-tooth roofs and the garden around the factory laid out by Mien Ruys are special. In 2007, the factory was closed and the building was recently bought by Bruns. The transformation based on a diederendirrix’ design is currently being carried out.

The Schellensfabriek on the Vestdijk in Eindhoven will have a sort of organic repurposing: the city brewery, designers and small workshops will be accommodated in this complex.

Although the textile industry disappeared more than half a century ago, we still cherish many memories. This story with images mainly shows the textile industry in the province of Brabant in the early twentieth century. It looks at textile cities such as Tilburg, Eindhoven and Helmond, but also at surrounding villages such as Goirle, Boxtel, Waalre, Geldrop and Bergeijk.

Read the story with images ‘From human to machine: Textile industry in Noord-Brabant’ in inbrabant, magazine for the heritage of Noord-Brabant province.