Description

The mechanical engineering faculty on the Technical University’s Garching campus near Munich is a ”city of knowledge” on a 13 ha site. It houses 28 departments belonging to seven institutes with altogether 3,800 students. The campus comprises laboratories, offices, workshops and testing facilities, a number of lecture halls, seminar rooms, and computer pools, down to service buildings such as a block power station, and a kindergarten.

The large figure of the building is designed as a direct and precise expression of the idea of communicative networking. The main access route is a 220 m long axis that is fully roofed at a height of 18 m. At the ends of this ”faculty street” the respective communal spaces are located: at the main entrance, adjacent to the underground station, the lecture halls are to be found; at the other end, the cafeteria with outdoor terrace is situated. The individual institutes are aligned like houses along the ”faculty street” and interconnected. Each of the five-storey trapezoidal buildings contains an atrium space which is covered by a glazed barrel roof. These atriums rhythmically open up and enhance the space of the central axis. On their wider side, the institute buildings accommodate seminar and training rooms, drawing rooms, and computer pools. Recessed staircases ensure a smooth circulation in the highly frequented building complex. The narrower building part houses smaller offices and laboratories, which partly have been laid out as mixed open plan multi-functional office spaces.

The individual institute buildings are inserted into the testing halls at the rear like screws into a nut. They have a full basement. Individual service shafts containing the technical infrastructure ensure a large degree of flexibility. The open spaces flexibly adapt to changing requirements. Areas can be exchanged between the individual faculties and additional spaces for joint or temporary projects can be provided at short notice.

The ”engineered” exterior appeal of the building complex, whose structure is composed of a reinforced concrete frame structure and steel, is dominated by the precise use of aluminium, glass and concrete, which are used according to their physical properties. Light-flooded interiors and triangular green courtyards with water features create an overall communicative atmosphere and a strong sense of place.

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Originally published in: Hardo Braun, Dieter Grömling, Research and Technology Buildings: A Design Manual, Birkhäuser, 2005.