The Largest Cultural Center in Europe. Gasteig Cultural center by HENN
23/06/2021.
[Munich] Germany
metalocus, VALERIA OZUNA
metalocus, VALERIA OZUNA
After 30 years of intensive use, the Gasteig cultural center is about to undergo renovation and remodeling, the project is designed by the architecture studio HENN. The building was originally designed by the architecture partnership between Raue, Rollenhagen, Grossmann, and Lindemann, and was opened in 1984/85.
The modernization of the Gasteig provides Munich with a building that will be globally unique thanks to its wide range of cultural activities. The design introduces a new architectural element in the form of a glazed bridge, connecting the existing parts of the building and bestowing new transparency on the complex – an innovation that opens the Gasteig up to the city affords perspectives of the inner vibrancy of the building and welcomes visitors and staff alike to be part of the city’s cultural life.
The modernization of the Gasteig provides Munich with a building that will be globally unique thanks to its wide range of cultural activities. The design introduces a new architectural element in the form of a glazed bridge, connecting the existing parts of the building and bestowing new transparency on the complex – an innovation that opens the Gasteig up to the city affords perspectives of the inner vibrancy of the building and welcomes visitors and staff alike to be part of the city’s cultural life.
Gasteig Cultural center by HENN. Image courtesy of HENN.
Gasteig Cultural center by HENN. Image courtesy of HENN.
Gasteig Cultural center by HENN. Image courtesy of HENN.
Gasteig Cultural center by HENN. Image courtesy of HENN.
Gasteig Cultural center by HENN. Image courtesy of HENN.
Gasteig Cultural center by HENN. Image courtesy of HENN.
Gasteig Cultural center by HENN. Image courtesy of HENN.
Gasteig Cultural center by HENN. Image courtesy of HENN.
Gasteig Cultural center by HENN. Image courtesy of HENN.
Site plan. Gasteig Cultural center by HENN.
Ground floor plan. Gasteig Cultural center by HENN.
First floor plan. Gasteig Cultural center by HENN.
Second floor plan. Gasteig Cultural center by HENN.
Section. Gasteig Cultural center by HENN.
Section. Gasteig Cultural center by HENN.
Diagram. Gasteig Cultural center by HENN.
Diagram. Gasteig Cultural center by HENN.
Diagram. Gasteig Cultural center by HENN.
Model. Gasteig Cultural center by HENN. Image courtesy of HENN.
Model. Gasteig Cultural center by HENN. Image courtesy of HENN.
Model. Gasteig Cultural center by HENN. Image courtesy of HENN.
Model. Gasteig Cultural center by HENN. Image courtesy of HENN.
Model. Gasteig Cultural center by HENN. Image courtesy of HENN.
Model. Gasteig Cultural center by HENN. Image courtesy of HENN.
Model. Gasteig Cultural center by HENN. Image courtesy of HENN.
Model. Gasteig Cultural center by HENN. Image courtesy of HENN.
The Culture Bridge, designed by HENN, simultaneously acts as the leitmotif and generates the identity of the new Gasteig, whilst in design terms its transparent, glazed and open architecture stands in deliberate contrast to the monolithic and mineral-like character of the existing building.
Following the idea of “ONE” Gasteig, the new Culture Bridge extends both horizontally and vertically as a spatial continuum through all the sections of the Gasteig. The Culture Bridge functions simultaneously as a circulation node, foyer, exhibition space and an event area. It provides both visitors and staff with clear orientations and short routes between all of the building’s functions.
Regardless of its use, the Culture Bridge gives each element its own locational anchoring and individual identity, be it the Philharmonic, the Carl Orff Auditorium, the library or the Munich Volkshochschule (Centre of Further Education – MVHS).
Following the idea of “ONE” Gasteig, the new Culture Bridge extends both horizontally and vertically as a spatial continuum through all the sections of the Gasteig. The Culture Bridge functions simultaneously as a circulation node, foyer, exhibition space and an event area. It provides both visitors and staff with clear orientations and short routes between all of the building’s functions.
Regardless of its use, the Culture Bridge gives each element its own locational anchoring and individual identity, be it the Philharmonic, the Carl Orff Auditorium, the library or the Munich Volkshochschule (Centre of Further Education – MVHS).
Description of project by HENN
The Gasteig in Munich, the largest cultural center in Europe, receives almost two million visitors a year and houses a unique combination of programs: a concert hall, an auditorium, educational facilities, and a public library. Constructed in 1985, the original Gasteig is a fortress-like compound of introverted functions. HENN’s proposal transforms it into an open and democractic space whose cultural and educational programs are part of a dynamic exchange—with each other and with the city.
The heart of the New Gasteig is the Kulturbühne or Culture Stage—a bridge-like glass volume that connects the many functions of the center and displays their vibrant interior to the city of Munich. Its transparent and open architecture stands in deliberate contrast to the monolithic character of the existing building. The Culture Stage functions as circulation, foyer, exhibition space and event area, a new space of encounter and connection. With this simple, yet radical gesture, HENN has transformed the Gasteig from an inert container of culture into an active collaborator—it is a space of cultural production where employees, students, and visitors are all actors on the Cultural Stage.
Each program—the Philharmonic, the Carl Orff Hall, the Munich City Library, the Munich Center of Further Education and the University of Music and Performing Arts—underwent its own transformation. In collaboration with the renowned acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota, the Philharmonic was given a complete acoustic re-design while the library, constructed during the height of print media, was updated for the digital age, its closed-off, silent spaces were opened up and its collaborative spaces emphasized.
HENN’s modernization of the cultural center is a radical reconceptualization of the building and the role of culture within the city. Now more than ever, we understand and appreciate the power of art, music, literature, and education to reflect and elevate society during moments of prosperity, and to comfort and stabilize during times of hardship. The New Gasteig—open, transparent, and inviting anticipates a future where it will once again receive millions of annual visitors.
More information
Architects
HENN.
Design team
Partner in Charge.- Fredrik Werner/Joachim Grund. Project Team.- Sylvia Kipping, Max Langwieder, Benedikt Cinetto, Francesco Capuzzo, Christoph Omlin, Tanja Dietsch, Pavel Khriashchikov, Ferdinand Fleckenstein, Thomas von Küstenfeld, Birant Sencan, Gabriele Menconi, Sarah Guggemos, Franz Bittenbinder, Shiyu Ying, Lisa Schubert, Andreas Fuchs, Mark B hmer, Bodo Boettcher, Jeanette Schulze-Kiehne, Andreas Lindig, Daniel Recklingloh, Martin Erdinger, Luis Felipe Acevedo, Peter Weber, Mira Schr pfer, Sidonie Kade, Wolfgang Mühlh lzl-Hirschmann, Andreas Sch ler, Dorit Von Woroniecki, Gudrun Spitzer, Theresa Brandes, Peter Ciganek, Anatolii Romanov, Jekaterina Porohina, Jovan Topalovic, Katrin Jacobs, Che Liu, Matthias Palloch, Elke Gebhard and Attila Horvath.
Collaborators
Consultants.- Nagata Acoustics International, Inc., Rainer Schmidt Landschaftsarchitekten GmbH, ARGE Mayr Ludescher Partner + Buro Happold Ingenieure GmbH, Climaplan GmbH, ibb Burrer & Deuring Ingenieurbüro GmbH, Bartenbach GmbH, OBERMEYER Planen + Beraten GmbH, Wolfgang Sorge Ingenieurbüro für Bauphysik GmbH & Co. KG, ATI - ARGE Theater-Ingenieure, a+p Architekten GbR, Büro Uebele.
Client
Gasteig München GmbH.
Area
90,000 sqm.
Dates
2018 - Ongoing.
Location
Munich, Germany.
Gunter Henn. HENN
HENN is an international architecture practice with offices in Munich, Berlin and Beijing and over 70 years of expertise in the fields of work space, culture, health, education and research as well as production and master planning.
The office is led by 4 managing directors and 16 partners: Martin Henn, Stefan Sinning, Wolfgang Wrba and Werner Sonnleitner, with Klaus Ransmayr, Daniel Festag, Marcus Fissan, Hans Funk, Georg Pichler, Tanja Dietsch, Martin Erdinger, Andreas Fuchs, Katrin Jacobs, Rainer Sladek, Thomas von Küstenfeld, Fredrik Werner, Christian Bechtle, Patrick Br ll, Joachim Grund and Berthold Staber. HENN employs over 350 employees – architects, designers, planners and engineers – from 30 countries are able to draw upon a wealth of knowledge collected over three generations of building experience in addition to a worldwide network of partners and experts in a variety of disciplines.
This continuity, coupled with progressive design approaches and methods and interdisciplinary research projects, forms the basis for a continual examination of current issues and for a consistent design philosophy. Forms and spaces are no mere objective, they are developed from the processes, demands and cultural contexts of each project. As a general contractor we are able to satisfy this principle at every stage of project planning and implementation.
The office is led by 4 managing directors and 16 partners: Martin Henn, Stefan Sinning, Wolfgang Wrba and Werner Sonnleitner, with Klaus Ransmayr, Daniel Festag, Marcus Fissan, Hans Funk, Georg Pichler, Tanja Dietsch, Martin Erdinger, Andreas Fuchs, Katrin Jacobs, Rainer Sladek, Thomas von Küstenfeld, Fredrik Werner, Christian Bechtle, Patrick Br ll, Joachim Grund and Berthold Staber. HENN employs over 350 employees – architects, designers, planners and engineers – from 30 countries are able to draw upon a wealth of knowledge collected over three generations of building experience in addition to a worldwide network of partners and experts in a variety of disciplines.
This continuity, coupled with progressive design approaches and methods and interdisciplinary research projects, forms the basis for a continual examination of current issues and for a consistent design philosophy. Forms and spaces are no mere objective, they are developed from the processes, demands and cultural contexts of each project. As a general contractor we are able to satisfy this principle at every stage of project planning and implementation.
Gunter Henn was born in Dresden in 1947 and studied architecture and structural engineering in Munich and Berlin. He is the chairman of HENN. He founded the office in Munich in 1979 and is the successor of the office of Walter Henn. Since 1994, Gunter Henn has been a visiting professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge. Gunter Henn managed the chair in industrial construction and the Centre for Knowledge Architecture at the Technical University of Dresden.
Categories
Our selection
