HIGH UP

More than 150,000 people are studying in Munich. As a result, affordable housing is in short supply. With a new development in Schwabing-West, hirner &riehl architekten are helping to alleviate the housing shortage, at least to some extent. For the Munich Student Union, they have designed a five-storey and an eight-storey building, connected by a single-storey low-rise structure. Apart from the ground floor and the two mirror-image emergency stairwells positioned side by side, all parts of the building have been constructed from local spruce timber – making it, as things stand, likely to be Munich’s tallest timber-framed building. A proud title that underlines the ambitions of Martin Hirner and his team. The architectural firm is a pioneer in timber construction – for more than 20 years it has been developing buildings that are sustainable in terms of form, function and ecology.

Thinking of tomorrow 

“Cement production accounts for 8% of global CO₂ emissions; we architects must act as catalysts for a rapid shift in thinking among all stakeholders in the construction industry, and above all in the choice of materials,” says Martin Hirner. Wood is a winner on all counts – not only because of the CO₂ savings, but also due to short transport distances, ease of processing, minimal and recyclable waste, and the potential for circular use. With the student hall of residence, however, hirner &riehl architects are taking it a step further: the entire building has been designed so that it can be used for generations to come and perhaps even in entirely different ways. To allow for flexible alterations to the floor plan and the easy removal of partition walls, the cross-laminated timber ceilings extend from the central corridor to the external wall. Today, the hall of residence accommodates 153 single rooms with kitchen and bathroom, 30 shared flats, four accessible units and ten parent-child apartments for 241 students – tomorrow, perhaps, they will be lecture halls, cultural spaces or commercial premises?

Adapted from the past

The façade, too, is simply suspended and could be removed in a few simple steps and replaced with other materials – though no one would want that, as the spruce timber elements give the student residence its unique look. In contrast to many purely pre-weathered timber buildings, Hirner &&Riehl have also opted for subtle colour accents, drawing inspiration from Schwabing’s Wilhelminian-style architecture. Green wall panels, along with widely projecting fire barriers, windows and red side balcony cladding, echo the distinctive cornices and colour-painted window reveals of the past. The carpentry firm Holzbau Seidel GmbH finished the grey elements with Lignovit glaze finish Naturgrau and Lignovit Platin Onyxschwarz; for the green and red surfaces, Lignovit Color was used in specially selected custom shades.

Living in the present 

The wood-aluminium windows, which are also red on the outside and manufactured by HAMA Alu-&-Holzbauwerk GmbH, ensure a high-quality living experience thanks to their interior surfaces coated with ADLER’s Aquawood Natural finish in the naturally light shade ‘London’. The aim was, above all, to achieve the highest possible quality of life. Music, creative and leisure rooms, a cooking salon and, above all, the roof garden on the mezzanine floor with a lawn, sun deck, loungers and raised beds invite residents to enjoy everything that makes student life wonderful – beyond just studying!