Wat-air-mill Supreme
The Wat-air-mill Supreme is a huge watermill attached to an windmill built along the Rouge River in Little Town in the City of Havere. It is the brain child of Winktod Gasketank and the main reason for his company The Imaculate Textile Company's rapid ascent to the top of the Havecois textile industry.
Architecture
The mill is a huge 400 ft tall stone conical structure measured from the tip of a vertical turbine blade to the ground level. The five blades of the mill are made of a Gnomish Copper alloy that is resistant to the elements and matches the copper roofs of Little Town. They are shaped and twisted in such a way from far away it looks like 5 spinning copper scythes. The rear of the mill is a long 50 foot sail that directs the blades towards the wind. During windstorms, the sail is taken down, the blades turned so they don't generate any power.
The watermill is built from a giant reinforced wooden water wheel connected to the main structure by a large steel rod.
The structure has no windows except on the floor at the very top, but it does have doors along three balconies that wrap around the structure. The balconies are connected to each other and the ground floor by two wooden staircases one on opposite sides of the mill.
History
The building was originally conceived 10 years ago by Winktod Gasketank. Apocryphally, while trying to come up with a way for the Gnomish weavers to be competitive in the market, he ate a handful of questionable mushrooms. In the subsequent trip, he toured a giant structure powered by both water and air that powered mechanical constructs inside that could weave at incredible speed.
Winktod presented his idea to the engineers of the Little Town and together they designed the automated weaving factory.
Winktod then secured financing through the Royal Bank of Havere after much convincing and some political acrobatics. Suffice to say that he did not secure a very favorable interest rate, but the Royal Finance Minister thought if this building could work, it would positively affect the wealth in Havere.
Construction lasted 5 years with the majority of the Gnomish Copper coming from Gnomastra and the stone and iron from nearby quarries and mines. After 6 months of setting up the equipment inside, the factory was producing easily 100 times the square feet of cloth than previously.
The quality of cloth coming out of the factory while consistent and generally good quality has been criticized for being boring. Often the bolts of cloth are of only one color, generally indigo or violet, and have no pattern or artistry about it. Many fashion experts in the city have called it a plague on their art and in some publications publicly called it an "abomination."
But solid colored cloth is not new to Havere, and in fact many of the middle- and lower-classes frequently donned their solidly colored garments with pride. With the supply of this cloth skyrocketing the price has plummeted thus improving the quality of life for those who frequently buy these garments.
Other affects the factory has had on Havere are the weavers themselves. Many lower-skilled weavers who used to sell their simple cloths have been driven out of business, some even work for Winktod now (although he only hires Gnomish). Many have been forced to invest in higher quality materials and use more complex weaving techniques and patterns that Winktod cannot automate.
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