page_title: MAN steel house
section_title: Design
hierarchical_section_title: MAN steel house / Design
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: MAN-Stahlhaus im Fränkischen Freilandmuseum Bad Windsheim
context_page_description: The MAN steel house was a pre-fabricated building by MAN. A total of 230 units were built worldwide from 1948 to 1953.
context_section_description: The wall elements were pre-fabricated at the MAN factory and then bolted to a steel frame construction which was erected on-site on top of a brick foundation and a thermal insulation layer of fiberglass mats was located between the outer steel sheets and hardboard inside, with an insulation value similar to that of a 80-centimetre (31 in) thick brick wall according to historic advertising brochures. The outside of the steel walls were painted with a solvent-based lacquer as a means of corrosion protection.
  The architectural design resembled conventional stone buildings: The perforated facade with a gable roof and mullioned windows with shutters were "quite plain, but cosy and with all objectivity something for the German mind" as required in the specification by the architect Hans Schneider on behalf of MAN in 1949. The basic type could be ordered according to the catalogue with different roof pitches. The inner walls could be built individually, since the roof was supported by the outer walls. The version with the steeper roof provided space for a habitable attic.
  There were four different floor plans: 8 by 8 metres (26 ft × 26 ft), 8 by 10 metres (26 ft × 33 ft), 8 by 13 metres (26 ft × 43 ft), and 8 by 16 metres (26 ft × 52 ft). The individual modules of the steel houses were assembled on site. The rectangular outer wall panels were made of 1-millimetre (0.039 in) thick steel plate with a size of 1 by 2.51 metres (3.3 ft × 8.2 ft) and were placed next to each other. The interior walls were made of hardboard or plywood panels, which were insulated by glass wool mats from the outer steel sheets. The roof structure was formed from standardized trusses 8 metres (26 ft) in length. The floor was well insulated with glass wool mats and consisted of tongue and groove planks that were mounted on the modular steel frame construction.
  The windows were provided with counterweights and retractable fly screens and could be lowered down into the wall opening as in a railway carriage. A factory built steel wall, which included the water and waste water pipes, was installed between the kitchen and bathroom with the particularity that the bathtub of the narrow bathroom protruded through the wall to save space in the cabinet of the sink. Closets were used to build the remaining interior walls. The quality of the MAN steel houses proved to be excellent in comparison to the competition of that time. Due to the good thermal insulation, the hot-dip galvanized components and the heat treated paints, there were very little corrosion and condensation problems.
caption: Bathroom in Bad Windsheim
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