The article investigates the conditions under which industrial buildings move beyond a utilitarian minimum and attain architectural quality, understood as the interplay of aesthetic expression, functional organisation, and technical adequacy. The authors depart from the “form vs. function” dichotomy, treating form as a record of process logic and making building services a language of architecture. Methodologically, the study adopts a critical, comparative casestudy approach, juxtaposing canonical modernist works (Fagus, Alfeld; Zollverein, Essen), the late-twentieth-century high-tech turn (Inmos, Newport), and contemporary examples in which architecture acts as brand medium and visitor interface (L’Oréal Aulnay-sous-Bois; Vitra Campus, Weil am Rhein; Volkswagen Transparent Factory, Dresden; McLaren, Woking), as well as a model that fuses infrastructure with recreation and education (CopenHill, Copenhagen). The analysis shows that structural and process legibility, visitability, contextual fi t, and environmental co-benefi ts support a reasoned ambition to go “beyond the standard shed.” The outcome is an assessment framework with tools for clients and designers. The article also notes limitations (e.g., the prevalence of well-documented European cases) and proposes avenues for further research (e.g., longitudinal studies, regulatory frames,