The commercial building on Leibstrasse has been in the process of being renovated for years.
(Photo: Claus Schunk)
When architects reach into their visual bag of tricks, images of a wonderful new world emerge. Whether the built object then corresponds to this picture is another matter. The visualization of the exterior of the commercial building on the corner of Leibstrasse and Bahnhofsplatz is certainly impressive. The building, hitherto dominated by unadorned concrete in the style of the 1970s, is to have a clinker facade. That would look a bit like the Poststadel Education Center and the Art Nouveau Park. The building, which has so far been a gray mouse, could thus contribute to upgrading Leibstrasse.
The extensive block of a residential and commercial building has been extensively redesigned since Munich Residential, based in Pöcking am Starnberger See, acquired it. The municipal council rejected a densification in the inner courtyard. The renovation is done step by step. Businesses such as the travel agency had to move one by one to transitional quarters. The bookmark bookstore gave up because the operators did not want to bear the prospect of a higher rent afterwards. Now, as part of the energetic renovation, the façade is also to be renewed.
The building committee of the municipal council initially rejected the exterior renovation at its meeting on Tuesday. The crux of the matter, according to the head of the building authority, Josef Schartel, was that Residential Munich wanted to glaze the loggias, which would mean that they would have to be added to the living space under building law. The necessary recalculation of the living space was missing from the documents, says Schartel. A problem, because the living space specified in the development plan would probably be exceeded, which would require an exemption from the municipal council. However, Schartel has already received a signal that the client does not want the project to fail because of this.
It is possible that the clinker brick façade will face Leibstrasse without glazing. The clinker, explains Schartel, is in any case the subject of the application, which included a visualization of the redesigned residential and commercial building for the municipal councils to view. Dominic Opfergeld, brother of the managing director of Munich Residential, refuses to publish the image file. The real estate management for the block on Leibstrasse is responsible for offering money and says that there are many requests for free retail space. One of them is on the corner where the bookstore used to be. The visualization shows a modern café there. Sacrifice money thinks such a thing is possible, but also says: “It’s just a visualization.”