Factories used to hover on the forgotten outskirts of cities, bland heaps of brick and concrete. But today factories are more than just containers for industrial activity. Worker-friendly and environmentally respectful, the remarkable buildings featured in Factories & Office Buildings represent the best in factory design. Striking yet sensible factories, offices, warehouses, even waste treatment plants, are shown in full-color photos along with construction details that show the present and the future of industrial planning.

Carles Broto, an architecture scholar and one of the founders of the IAC (institute for alternative culture). Following a successful period at the Atrium Group (Barcelona), he has now joined Grupo Links - Structure as the publishing director of various contemporary architecture collections. He is currently investigating the evolution of new American housing, as part of a multi-country project. He lives in Barcelona.