The experimental factory Stahl- & Traumfabrik AG — with its carpentry, locksmith workshop, and shared pool of craft expertise — has been a fixture of Zurich’s productive and cultural landscape since the 1990s. In its early years in Zurich-Altstetten, readings, concerts, and cultural events of all kinds unfolded amid film sets, furniture prototypes, construction experiments, sculptures, and material archives.

Since 2020, production has relocated to the protected former drying plant at Bernstrasse 29 in Schlieren, carrying with it the ambition to cultivate this same culture in a new setting. In collaboration with Pfeffermint AG and Architecture Land Initiative, a project was initiated to open the site to other companies, practices, creative workers, craftspeople, and production facilities. The aim is to develop a place that grows in synergy with its productive environment — while engaging meaningfully with the rapid transformation of its surroundings.