Contract - September 2016 - 67

By Krista Sykes
Photography by
Hufton + Crow

In designing one of the most sustainable
buildings in Europe, Henning Larsen Architects
creates a state-of-the-art headquarters
for Siemens that reflects the company's values

siemens
The engineering and electronics conglomerate Siemens planned
for its new headquarters in Munich to be at once urbane, modern,
and refined. For a workplace to reflect the technological sophistication
of the company, Siemens undertook an exhaustive international
architect-selection competition. Copenhagen-based Henning Larsen
Architects and interior designer Landau + Kindelbacher of Munich
were chosen to design a new home that fully embodies buildingas-system thinking.
The architects and designers created a complex that embodies
the concepts of integration and transparency while achieving the
highest sustainability standards. Designed to be certified platinum
by both the German Sustainable Building Council and the U.S. Green
Building Council for LEED, this is perhaps Europe's most sustainable
office building. An innovative, modern, light-filled composition
that unites the past and the present-the Siemens headquarters
exemplifies technological acumen and enhances the public's
experience of Munich.
Connecting with the urban fabric
Siemens had outgrown a mix of Munich structures, including
the landmark-protected Ludwig Ferdinand Palace, a Leo von Klenze-
designed structure from 1825 that had housed Siemens's central
administration since 1949. The new complex, which includes
the renovation of that building with connected new construction,

totals approximately 485,000 square feet for 1,200 employees.
The architects worked with the city of Munich to ensure
that the urban design of the complex further complemented
the adjacent Wittelsbacherplatz.
"Siemens wanted to create a highly innovative building
that fit seamlessly into the urban context and showcased worldclass efficiency," says Louis Becker, design principal, director,
and partner at Henning Larsen Architects. He added that
the city of Munich wanted "new pedestrian passageways...
to connect the inner city with the art district."
Henning Larsen designed a contemporary building that
links to the historic palace and an adjacent building. "With its open
succession of courtyards and passageways, [Henning Larsen's]
winning design developed exactly the urban campus quality
we desired, creating an entirely new experience for the city
and its citizens," says Thomas Braun, general manager of Siemens
headquarters at Siemens Real Estate.
A seemingly open building inside and out, the headquarters
reads as a rectangular volume in plan that is punctuated by four
oblong courtyards. Three landscaped courtyards connect to provide
a passageway through the building's ground floor. The fourth
courtyard-an atrium covered with a glazed roof and an automated,
retractable sunscreen textile with a low-E coating on the inside-
forms an interior spine, accessible from all sides, at the heart of the
contract

Contract - September 2016

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