Gannett Journal & Courier
Newspaper Production Facility
Lafayette, Indiana

STOA Architects teamed with construction contractor, Pepper Construction, to develop the $7.5 million, 47,000 square-foot newspaper printing facility for the Journal & Courier newspaper in Lafayette, Indiana. The facility will house the Journal & Courier’s new MAN Roland Geoman press, designed to be the first press to print the Berliner format type of newspaper in North America. The facility was recently named Industrial Project of the Year by Midwest Construction.

The design and construction was fast-tracked to meet the owner’s goals for press installation. Insulated concrete pre-cast panels were selected for cost-efficiency and to speed up the construction process.

The facility houses administration, production, distribution and storage areas. The three-story pressroom includes a 300-ton web press visible through glazing to the adjacent major roadway. Supply lines to the press are routed in accessible below-slab trenches. The design also features a room for insert pallet and newsprint storage, a “quiet room” from which the press is operated electronically, loading docks and a waiting area for circulation drivers and carriers, management offices, a platemaking room, a conference room and training room, restrooms with showers and lockers for press personnel, loading docks and a public entrance lobby.

More than 15 percent of the building is glass providing natural light to the pressroom and administrative areas. Unique angles and aluminum awnings add to the state-of-the-art appearance of the facility.