Above all, the WERK12, which easily manages to stand out from the diverse and exciting architectural ensemble of the district. The effect created by the surrounding façade, in which five-meter letters are embedded, is too great. At night, the huge letters light up in different colors. “WOW”, “HIHI” or “HMPF” can be read on the WERK12. The messages are the result of a competition organized by the client OTEC together with the Academy of Fine Arts. The model for the winning entry by Beate Engl in cooperation with Christian Engelmann was the universally understandable language that everyone knows from comics. The colorful letters also build a bridge to the many graffiti that have shaped and continue to shape the neighborhood.
Good architecture always tells a story. And although WERK17 in Werksviertel-Mitte is also a new building, the history of the building begins more than 600 years ago. Clay has been mined in this area in the east of Munich since the 14th century. This clay was then used to bake the bricks on which Munich is largely built. It is this history that the architectural firm Hild und K from Berlin referred to when designing a façade for WERK17 that is an unmistakable reminiscence of the clay city of Munich. To achieve this, large-format bricks were inserted into elements made of dyed concrete, which allowed the architects to take the coldness out of concrete as a building material.
The WERK4, an impressive 86-metre-high landmark in the district, also features architectural reminders of the district’s history. The area below, where the Wombats Hostel and a climbing and bouldering hall are located, is clad in corrugated sheet metal to reflect the former industrial character. The black perforated metal elements of the silo façade of the Adina Hotel above, on the other hand, are derived from the vibrating sheets that were used to sort potatoes. In WERK4, they serve as sun protection and create intimacy.
The WERK1.4, also designed by architects Hild und K Architektur, consistently draws on the architectural language of the 1950s and 1960s, when the Pfanni site grew rapidly with the company. This includes, for example, light-dark contrasts, glass façades, infill panels with textured glass and untreated surfaces. The centerpiece of WERK1.4 is the 500 m² “locksmith’s shop”. It is also a reminiscence of the district’s past. The so-called WERK6, the locksmith’s shop from the Pfanni production era, used to stand on a small part of the construction site. Although the building had to be completely demolished, the floor plans of the former locksmith’s shop have been integrated into the new WERK1.4 building, where it serves as the lobby.
If you like, the architecture in many places in Werksviertel-Mitte ensures that the history of the quarter can be part of its future without being locked up exclusively in a museum. How ingenious.
