1st Prize for Residential and Commercial Building Fraunhoferstrasse, München

The design by Allmann Sattler Wappner Architekten for the new residential and commercial building in the Munich downtown area Glockebachviertel has been awarded with the first prize on June 19, 2012. The client is Concept Bau GmbH, Munich.

The vicinity of the river Isar and the position at one of the main access routes into town determine the very prominent location of this residential and commercial building in Munich. Due to the differentiated approach concerning the formation of volumes, the building acts as a mediator between the various scales of the existing buildings in Erhardtstrasse and Baaderstrasse. On the side facing the river Isar, the building opens up generously; along Fraunhoferstrasse, the facade has been structured into three parts with the proportion of open facade decreasing towards Baaderstrasse in order to relate better to the pierced facades of the houses there. The three different, carefully tuned wall surfaces emphasise this approach. But because the same structural principle has been applied to the changing formats of the windows, the uniform character of the building has been retained.
The building also transforms in its vertical appearance by featuring an increased number of openings towards the top. The uppermost floor offers generous apartments with spectacular views of the town and the surrounding landscape.  All apartments have a view of the Isar River, but are also oriented to the quiet, green interior courtyard.
From a distance, the building is perceived as a homogenous volume. Up close, the fine nuances of the envelope are revealed and with this the intended transformation from a monolithic building, confirming the urban character of the site, to a translucent, airy structure, absorbing the surrounding green.