Rehabilitation of Gasteig Cultural Centre in Munich

1st Prize

Our competition entry for the largest cultural centre in Europe presents itself to visitors in a clear and comprehensible form. It is urban fabric in itself, “a city within the city”, with buildings one willingly enters, with squares and paths one happily treads, and where one quickly has a good sense of orientation. The new appearance of the complex will be distinguished by permeability and cross-links rather than a feeling of fortification and heaviness. It should convey an air of openness, cultural inspiration and enthusiasm. To achieve this, central elements of the development – especially the striking volume of the Philharmonic Hall – will be sculpturally articulated. The latter will be enclosed in a facade of vertically folded metal sheeting, like a curtain, elevating the hall to a new emblem of the cultural centre.