De Drie Hoefijzers, Industrial brewery complex in Breda, Netherlands.
De Drie Hoefijzers is a former industrial brewery in Breda with seven floors containing brewing halls, malt processing areas, and storage sections connected by reinforced concrete structures. The building is listed as a Rijksmonument, and its tall chimney remains a visible landmark in the city.
Planning for the building began in December 1925, and operations started in December 1927 after a fast construction phase. The brewery remained active until the 1990s, after which the building was repurposed and given protected status.
The interior features Art Deco design with stained glass windows made by the Bogtman company from Haarlem and decorative tiled patterns on the walls. These details show how much care the operators of the time put into designing a working building.
The building is open to visitors, and it is worth allowing enough time to explore the different floors at a relaxed pace. Comfortable shoes are a good idea since moving between the stairs and rooms involves a fair amount of walking.
The building contains underground vaults where beer sales profits were once stored, along with early communication systems that used visual signals between floors. An original elevator system also survives and reflects the design logic of using gravity to move malt downward through the levels.
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