USAREUR - Cities - Rheinberg

General Description:
The 54th Area Support Group has only recently begun leasing major portions of the Reichel Complex in Rheinberg, FRG. This facility is the former headquarters of the Reichel Corporation, a carpet manufacturer, which recently went into the equivalent of bankruptcy.

The complex exists of:

Ten-story office tower constructed of precast concrete, approximately 40 percent glazed and having an area of 312,000 square feet.

Approximately one million square feet of warehouse/manufacturing space. The majority of this space is constructed of concrete with a barrel vault sawtooth roof having a large north facing skylight. One section is of all metal construction.

Central Boiler Plant Building.

The facility, as of February 1983, is still managed by Reichel (or former Reichel) employees. A portion of the manufacturing area is still in operation under the control of a second carpet maker. The remainder of the manufacturing/warehouse space and part of the office building are unoccupied. This complex was selected to be surveyed because of the possibility that the U. S. Army acquire the property and develop the entire facility.

Location:
The 54th ASG is located on the southwest edge of the town of Rheinberg, West Germany. Rheinberg is located in far west central Germany near the City of Wesel.

Facilities:
This facility was built in several stages, there are, therefore, several different types of construction. With the exception of a few minor out buildings, this is one interconnected building. The overall plan, with the present "Building Numbers" is shown in the figure above. There are three (3) major construction categories:

Building 22 is a 10-story office tower with penthouse boardroom. It is constructed of precast concrete and approximately 40 percent glazed. The short dimension is only 65 feet so that with careful layout, cross ventilation can be maintained and no air conditioning is required (or installed). The building is heated with hot water radiators. The southwest facing glass is equipped with external shutters which, when closed, are operable similar to venetian blinds.

Buildings 7, 8, and 12 through 20 are single story concrete with a barrel vault sawtooth roof, each bay of which has a large north facing skylight. These are manufacturing/storage spaces. The skylights are double-glazed and provide enough ambient lighting for general use without artificial illumination. Even in the presently active manufacturing space, artificial lighting was only installed on the machinery as task lighting.

Buildings 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, and 21 are similar to the other manufacturing spaces except are two-story high. The ground floor of these spaces, having glazing only in the exterior walls, lacks the natural lighting of the other factory spaces. These were used for storage or are vacant.

Occupancy:
At the time of the survey in February 1983, the 54th ASG occupied the equivalent of four full floors of the office tower (Building 22) all as administrative space; a portion of Building 1 was being remodeled for administrative space and a small portion of the warehouse was being utilized for recreation (volleyball). The remainder of the facility is either still carpet manufacturing/storage or is vacant.

The 54th ASG was in the process of planning utilization of the entire facility. Generally, it is proposed that Buildings 22, 1, 2, and 3 continue as administrative, and the warehouse/manufacturing space be converted to a mix-use facility including:

Commissary - PX

Maintenance

Warehouse

Recreation

Other Community Facilities

Webmaster note: The report also includes a list of the buildings with their primary function (in 1983) (1):

BLDG	FUNCTION	BLDG	FUNCTION
01	Administration	13	Community Fac
02	Warehouse	14	Warehouse
03	Operations	16A	Warehouse
04	Warehouse	16B	Administration
05	Warehouse	16C	Community Fac
06	Shops	18	Warehouse
07A	Warehouse	19	Warehouse
07B	Warehouse	20	Warehouse
08	Heating Plant	21	Community Fac
09	Community Fac	22	Administration
10	Community Fac	24	Administration
11	Warehouse	25	Warehouse
12	Warehouse	31	Warehouse

(1) not all buildings were listed.

(If you have any updates or corrections on how the various buildings at the Reichel Complex were utilized during 1982-1992, please contact the webmaster. Of special interest is information on where the various units, activities and community facilities were located. As always, PHOTOS and maps are especially appreciated!!)