“Congratulations to Royal Belge. A really great project,” said Timo Schneckenburger, Managing Director of OTEC, following the festive ceremony at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes.
Nevertheless, we are happy and proud that we were among the best in this international field with WERK4 and that we were able to present ourselves here with our urban quarter in a truly special setting.
With around 20,000 participants from 80 countries, MIPIM is one of the most important international real estate trade fairs in the world. The MIPIM Awards presented at the trade fair are therefore also regarded as the OSCARS of the real estate industry. Visionary real estate projects have been honored with the awards in Cannes since 1991. This year, WERK4 from the Munich-based Werksviertel-Mitte was one of the four projects nominated in the “best conversion” category. Also nominated were the Grainhouse in London, the Royale Belge in Brussels and the Women & Children Center in Shenzen, China.
Like numerous other buildings in the Werksviertel-Mitte, the WERK4 underwent a spectacular transformation. The team led by Johannes Ernst from Steidle Architekten was faced with the challenge of integrating the old factory building into the new building, enabling multifunctionality and at the same time creating a central high point in the district. “Today, WERK4 functions like a magnet that draws people into Werksviertel-Mitte. The building tells the exciting story of the neighborhood’s past and future, yet is unique and has a strong identity of its own. This development was only possible thanks to the unconventional implementation of ideas and the great courage of the client,” explains Ernst.
The building is based on the 30-metre-high potato flake silos of the food producer Pfanni. When Pfanni relocated production in 1994 and cleared the way for a new development of the site, the silos were not demolished but converted into a climbing hall. The statics of the mighty silos also made it possible to extend the building to a height of 86 meters and add a 4-star superior hotel with restaurant and spa area as well as a hostel. Together, the hotel and hostel can accommodate around 1000 guests. As part of the renovation, the climbing hall was also given an outdoor area, which provides a unique climbing experience in the middle of the city. Today, WERK4 is part of the vibrant center of Werksviertel, which offers unique spatial, architectural and functional diversity.
The concept of WERK4 aims to attract as diverse a range of visitors as possible to Werksviertel-Mitte. While the hostel welcomes young backpackers from all over the world, the hotel is home to business people, tourists, culture vultures and guest musicians who perform in one of the district’s concert halls. And then there are the visitors to the climbing hall. While the foundation stone for the sustainability of the project was laid by building in the existing structure, the decentralized, highly efficient supply of electricity and heat to the building ensures lasting ecological effects during operation.
For the architects, the integration of the old Pfanni-Werke potato silo was both a challenge and an opportunity. Using the massive tower as the basis for the almost 90-metre-high WERK4 enabled them to create a spectacular but also very site-specific architecture that reflects the existing raw industrial character of the silo structure. This character is taken up above all in the lower area of WERK4, that of the hostel, while it is interpreted in a more refined form in the hotel tower at the top. Here, the solid wall of the silo is transformed into a transparent, curtain-like shell. The result is an interplay of views out and views in, which is reversed during the day and at night. The defining design element of WERK4 is the special floor that projects out towards the city at a height of around 40 meters. This is where the reception, restaurant and bar as well as conference rooms and the wellness area of the apartment hotel are located. With its striking form and spatial power, WERK4 is one of the most spectacular landmarks in the east of Munich and dominates the skyline in this part of the city. Welcome to Werksviertel-Mitte.
The WERK4 in figures:
- Plot size: 2,400 m²
- Builder: OTEC GmbH & Co. KG
- Architect: Steidle Architekten GmbH
- General transferee: Hochtief
- Construction period: 2018 to 2020
- Investment: 115 million euros
- Storeys: 24
- Height: 86 meters
- Gross floor area: 23,000 m²
- Parking: Underground garage with 200 parking spaces
- Tenants: Adina Apartment Hotel, wombat’s CITY HOSTEL, IG Klettern München & Südbayern e.V.
Text: Daniel Wiechmann
