Torin Building facts for kids

The Torin Building is a special old factory building in Penrith, a suburb in western Sydney, Australia. It's now used as both a factory and office space. This building was designed by a famous architect named Marcel Breuer, with Harry Seidler helping to manage the building work. It was built between 1975 and 1976. People also know it as the Former Torin Corporation Building or the Breuer Building. Because of its importance, it was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on May 15, 2009.

A Look Back: The History of the Torin Building

Marcel Breuer: The Architect

Marcel Breuer was born in Hungary in 1902. He studied at a very famous design school called the Bauhaus in Germany. There, he met other important designers like Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier. These connections greatly influenced his work for many years.

In 1924, Breuer became the head of the Bauhaus furniture workshop. While working there, he created his amazing and new designs for chairs, like the Wassily and Cesca chairs, which were made from tubular steel.

Moving Around the World

In 1928, Breuer started his own architecture and interior design business in Berlin. But when Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933, Breuer moved to London. He continued his work as a well-known architect and designer around the world.

In 1937, Walter Gropius, who was then teaching at Harvard University in America, invited Breuer to join him. Breuer moved to America and started a very successful career there. In the 1940s, he mostly designed homes. He was known for changing how American houses were designed. For example, his Geller House, built in 1945, was one of his "binuclear" houses. This meant it had two separate parts: one for living and one for sleeping. These parts were covered by his unique "butterfly roofs," which became a symbol of modern design everywhere.

Big Buildings and Concrete

In 1952, Breuer designed the UNESCO building in Paris. This was his first big international public building. With this project, he started using concrete a lot in his designs. This was also a key moment when he began to create buildings that looked like sculptures. He continued this style until he retired in 1976. Famous examples include the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.

Harry Seidler, another famous architect, said in 1981 that Marcel Breuer was "a great man." He was one of the most important people who shaped modern architecture and design after World War I.

The Torin Connection

Breuer's long relationship with the Torrington Corporation (later called Torin Corporation) began in 1952. He designed their Technical Centre at their factory in Canada. Between 1952 and 1976, Breuer designed nine factory and office buildings for Torin. The very last one was built in 1976 in Penrith, Australia. The design of this building was improved based on what they learned from the earlier Torin buildings.

The Torin building in Penrith was designed by Breuer and his partner, Herbert Beckhard, from their offices in New York. The building process in Australia was managed by Harry Seidler and Associates in Sydney. Seidler had actually worked for Breuer earlier in his career. The building work officially started on January 6, 1975.

What the Torin Building Looks Like

The Torin Corporation factory in Penrith is located in an industrial area. It sits at the corner of Coombes Drive and Coombes Drive South. Cars enter from Coombes Drive, and trucks use Coombes Drive South to reach the large storage area behind the factory.

A Bold Design

The main front of the building looks very strong and modern. It has blocky shapes made of rough concrete blocks and precast concrete. There are almost no windows on this side. It's a great example of a Late Twentieth Century International Modern Style industrial building. Its shape and size are based on how materials were moved inside the factory.

The Torin Corporation made parts for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems. Many of these products were also made in Torin's other factories around the world. As labor costs went up, the company wanted to automate how materials were handled. So, they developed a special system that helped decide the basic shape of the 3,800-square-metre (41,000 sq ft) Penrith factory.

Inside the Factory

The building has three main parts:

• A tall storage unit, about 20 meters high, which held the automated handling system.
• A two-floor area for manufacturing, assembly, offices, and a lab for testing airflow.
• Two service towers, each three stories high, that stick out from the front of the building.
  • One tower was the entrance for factory workers and had toilets, locker rooms, and stairs.
  • The other tower was for visitors and office staff, and it also held machinery, toilets, and stairs.

Materials needed for manufacturing were moved in and out of the tall storage unit by a special rail-guided vehicle. This vehicle could move items much faster than a regular forklift. This system also made sure that parts were always in the right place and helped with keeping track of inventory.

Building Materials

Most of the walls of the steel-framed building are made of concrete blocks. The outside layer uses "split-face" blocks, which have a rough texture. The office areas and lower factory floors have precast concrete window units. These windows face north and are designed to block the sun.

The north and south walls of the tall storage unit are covered with corrugated metal panels, painted white. This white color stands out against the rough, warm grey concrete blocks used elsewhere. This corrugated metal is also used around the two entrances. The sloped shape of the northern walls of the service towers adds a dynamic look to the building's design.

Condition of the Building

The Torin building is in excellent condition. It's a very well-preserved example of a small industrial building designed by Marcel Breuer in the modern style of the late 20th century. All the original parts and details on the outside are still there, and the inside parts are also in place. It's a rare and special example of this type of building in Sydney.

Why the Torin Building is Special

The former Torin building is very important to the history of New South Wales. It's a rare and well-preserved example of a modern industrial building from the late 20th century. It was designed by the world-famous architect Marcel Breuer.

The Only One in Australia

This is the only building in New South Wales and all of Australia designed by Marcel Breuer! It's one of several buildings he designed for the Torin Corporation around the world (in Europe, Canada, and the United States). The Penrith Torin building was the last of nine buildings Breuer designed for the company. Its design shows how his ideas had grown and improved over time. While his earlier Torin buildings were more classic and grid-like, the Australian one shows the strong, sculptural style he developed later in his career.

Marcel Breuer became famous early in his career while studying and teaching at the Bauhaus school in the 1920s. That's where he designed his famous Wassily chair. He later worked with Walter Gropius and continued to develop his architecture. His later work showed his "sculptor architect" style, and he became known as "one of the most important form givers of our time."

Design and Function

The Torin building in Penrith is a great example of Breuer's work for the Torin Corporation. It shows how his modern designs focused on the idea that a building's shape should be based on its purpose. Like other small industrial buildings he designed for Torin, this building shows how Breuer made industrial architecture beautiful and modern. He used simple shapes, bold designs, and repeated industrial elements. The outside of the building still has all its original architectural and sculptural details, and the inside parts are also still there.

The Torin Building was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on May 15, 2009, because it met several important requirements:

• It shows how cultural history developed in New South Wales.

The Torin building, designed in 1975, is a later work in the amazing career of Marcel Breuer. His work is celebrated as part of the 20th Century International style of architecture. This building is one of many he designed for the Torin Corporation around the world. It shows how industrial buildings changed to save costs through automation. The building's unique shape is based on its function: it has a tall tower for an automated handling system, a two-story area for manufacturing and offices, and two service towers that stick out from the front.

• It is strongly connected to important people in New South Wales history.

The former Torin Building is important because it's a major work by the world-famous architect Marcel Breuer, who worked with Herbert Beckhard. Breuer designed nine buildings for the Torin Corporation in the US, France, Canada, Belgium, and England. Breuer became a top international architect through his work at the Bauhaus in the 1920s, where he designed the famous Wassily and Cesca chairs. He also worked with Walter Gropius and designed acclaimed industrial, public, and residential buildings, including the UNESCO building in Paris and the Whitney Museum in New York. Breuer was known as "one of the last true functionalist architects" because his designs made small industrial buildings look modern and artistic.

• It shows great creative or technical skill in New South Wales.

The Torin Building shows a high level of creative and technical achievement. Its sculptural shape and overall design are based on its automated system for storing, finding, and putting together parts. It includes design elements, textures, and geometric shapes that are typical of Breuer's Torin buildings. These features include a steel frame covered in metal sheets and split-face concrete blocks, projecting walls, and precast concrete window frames with built-in sun shades. The Torin building is a beautiful example of modern industrial architecture from the late 20th century. Its design shows smart planning, bold architectural style, and the use of repeated industrial parts.

• It can help us learn more about the history of New South Wales.

The former Torin building is important because it helps us understand the design ideas, details, and building methods of this important international architect in Australia.

• It is rare or uncommon in New South Wales.

The former Torin building is a rare and well-preserved example of a late 20th Century International style industrial building. It was designed by the master architect Marcel Breuer, who worked with Walter Gropius and the Bauhaus. He created famous designs like the Wassily and Cesca Chairs, and later designed acclaimed buildings like the Whitney Museum in New York and the UNESCO building in Paris. It is the only building in Australia designed by Breuer, and one of the few buildings in Australia designed by a world-famous architect. It has very fine concrete block and precast concrete details that control the sun for the windows on the ground level.

• It shows the main features of a certain type of place in New South Wales.

The Torin building is a great example of Marcel Breuer's designs for the Torin Corporation. Since it was the last of these buildings he designed, it includes technical and visual ideas that had developed over 14 years of his work for the company. Even though it's the only Breuer-designed building in Australia, it's part of a group of nine Torin Corporation buildings he designed across Europe, the US, and Canada. It uses ideas and materials, like split-face concrete cladding and precast windows with built-in sun shading, which were important to Breuer in his Torin buildings and other projects.