"Its impressive vertical development separates this building from the normal warehouses and gives it a very special character." Architect Schachner(2) stated that, "...the development of the hall is derived completely from the construction, and this should be evident in the exterior expression of the hall."
The city government voted(3) on the 24th of July, 1901 to build a new Market Hall. The old "Schrannenhalle" had been built in 1852 and its 3,700 sqm no longer served the needs of the 580,000 citizens of Munich. The first project to alleviate this problem was prepared by the city architect Rettig in 1893. Rettig envisioned redesigning the existing square and renovating the old market hall. However, by 1900 the old hall had deteriorated to such a condition that renovation was no longer an option. The first public debate, one which continued up through the beginning of construction, centered on finding the proper location for the new hall. There was a movement by a group of citizens of Munich with a number of "Engros" dealers to simply replace the existing hall which was in the middle of the city. The wholesalers, on the other hand, wished to move the hall to the edge of the city where the train connections were more convenient. Munich's commissioners decided on the 19th of April, 1902 to designate a site occupied by old public warehouses at the edge of the city near the Sudbahnhof. The existing structures were razed in 1903 and the National Railway (Reichsbahn) began laying new tracks for the future expansion.
The city architect, Richard Schachner, undertook a trip in 1903-04 to visit contemporary large market hall construction in large cities throughout Europe (Brussels, Paris, Vienna, Budapest, Leipzig, Dresden and Berlin). His travels resulted in the decision to design a hall completely in reinforced concrete. Schachner stated goal(4) was that; "the entire market hall, including the entrance hall, should be read as a singular unit; it should give an enduring friendly, bright and lofty impression." The original design called for four soaring individual halls that had load-bearing structures of indeterminate fixed frames with lower "connecting" roofs spanning the distance between them. This external expression of four halls remained as the design developed. However, despite its appearance, the market hall was actually one single floor space of 10,860 sqm in which the ceiling was articulated with two types of roofs.
After the contractor, Leonhard Moll of Munich, began the calculations for the original hall, it became clear that it would be advantageous to propose a change in the structural system. The floor plans and the form of the hall's cross-section had been designed by the architect who also stated that they could not be changed; they were already determined. The high profile and general dimensions of the frames were, under all circumstances, to remain as they had been conceived. The structural designer, B. Rueb, was given complete freedom in all other considerations.
Rueb's structural calculations showed that it would be best to design the main spaces as two-hinged frames instead of fixed frames. This small change in the structural system allowed a simplification on many levels: the long and complicated calculation of all of the various loading conditions of an indeterminate structure would be eliminated, and the erection would be simplified in that the lower frames would be constructed first and then used to support the formwork for the frames. Hinges of pieces of roofing-paper placed in the shuttering of the lower frames separated the building's superstructure into two parts: the two hinged frames which underwent the greatest temperature differences, and the lower frames and basement with their almost constant temperature. Thus, a slight structural design variation resulted in great benefits.
Each of the main halls had a total clear height of 20 m, length of 97.6 m, and width of 16.5 m. Between these spaces were lower buildings of simple stiff skeletons with a height of 7.20 m and width of 8.80 m. The two-hinged frames of the main halls were supported by the lower buildings, and had a spacing of 8.84 m along the length of the hall with a height of 12.80 m. The forms for the frames were pre-fabricated in pieces on the building site and assembled at the point immediately below where they were to be used. These pieces were then hoisted into place with a steam-crane and the concrete rammed into the formwork. The structural analysis for the entire hall was accomplished using both graphic and numeric methods. The most critical elements were calculated numerically, using methods from Müller-Breslau and from Ritter, and checked graphically. The results(5) were found to coincide "without any practical difference."
The problem of expansions joints was solved in a very simple manner. The frame of every third field was simply doubled. That is, the 60 cm width of elements was increased to 70 cm and the entire element split in two(6). The concrete of the first half was rammed into its formwork and after it had cured a layer of asphalt paper was glued upon the surface of the inside of the newly completed frame. This then acted as one side of the formwork for the second half of the frame. The asphalt paper prevented the two frames from bonding. This method was a standard procedure in bridge construction by this time.
A basement with an average height of 5.1 m lay below the entire market hall. This is where one found the temperate, cold and deep-freeze storage areas. As excavation commenced, it was found that the site contained high quality gravel and sand. This material was sorted and immediately used in the pouring of the footings and walls of the foundations. That material which could not be immediately used was stored next to the site for later use. A building truly related to its site.
The interior of the hall was not decorated. All surfaces were painted with a chalk color and the ends of the load-bearing elements were painted with a blue-green strip. The glazing was known as "cathedral" glass, a type of frosted glazing, in order to break up direct sun-light which would damage the foodstuffs stored within.
The form of this hall calls to mind a cross between a Cathedral and a warehouse. Indeed, the market hall in Munich was a cathedral to the "new master" of the economy. The architectural intention to create the representational association with exactly these images was the dictating factor for the choice of structural form. The articulation of the interior space was dependent upon the skeletal nature of the load-bearing structure. The primary, secondary and tertiary elements are clear. One can also note in the same view that the addition of the structurally required hinges had absolutely no effect on the desired architectural expression.
The primary influence for the construction of this hall was again socioeconomic. The growing population required more space in a new hall. The technological influences, and advances, were minimal. The description by the engineer of the reasons for the choice of structural form illustrate once again the limited capabilities of the structural designer at that time. Of great interest is the fact that the In-Between has been reduced to a point that the Inside and the Outside have almost become one. The gabled-roof was not set upon an arched interior, but is an exposed load-bearing structure. And yet, the weather skin of the Outside was of the traditional tiles. The acceptance, or possibility, to directly show the reinforced concrete was not yet available.