Lodz textile mills: indigenous culture or functional imperatives?

While recognising the importance of functional constraints in textile mill construction, an attempt is made to establish the extent to which modifications have been made, arguably the result of indigenous culture, in the case of mills in Łódź, Poland. Using a sample of 57 mills, the analysis is arranged by selected functional imperatives: building technology, vertical movement and lighting. Local culture undoubtedly plays a significant role in mill structure, but even so is subservient to functional imperatives.