Description
On a former airfield to the east of Neue Messe Munich exhibition center the neatly parcelled out Gewerbegebiet Nordost commercial district including various commercial depots is situated. The building was constructed for MP-Druck company which specializes in high-end color prints.
The design concept of the printing plant is governed by the idea of a consistent appearance of the building. The design of all four façades essentially follows the same principles; functionally necessary elements like canopy, skylights and ventilation flaps are not merely added on but are integrated into the overall concept. To create a roofed-over delivery and entrance area to the east at ground level this part of the building is simply recessed. The interior is structured by the interplay of one and three-storey spaces linked by an open bridge and ensuring consistent daylight conditions throughout the building. Interior and exterior appearance correspond with each other, the design of the façades follows the interior sections.
Double layers of figured glazing strips with flush mounted window elements form a consistent and smooth exterior envelope. The exterior layer consists of blue, the inner layer of green figured glass, which creates diffuse lighting on the inside as well as subtle color changes. The façade responds to the different amounts of light shining inside the plant; its transparent skin reveals the depth of spaces behind, while light penetrates deeply into the building through large skylights.
Frames consisting of prefabricated reinforced concrete columns and girders form the directional structure of the plant. The center-to-center distance of the frames is approximately 6 m, the free span of the girders is about 14 m and the floor slabs and beams of the upper floor on the eastern side of the building project about 2.70 m. The ceiling above the ground floor consists of partly prefabricated elements; the ceilings above the upper floor and at the skylights consist of lightweight trapezoid metal sheet. All reinforced concrete elements are exposed and reflect entering light according to their finishes: smoothed by free screeding, hand-smoothed or rough-shuttered.
Drawings
Ground floor
Floor plan diagram
Cross section
Longitudinal section
Sectional detail
Photos
Exterior view with delivery and entrance area below the cantilevering upper floor
The interior of the light-flooded plant is structured by the interplay of one and three-storey spaces
Originally published in: Jürgen Adam, Katharina Hausmann, Frank Jüttner, Industrial Buildings: A Design Manual, Birkhäuser, 2004.