53 Maximilianstraße

Maximilianstrasse is a unique part of Munich’s identity, a street unlike any other in Munich, recognisable and defined by a strong urban and architectural idea.

ACME participated in an invited design competition for a site in the historic Lehel neighbourhood, creating an office building that responds to the site's history, context and evolution.

Project details +

Project details

LOCATION: Munich, Germany

DATE: 2024

CLIENT: Versicherungskammer Bayern (VKB)

STATUS: Invited competition

SIZE: 17,500 sqm GIA

Credits +

Credits

ACME: Malin Bergman Purwanto, Hanna Blazheieva, Cesar Cruz Gomez, Marta Ferrari, Tobias Himawan, Friedrich Ludewig, Eleni Meladaki, Jeremy Priest, Ginny Siu, Alina Vovkotrub

The grand boulevard we recognize today as Maximilianstrasse, devised from 1853 under the reign of King Maximilian II

The Klarer Muehle and the early industrial neighbourhood of the Lehel Village survived pretty much unchanged until 1890s

Between 1890s and 1910, the low rise buildings of the Lehel village either side of the Isar were demolished to make way for six story residential mansion blocks

The second world war brought significant destruction to the Maximilianstrasse context, with a large number of houses damaged or destroyed

The Bavarian Insurance Chamber's headquarters in the Lehel district of Munich, sits within the green and blue infrastructure zone by the Isar River. ACME's proposal responds to the sensitive location and listed surroundings, with a particular focus on biodiversity and preservation. The new workplace includes a conference and events area, cafe, and a flexible multifunctional zone on the first floor for a varied public cultural offer. A key element of the scheme is the relationship and opening up of the internal green courtyard as a breakout space that services multiple buildings and uses.

Building volume

Structuring the length of the building and creating two addresses

Creating a roof landscape and minimising shadows

Connecting three different outdoor areas

The external facades pay homage to the architectural identity of Maximilianstrasse through its massing, articulation of windows and sculptural treatment of the elevations.

The main volumes of the building are defined by
an arcaded plinth and a gradual deepening of the facade as it rises over the arcade.

While the external facade emphasises a vertical reading, the internal facade adds more weight to the horizontal stepping of every floor, with faceted bays extending the
office space into the courtyard.

This creates two related but different appearances, one more contextual fit for the representative Maximilianstrasse, the other more playful and green suited to the interior courtyard. Terraces on each floor offer opportunities for greenery and breakout spaces for the office units.

The courtyard environment features a series of undulating waves that create gradients of hardscape and softscape.

It was important to reuse as much of the original 1972 building as possible. The design team calculated there to be enough of the existing Finnish Red Granite slabs to clad the entire courtyard.

The upper floors are designed for flexibility in spatial planning, allowing for different work environments and sizes that tenants can customise in the long term. The layout of the circulation allows for easy subdivision into different rental areas, providing tenants with cross views from the courtyard to Maximilianstrasse and Sternstrasse.

Biodiversity plays a central role in the design of the roof areas and creates representative terraces all along the block perimeter that make an important contribution to sustainable planning. Both the sixth floor and the roof areas are extensively greened, with the roof surface equipped with a photovoltaic system to harness southern solar energy.

In addition to the high variety of plants, areas for insects and bees are created using the trees removed from the courtyard. Large shrubs and small trees on the terrace serve as habitats for small animal species and birds, further enhancing biodiversity within the urban environment.