MAN steel house

The MAN factory in Ginsheim-Gustavsburg, looking for new non-military markets after World War II built from 1948 prefabricated steel houses, based on a concept from the 1920s.

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.

[2] 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 interior walls were made of hardboard or plywood panels, which were insulated by glass wool mats from the outer steel sheets.

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.

Due to the good thermal insulation, the hot-dip galvanized components and the heat treated paints, there were very little corrosion and condensation problems.

Including special fittings such as kitchen, bathroom equipment and hot water central heating a MAN steel houses cost 30,000 DM, which today would correspond to about 70,000 Euros.

A MAN steel house from 1948 was translocated in 2011 from the Wendelstein-Nerreth near Nuremberg to the Franconian Open Air Museum of Bad Windsheim.