489 THE VERSE – Herzog & de Meuron

Competition: 2018
Project: 2019 - planned completion 2027

A Burgeoning Railroad Neighborhood

The area south of the railroad station in Munich is characterized by the compact perimeter-block construction typical of the mid-19th century: small plots of land, narrow courtyards, and heavily trafficked, generally treeless streets. Featuring a number of hotels and buildings with relatively small office units and studios, the neighborhood is lively and bustling by day thanks to a variety of ground-floor retail stores and commercial uses. When night falls, the lack of residents in this neighborhood becomes obvious. The popular nickname “Orientalischer Viktualienmarkt” (Oriental Food Market) implies vibrant diversity but also reveals the dense and stony nature of this district. The large-scale redevelopment and expansion of the main station in Munich will have a revitalizing impact on this neighborhood, which is set to become more attractive and livable in the next few years.

The building housing the administration of the Postbank from the early 1990s on the block stands in contrast to the rest of the neighborhood because of its size. It occupies the entire block with the exception of a hotel on the northeastern corner. Very little light and air reaches the interior of this largely six-story perimeter-block building, with its small, stacked courtyards in the central portion and almost continuous ground-floor development.

At first sight, the buildings appear to be aging and unattractive but prove, on closer inspection, to be basically solid. This factor is worth taking into account. The goal of the clients – an up-to-date, urban block that accommodates a mixture of downtown uses and meets the highest standards of quality and sustainability – can best be achieved by reusing and supplementing the existing structure. The maxim is to build on and with what is already there. In view of these considerations, it would be absurd to demolish the entire block and completely rebuild the quarter. Analysis of the buildings shows that more than half of the shell could be preserved. Restriction to precise partial demolition and subsequent additions reduces dust pollution, noise, and construction traffic, saves time and makes an important contribution to sustainability. Above-ground, the dense, poorly lit interior of the block will be dismantled, gaps in the perimeter filled, and the block straightened to produce a large, continuous ring of buildings with flexible office space.

Ground-floor use will be focused on retail and restaurants, in some cases facing two sides: the street and the inner courtyard. The first below-ground level on Mittererstrasse will accommodate parking for some 1000 bicycles, as well as a delivery entrance and waste disposal. The two top floors, are setback to provide for generous green outdoor spaces . The uninterrupted eaves all around the complex will have a calming, streamlined effect on the urban context.

A Courtyard for Light and Air in the Neighborhood

The plot of land, comprising almost the entire block, offers a unique opportunity to create a large courtyard garden accessible to the entire neighborhood. The garden will become a magnet for the area around the main station, an oasis protected from the incessant rush of traffic, an urban forest, a green lung for the neighborhood. Evaporative cooling and natural air purification through large leaves and photosynthetic processes will generate a micro-climate. A a white loop-shaped iron balustrade forms an encompassing circle around the entire rectangular courtyard. The curved inner corners will make room for quiet spots and increase the amount of natural light. The balustrades will act as a container for the courtyard, an impression accentuated by variations in their vertical inclines: the lower third leans towards the garden, while on the upper floors, the balustrades open towards the sunlight and the sky, thereby opening up the courtyard and reflecting daylight into the space below.

Incorporating What is Old Into What is New

The structural substance of both the old buildings and the new additions will be exposed, revealing the powerful presence and rhythmic clarity of the existing and partially extended concrete body. Together, the old and new load-bearing structures will form a harmonious ensemble, which is differentiated, enriched, and refined through precisely tailored variations in geometry, materials, and surface treatment.

By exposing the clearly organized, “naked” load-bearing structure and accentuating the ground-floor and the corners of the buildings, the block as a whole acquires an almost classicist appearance reminiscent of the grand and sumptuous urban palaces in downtown Munich with their facades embellished with spacious arcades. Although the new complex will be modern, contemporary, and extensively glazed, it will blend into the cityscape characteristic of Munich, while simultaneously retaining some of the earthy charm of the nearby “Orientalischer Viktualienmarkt”.

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Team

Partners: Jacques Herzog; Pierre de Meuron; Robert Hösl (Partner in Charge); Santiago Espitia Berndt (Coupling-Partner)
Project Team: Patrick Holl (Project Manager); Anna Hernández García (Project Architect); Thorben Bazlen (Project Architect); Cecilia Ambrois; Michelle Aoun; Melissa Artschwager; Belinda Bader; Alexandra Bayborodova; Thorben Bazlen; Frédéric Beaupère; Lorenzo Berger; Matteo Berti; Mark Biemans; Fatima Blötzer; Felix Bodenmüller; María Bona Gallego; Edurne Bona Gallego; Emilio Braune; António Brito Correia; Bartosz Bukowski; Cinzia Bussola; Loic Cao; Belen Doğa Cirit; Victoria Collar Ocampo; Massimo Corradi; Esra Cümert; Antonios Daniil; Cristiano Dayrell; Michael Drobnik; Matthew Dueck; Niklas Erlewein; Santiago Espitia Berndt; Marta Falchi; Paul Feeney; Dominic Fohrer; Florian Frank; Sophie Frey; Moritz Gebhard; Carly Gertler; Martin Geyer; Sebastian Gubernatis; Giovanni Guccini; Jonathan Hanssen; Gregor Herberholz; Anna Hernández García; Antje Hoeg; Patrick Holl; Amelie Hummel; Vasileios Kalisperakis; Burak Kalkan; Elisabeth Klein; Martin Kolev; Maria Krasteva; Piet Kretschmer; Sahng O Lee; Qinglong Lin; Jens Ljunggren; Gia My Long; Anna Ludwig; David Lüken; Ida Madsen; Eri Marko; Dennis Marsch; Carolin Meier; Raphael Mertin; Selina Merz; Anastasiia Mitiukova; Jelena Mitrovic; Teresa Modigell; Pia Morath; Magnus Möschel; Erminia Mossi; Viola Mraz; Javier Muel Campo; Alexandra Mümmler; Javier Muñoz Galán; Katharina Münstermann; David Mutschlechner; Hannah Nauen; Gourav Neogi; Dominik Nüssen; Hirotatsu Ohara; Catherine Papst; Ana Pascual Posada; Felipe Pecegueiro Curado; Artemis Pefani; Daniel Pehl; Pedro Peña Jurado; Aida Ramirez Marrujo; Bálint Rigó; Nathalie Rinne; Ibrahim Saad; Eduardo Salgado Mordt; Anna Salvioni; Philip Schmerbeck; Benjamin Schneider; Dagmar-Karen Schopp; Martin Schulte; Hannah Schütze; Kilian Schwartze; Anton Schwingen; Oliver Seybold; Anna Sikora; Aleksandar Slavikovic; Florian Stroh; Christian Szalay; Antonella Trusgnach; Julian Vogt; Tessa Vollmeier; Leona Wagener; Frederike Werner; Ruoxi Yang; Dorian Zank-Bach; Yuni Zhao; Edda Zickert

Facts

Client: Elementum SCS, Luxembourg
Planning: Developer: ACCUMULATA Real Estate Management GmbH; Landscape Architect: Vogt Landschaftsarchitekten AG, Switzerland, Zürich; Landscape Architect: BL9 Landschaftsarchitekten PartG mbB, Germany, München; Structural Engineer: Schnetzer Puskas International AG, Switzerland, Basel; Structural Engineer: Zilch + Müller Ingenieure GmbH, Germany, München; Technical Engineer: M+E Consult GmbH, Germany, München; Facade: PBI Entwicklung innovativer Fassaden GmbH, Germany, Wertingen; Energy Concept: Transsolar Energietechnik GmbH, Germany, Stuttgart; Fire Protection: hhp berlin, Germany, München; Generalplanner: CL MAP GmbH, Germany, München
Building Data: Site Area: 156'948 sqft, 14'581 sqm; Gross floor area (GFA): 914'931 sqft, 85'000 sqm; GFA above ground: 695'347 sqft, 64'600 sqm; GFA below ground: 220'121 sqft, 20'450 sqm; Number of levels: 8; Footprint: 95'045 sqft, 8'830 sqm; Length: 547 ft, 167 m; Width: 269 ft, 82 m; Height: 118 ft, 36 m; Gross volume (GV): 8'841'035 cbft, 250'350 cbm; Facade surface: 259'194 sqft, 24'080 sqm
Links: www.the-verse-munich.com

Team

Facts

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