Foundry for Alcan Aluminiumwerk Nuremberg
The post-and-beam facade made of rolled double-T and T-profiles is over 100 years old. A sophisticated "archetype" was achieved by Jules Saulnier with the mill of the Menier factory in 1871/72 in Noisiel-sur-Marne near Paris (it still stands!). A network of similar wall constructions runs through industrial buildings, glass palaces, galleries, and greenhouses – for 150 years; the Fagus Factory in 1911, and in the 1920s and 30s, Schupp's buildings or the boiler house by Joltowski in Moscow. Initially, the steel trusses were infilled with half-brick-thick masonry, often with window openings cut into them, featuring segmental arches, round arches, or segmental lintels. Then, increasingly – in lightweight constructions – entire panels were made of delicate membranes/nets of glazed T-profile infills. Initially cast in larger units, later manufactured from T-profiles with forged, riveted and finally welded connections.
