Freedom Center (Omaha)

John Gottschalk Freedom Center
Printing plant for the Omaha World-Herald, completed in 2001
General information
Type	Production facility
Architectural style	Modern
Location	Omaha, Nebraska
Completed	August 31, 2001
Owner	Omaha World-Herald
Design and construction
Architect(s)	HDR, Inc.

The John Gottschalk Freedom Center is a newspaper production facility located at 14th Street and Capitol Avenue in Downtown Omaha, Nebraska. Built for the Omaha World-Herald , the building is considered to be one of the most automated and technologically advanced newspaper facilities in the world. ^{[1] [2] [3]} The Freedom Center has been labeled a "catalyst" in the redevelopment of Downtown Omaha, ^{[4] [5]} along with such other new downtown development as the opening of the Missouri riverfront, the First National Bank Building, the CHI Health Center Omaha and the Gallup University campus. ^[6] The facility covers four blocks, and houses the new shaftless printing presses, material handling center, assembly equipment, and a parking garage. ^[7]

Design

The facility was opened in August 2001, and cost almost $125 million to build. ^[8] It consists of three structures designed by HDR, Inc. They include a five-level, 321,000-square-foot (29,800 m²) press hall featuring 3 MAN Roland presses from Germany; a 20,000-square-foot (1,900 m²) paper-storage facility capable of storing 3,000 rolls of newsprint and a 600-stall parking garage. Large portions of the exterior are glass, allowing downtown traffic to see the storage facility and presses. ^{[9] [ failed verification ]}

The storage facility/press hall is connected by a tunnel than runs underneath 13th Street. Most newspaper facilities of this size have been built on greenfield sites. The Omaha World-Herald was dedicated to keeping its newspaper facilities downtown, which required a more vertical structure, and the tunnel. Transfer Vehicle System (TVS) robotic vehicles are used to deliver newsprint to the press. ^{[10] [ failed verification ] [11] [ failed verification ]}

The presses weigh 1,661 U.S. tons and can produce 75,000 newspapers per hour. The John Gottschalk Freedom Center produces four editions of the Omaha World-Herald daily, in addition to a Sunday edition and daily editions of the Daily NonPareil for neighboring Southwest Iowa.

Construction of the modern facility served as the impetus for redesigning the layout of the actual newspaper. ^[12]

References

1. McMeekin, T. "Integration key to smooth operations at Omaha World-Herald," Newspapers and Technology. Retrieved 7/24/08.
2. ""The Omaha World-Herald John Gottschalk Freedom Center: State of the Art, Concrete-Rich Challenge,", L&M Construction Chemicals Concrete News. Retrieved 8/25/08. Archived August 10, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
3. "Tours", Omaha World-Herald company website. Retrieved 7/24/08 Archived December 23, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
4. "Downtown development" Archived 2008-09-08 at the Wayback Machine , Greater Omaha Economic Development Partnership. Retrieved 7/25/08.
5. "Great Plains", U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Policy Development and Research. Retrieved 7/25/08.
6. Kotock, C.D. "How Omaha looks is serious business" Archived 2006-11-10 at archive.today , Omaha World-Herald. January 11, 2004. Retrieved 7/25/08.
7. "2006 Architectural Engineering Conference Keynote Speakers" Archived 2008-08-20 at the Wayback Machine , Architectural Engineering Institute. May/June 2006. Retrieved 7/25/08.
8. "The Omaha World-Herald Freedom Center Grand Opening Ceremonies: September 1, 2001", OmahaHistory.com. Retrieved 7/25/08.
9. "Omaha World-Herald Freedom Center", HDR Inc. Retrieved 7/25/08.
10. "'Scary smart' students pass the grade during paper's security audit", University of Nebraska at Omaha College of Information Science and Technology. Retrieved 7/25/08.
11. Moozakis, C. "Newspapers seizing automation with renewed sense of urgency" ^{[ usurped ]}, Newspapers and Technology. Retrieved 7/24/08.
12. Johnson, R. "Designing for readers: How the Omaha World-Herald’s redesign changed their thinking" Archived 2009-01-06 at the Wayback Machine , Design Update. Fall 2002. Retrieved 7/25/08.

41°15′41″N95°56′02″W / 41.2615122351501°N 95.93381290628477°W / 41.2615122351501; -95.93381290628477