Page 105 - AIT1022_E-Paper

Entwurf • Design Buero Wagner, München
Grundriss Erdgeschoss • Ground floor plan
Grundriss Untergeschoss • Basement floor plan
Bauherr • Client privat
Standort • Location München
Nutzfläche • Floor space 140 m 2
Fotos • Photos Florian Holzherr, Kim Fohmann
Mehr Infos auf Seite • More info on page 166
SILVER-CURTAIN OFFICE
IN MUNICH
The converted office is located in the Munich Au district,
in the rear courtyard of a building from the turn of the
century. Since the available area on the ground floor
was not sufficient, the architects added the basement
rooms below it. They not only achieved the necessary
surface-area expansion but also the increasingly more
important combination of living and working.
I n many places in Europe, the potential of inner-city post-densification
by roof-space utilization and by adding yet another floor has been
used up or it is restricted by the authorities. On the search for alterna-
tives, basements are more and more moving into the focus everywhere.
This was also what happened in the case of the office conversion in Mu-
nich: The architects Fabian Wagner and Louise Daussy from Buero Wag-
ner developed additional space in the basement by connecting it with
the ground floor with a ceiling break-through. The thus resulting open
space with an open staircase connects the levels and lets daylight pe-
netrate downwards. In addition, a window has been enlarged
downwards as well. Across grating, one gets from the residential buil-
ding into the converted unit. This direct access as well as the various vi-
sual connections to the newly produced, commercial rooms is desired.
The project was realized during the coronavirus pandemic and was to
make a combination of living and working in one place possible. At first
glance, several silvery shimmering curtains detract from the actual use.
They prevent the view of the kitchen, the storage shelves as well as the
passages to the WC and the box rooms. The curtains are usually an alu-
minium vapour barrier which is used to make the construction of roof
superstructures airtight and prevents moisture damages in the roof sup-
port structure. Here, the reflecting surface contributes to designing the
plain rooms and to making the atmosphere look brighter. The second
layer of the curtains also consists of material used in an innovative way
– as bubble wrap, it usually serves to package breakable objects. Instal-
led in this way, it now offers protection from view and, at the same
time, admits sufficient light inside. The silver look is continued in the
new installations and the pieces of furniture – designed and constructed
of zinc-plated grating. In the context of the office conversion, these ma-
terials have ended up producing an abstract and also a somewhat tem-
porary appearance. An effect which the architects altogether wanted to
achieve – to thus leave the question regarding the appropriation and the
completion of their construction project unanswered, as it were.
AIT 10.2022 • 105