The Usine électrique la Grande Vapeur, located east of Oyonnax, France, is a unique power station, not just for its purpose - Oyonnax is known as 'la ville aux cent cheminées' - but for its unusual design. Made of reinforced concrete, it is shaped like a V or open V, divided into individual cabins of work. Each cabin was individually connected to a single engine through the transmission of belts, making it a groundbreaking factory.
Constructed in 1905 by the architect Auguste Chanard, it stands as a testament to the new possibilities of architecture on a reinforced concrete floor. The building once buzzed with the activity of a hundred workers, known as 'piéçards'. These workers were independent in their work, with the exception that they were under the authority of the Union électrique, the original name of EDF, the owner of the premises and the provider of energy for the machines.
The building functioned for over 50 years until the invention of the injector press. The exterior of the building was classified as a historical monument in 1988, and the interior was inscribed the same year.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Nicolo Ciampini
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