Initial situation
Initial situation
The prominent entrance to the Riem trade fair district on the former airport site has been a vacant lot for years – characterized by the old tower, a relic from the era of aviation. The fact that the former workplace of the air traffic controllers is a listed monument makes developing the site a complex undertaking. After three calls for tender, the City of Munich is still without a solution when contact is sought with WÖHR + BAUER.
Concept
Concept
WÖHR + BAUER addresses the urban planning challenge with the concept of a visionary headquarters property that integrates the historic tower into modern architecture. At the same time, the dynamically growing medical technology company Brainlab is looking for a property for its headquarters. Together with the suitable tenant, WÖHR + BAUER develops the concept of realizing a landmark property for the young trade fair district at a location rich in symbolism.
Result
After three years of planning and construction, the new Brainlab headquarters is personally opened by Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel. The result is a property with exceptional architecture that delicately embraces the tower and integrates it with glazed pedestrian bridges.
With a representative lobby, modern catering facilities, attractive open spaces, a fitness studio, and flexible spatial concepts, the office environments meet the demands of successful employers, who are measured worldwide against one another in terms of the quality of stay they offer to the sought-after talent they compete for.
The Brainlab Tower is developed as a showroom for high-tech medicine with fully functional operating rooms. In the event area above, a futuristic sky lounge offers unobstructed views of the mountains and the surroundings of Munich.
As Brainlab AG is a technology leader in image-guided surgical systems, in addition to office space and medical departments for research and development, production facilities and workshops are also established.
The development of the area around the Riem Tower closes the prominent urban planning gap at the entrance to the trade fair district. The city leadership is highly satisfied with the result: “The innovative design of Brainlab’s new corporate headquarters gives the site a meaningful use that complies with heritage preservation requirements,” emphasizes the current Lord Mayor Dieter Reiter on the occasion of the signing of the lease in March 2014, in his then role as Head of Economic Affairs.
From our first conversation to the handover of the keys, we found WÖHR + BAUER to be a competent partner with a deep understanding of our needs. The result: a customized property for our company.
Stefan Vilsmeier, Brainlab AG
The fact that you succeeded in integrating museum pieces such as this airport tower into a state-of-the-art company is the Bavarian combination of laptop and lederhosen brought to life, just as the originator of the phrase surely always wished it would be.
Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel
Architects:
pmp architekten / kadawittfeldarchitektur
Address:
Olof-Palme-Straße
81829 Munich
