Munich Day #4 - 1/13/2011

Today has been our fourth day in Munich but least busy day. We started with a bus then train ride to Dachau concentration camp. Once we arrived we looked at the Visitors center by architect Florian Nagler. This building is meant to look like a cage, symbolizing the cruelty and terror that the prisoners experienced inside. There are long rectangular columns running at different angles to form this “cage”. The connections are hidden at the top and bottom but elegantly create a beautiful effect. After this we ventured into the camp. It was very interesting and shocking seeing the locations where so many innocent people slept, ate and eventually were murdered.

The last leg of our day was to quickly stop by and see Allman, Sattler, and Wappner’s new mixed use shopping center. Currently under construction, it has a façade composed of three different types of panels; perforated, white, and glass with white coating behind.

Munich Day #3 - 1/12/2011

Our first stop of day three was at the façade consultants R and R Fuches. This group is hired by architects to essentially design and provide guidance with the façade. This firm is lead by a father and son team whom with over 40 years have done incredible work with many famous architects. Some of their more well known buildings have been Allianz Arena by Herzog and De Meuron, Church de Jesu by Allman, Sattler, and Wappner. Their best advice to us as young architects was to draw details at 1:1; not only is it a larger scale, but it allows you to hone your sketching skills.

Throughout the day we stopped at the Fraunhoffer Institute for Building Science, a Wood Fabrication technical school, and a primary school designed by Otto Wagner.

The last and most exciting stop of the day was at Thermes at Bad Elster. This spa designed by Benisch and partners has many domes, which make up its many baths. We were able to go into the baths and spas, and enjoy the incredible architecture and experience the Benisch and Partners architectural intent. After learning about this building in core studio 5, it was great to be able to fully culminate our learning with this visit.

Munich day #2 - 1/11/2011

On day two of Munich winter class we started our day with a tour of Allman, Sattler and Wappner Architekten. This firm has done many international projects including the church de jesu, which I wrote about yesterday. With over 60 employees ASW Architekten does many competitions, and many different types of buildings.

The second stop was at the Burogebaude am Muncher Tor by Allman, Sattler and Wappner. Working with Transsolar engineers they created a 20 story building with a intricate façade and ventilation scheme. This building used a 130 meter underground shaft to suction, filter, and spread clean cool air throughout the 20 stories.

A short walk over a pedestrian bridge are the Highlight towers by architect Murphy/Jahn. These buildings features included a natural ventilation system, all glass facades which allow for maximized day lighting, an innovative 33 story structure, and removable bridges which connect both buildings.

Munich Day #1 -1/10/2011

So long New Jersey, and Hello Germany. After the 9 hour flight, we finally arrived in the beautiful, historic city of Munich. Today is January 10th, 2011 and day 1 of our trip. After viewing some interesting features in the Munich International Airport, we headed to our first stop.

The Haus der Architekture is located in Munich, Germany. This building is home to all architects currently practicing in Germany. The building has a very simple but intelligently executed floor plan, which allowed the architects to focus on designing beautiful details. The southern façade is a curtain wall created with vertical and horizontal mullion members. Some of the windows are operable, promoting cross ventilation through the building's primary spaces, while the other glass is fixed. In front of the curtain wall is a glass louver shading system, hung by vertical tension rod members. Running horizontal underneath each row of louver are metal cables preventing movement, but allowing for some tolerance to occur.

The program is minimal but organized dynamically. On the first floor are several offices and a large triple height presentation space. The second floor holds bathrooms and several more offices. The third floor has multi purpose classrooms with great artificial lighting details. When in this space, to the left and right are trees and natural views, which create a wonderful, calming atmosphere for learning.