It is undoubtedly unusual and surprising for the investor Ralf Büschl: A good two years after the first presentation of the skyscraper designs at the parcel post hall by the office of Herzog and de Meuron, the leaders of the green-red town hall coalition are calling for a competition on the architecture of these towers. This is the right step – and by no means asking too much.
The Greens and the SPD are at least partially correcting a mistake that they themselves made in 2019 with the help of the planning department. At that time, the city prematurely selected Herzog / de Meuron’s “master plan” as the wisdom of the last word, instead of placing an urban planning competition at the beginning of the process, as it should have been in this building project of epoch-making dimensions for Munich. Not only for critics of the construction of high-rise buildings in Munich, this seemed like a friendly gesture for the sake of the investor.
The plea of the parliamentary group leaders of Green-Red for a high-rise competition means that the previous planning by Herzog / de Meuron is off the table. Because Anna Hanusch (Greens) and Christian Müller (SPD) cannot move away from the competition idea without losing their credibility. At the same time, Herzog / de Meuron cannot enter a competition with goods they already know – if you take part in it. This is annoying for investor Büschl, as he has already invested considerable sums, probably in the millions, in the previous planning, not only as a fee for Herzog / de Meuron, but also for various other planning offices and expertises. But that’s his business risk.
And his project, which has a total volume in the billions, is not a thing of the past. On the contrary, firstly, there is still a broad, cross-factional commitment in the city council to bring the parcel post hall to life and to develop a modern urban quarter around it that sets standards in terms of sustainability, as the investor promises.
Second, the upcoming citizens’ report will provide new, exciting suggestions. Including this in the planning strengthens the legitimation of the building project. Thirdly, it would also help if Büschl agreed to use a competition to search for the best skyscraper design instead of being forced by the city.
If he does not consent, it is a great opportunity for opponents of high-rise buildings who are already organizing themselves in the background. You can then paint the picture of the evil investor who does not respect the planning sovereignty of the city and the will of a democratically legitimized city council majority. And that in turn would increase the pressure on politicians to remain tough.