Melody Blankenbiller | Undergraduate Architecture Thesis

The Mothering Machine

Domesticating Post-industrial America

Spring 2022 Thesis Stuckeman School of Architecture Penn State University

Abstract

In the early 1900s, Reading, Pennsylvania was one of the largest cities in the state and a pioneer in the north-east for manufacturing. At this time, the Berkshire Knitting Mills began as an experimental hosiery factory and later became the largest full-fashioned knitting mill in the world. Immediately following WWII, fashion changed but the mill owners were resistant to change their products. The need for hosiery declined until the 1960s, and the factories were then sold. Industrialization created many changes for American women in more ways than just fashion; technological advancements in and outside the home divided gender roles, leaving women with more work. In the home, the trends became more catered to women as men were now working in these factories and not the family farm. The mechanization of housework was intended to create a more efficient way of living, but these technologies replaced work for the man. The evolution of the kitchen and ads for appliances shows this social transition, and how it changed housework into housewife. My project re imagines the last remaining factory corpse of the historic Berkshire Knitting Mills for a new way of living. With absent walls and doors, an architecture can be developed from those who live in each unit based on their movements and needs. I aim to humanize, or “mother”, this efficient, machine way of living by expressing how designing domestic architecture does not fit one mold.

This project utilizes Ruth Cowan’s “More Work for Mother” to tell the story of women in post-industrial America.

The Berkshire Knitting Mills of Reading, Pennsylvania

In the early 1900s, Reading, Pennsylvania was one of the most thriving cities in the state and a pioneer in the north-east for manufacturing. The source of their economic expansion stemmed from The Berkshire Knitting Mills, which began as an experimental hosiery factory and at one point the largest full-fashioned knitting mill in the world.

e Schuylkill River runs northwest to southeast in eastern Pennsylvania

Reading has a large population of 90,000 people and was once economically booming when the Mills were in production; e city now faces poverty

e Reading Line is a main freight railroad that stretches from the Harrisburg Line to the Lehigh Line and was once apart of the Reading Railroad

Key 1. 2. Wyomissing has a population of 12,000 and is one of the wealthiest areas in the county having historic homes and private businesses 3. West Reading has a small population of 6,000 and is known for it’s central street with many shops and businesses; It is the site of the Berkshire Knitting Mills 4. 5. 6. e original complex for the Berkshire Knitting Mills taken prior to full demolition 7.

Wyomissing West

Berkshire Knitting Mills Site Plan

6 4

Schuylkill River 5

1892

Ferdinand un and Henry Janssen assembled the rst American knitting machine and began making decorative braiding for clothing

1896

un and Janssen renamed and moved their growing business into West Reading next to the Reading Railroad

The Legacy of the Berkshire

1902

e Mills begun making insulated wires and cables increased due to demand of electronics and automobiles

1906

A nearby hosiery the mills salvaged over hosiery production

hosiery mill burned down so salvaged the machines and took production

1913

Due to rising hems in women’s fashion, the hosiery business took o . e Mills experimented making hosiery machines and began selling them

1930

Nylon was invented and became the most popular product

1936

A 13-month strike along with womens fashion straying away from skirts declined the factory’s production until the business closed down

Berkshire Knitting Mills

First Women’s Rights Convention

Women's su ragists March

e Matrimonial Causes Act of 1923

e Cable Act was repealed

Millions of women enter the workforce 1941

Women's Armed Services Integration Act 1948

Equal Pay Act of 1963

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Birth control becomes legal

Title IX passed

First female Supreme Court Justice

Title VII passed Violence Against Women Act

Military ban on women is li ed

1848 1913 1923 1936 1963 1964 1965 1972 1981 1993 1994 2013 2017 2022

e Womens March on Washington

Reauthorization of VAWA

Housework was shared prior to the industrialization of the home.

Housework turned into “housewifery”, changing the roles of a home.

In the home, trends became more catered to women as men were now working in these factories and not the family farm. The mechanization of housework was intended to create a more efficient way of living, but these technologies replaced work for the man. The evolution of the kitchen and ads for appliances shows this social transition, and how it changed housework into housewife.

Creation of the Domestic Home

The early domestic housewife invented the home we live in today: the way we store our food in a pantry, a different room for laundry, the curated social spaces in living and dining rooms, having a guest bedroom, a central kitchen in the home, and much more. Although today the roles are more equal for younger generations, the foundation was set for how the domestic home should be designed.

Domestic Home Inventing a New Type

House Bon Pastor Phase IV - Building H1 Qüestions d’Habitatge’

Hierarchy of rooms Views

Corner kitchen

An analysis from 2019 shows how apartments are analyzed for flexibility to adapt to the residing family. Criteria was developed from this which include: multi-functional spaces, removal of bedroom hierarchy, centralized functionality, and movable house components.

Humanizing the Machine

It’s not just about efficiency in the home, but it’s how this house can match the needs of the family; how it can care for those who reside there. My project renovates the last remaining production factory of the Berkshire Knitting Mills to fit 40 apartment units. With absent walls and doors, an architecture can be developed based on movements and needs, creating different living abilities for each unit. Shown in pink, the mothering dialogue tells a story of how their dwelling can humanize efficient design.

“I’m low on socks I need to do the wash...”

“I’m running late for work!”

“What movie should we put on?”

“Dinner's almost ready!”

“Take your shoes

“ is homework will take me all night!”

“I’m coming, just washing my hands!”

“Please pick up your toys...”

Adaptable Furniture Line

Wall Panel Storage Closet

10’0” 3’ - 0”

10’0”

Wall Storage Panels

Freestanding tub and waterline

2’0”

Freestanding counter

4’ - 0” 10’0” 3’6” 3’0”

5’ - 0”

Freestanding utility line

6’ - 0” or 9’ - 0” 9’ - 0” or 12’ - 0” 9’ - 0”

Retrofitting the Factory Corpse

The existing factory conditions were modeled by cutting / bending a used appliance shell, while the chipboard attachments show my additions onto the building. Through my process of deconstructing appliances and reprocessing their parts for other uses, a symmetry can be seen with the many different functions the factory had over time. Without traditional, fixed program in the apartments, the factory corpse can be reinvented for it’s next use when the apartments are over.

Melody Blankenbiller // B. Arch Thesis

Melody Blankenbiller Spring 2022 Thesis

Stuckeman School of Architecture Penn State University