Description

From the first issue in October 1945, the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper was produced in Munich’s historic town center. As the number of copies and pages of the newspaper increased, problems with transportation and storage developed on the cramped urban premises. Technical innovations like the introduction of photo typesetting and new methods of data transmission eventually permitted the production and editorial offices to be separated. A new building for printing and distribution was erected in Munich-Steinhausen, completed in 1984.

Instead of the existing relief printing machines, offset-rotation printing machines are used in the new building, determining its dimensions. The decisive factor for the selection of the site was – apart from the potential of future extensions – the infrastructure which links the site to the road network in central Munich. For paper deliveries a rail track leads onto the premises.

A 180 m long and 16 m wide three-storey building mainly composed of prefabricated concrete elements forms the southern boundary of the complex. In compliance with fire regulations, paper reserves are stored separately from the other facilities. A steel structure is wrapped around this part of the building. Steel trusses 2.55 m high span two areas: the hall for the further processing of the printing products with a clear span of 37.50 m, and the hall containing rotation machines – including the installation decks in the concrete building section – with a span of 33.75 m. In-situ concrete stair towers are positioned in the 7.50 m gap between the two buildings. Pitched glazing, through which daylight enters the building, bridges the difference in roof levels of 7.50 m between the two halls.

The high humidity created by the printing process requires a vapor-proof exterior building skin without thermal bridges. At the same time, the heat released by the printing machines compensates for a potential increase in heating costs that might otherwise occur as a result of the largely glazed façades. Through this building envelope both the function and structure of the building are evident. The white, grey and silver tones for the interior finishes complement the colored, mainly blue, machinery. The linear layout of the offset-rotation printing machines necessitates a very long hall. The production process is readable in section. After the paper rolls have been delivered to the southern ramp, forklifts transport them to the paper storage. From the adjoining day-storage the paper rolls are taken to the printing works. From there, the paper goes through rotation and after folding, the completed product is transported to a further processing area. Here, the newspapers are automatically stacked, counted, packed, addressed and transported via conveyor belts to the waiting delivery vans.

The building, which began operation in 1984, is sited in such a way that it could be extended to the east by one bay of 11.50 m and by a maximum of five bays to the west. In 1993, the processing hall was extended by three bays to the west. In addition, northwest of the printing works a hall for waste separation, and west of the main building a wastepaper disposal facility were erected. Further adjacent land owned by the company permits the enlargement of the total floor area by some 200 %.

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Originally published in: Jürgen Adam, Katharina Hausmann, Frank Jüttner, Industrial Buildings: A Design Manual, Birkhäuser, 2004.