Briefzentrum München, Goods shed in Neuhausen, Munich, Germany
Briefzentrum München, officially the Gleishalle des Paketpostamtes, is a free-spanning hall of precast concrete built 1965–1969 northeast of the Friedenheimer Brücke. Its folded barrel vault spans 146.8 metres, rises 27.3 metres and runs 124 metres, assembled from 1,584 identical precast parts; the shell serves as both structure and roof cladding.
The facility was built between 1965 and 1969 as the world's longest hall constructed from prefabricated concrete elements at that time. It emerged from post-war growth in mail volume and demonstrates the engineering confidence of that era.
The hall's official name was "Gleishalle des Paketpostamtes". Its folded shell earned comparisons to a dinosaur: critic Gerhard Matzig likened the concrete frame to a sand-lurking prehistoric beast, and Ira Mazzoni called it a technical wonder of its era. The shell is thinner than an eggshell in proportion: 1:375 versus 1:75.
The hall stands northeast of the Friedenheimer Brücke, near Munich's main railway station; the surrounding site is being redeveloped under Herzog & de Meuron. The 20,000 m² interior now holds a steel-framed sorting hall built in 1997, so the concrete shell is best viewed from outside.
The structure employed a revolutionary system of prefabricated concrete components developed under structural engineer Ulrich Finsterwalder's direction. This construction technique broke new ground and set standards for industrial building methods in 1960s architecture.
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