The planning for the physics campus of the Ludwig Maximilians University (LMU) along the Koeniginstrasse is making a big step forward. Two years ago the mighty building cube of the Nano-Institut for pioneering energy technologies was put into operation. Now we also know what the next new building for the campus will look like at the intersection with Veterinärstraße and directly at the entrance to the English Garden: a compact and clearly structured structure, with a ground floor area that appears transparent, as well as two upper floors, which are characterized by generous window fronts.
The architectural competition for the “Forum of Physics”, which has just been decided, was won by agn Niederberghaus & Partner GmbH from Ibbenbüren. The forum will have an exhibition area with a cafeteria open to the public. In addition to seminar rooms and lecture halls, the office and laboratory rooms of the Chair of Meteorology with weather station and the Chair of Didactics move into the complex. Construction work is scheduled to begin at the end of 2025.
Far-reaching changes are imminent on the previous area of veterinary medicine, which will be completely relocated to Oberschleißheim. A total of eight new buildings will shape the physics campus with its green areas. The fact that the existing post-war complexes are being torn down and thus a familiar view for many citizens is disappearing has sparked violent protests. But the course has been set and the planning processes are underway. Only the small library building with the roof lantern, the forecourt with the snake fountain on Koeniginstrasse and the listed archway at the entrance to the park and at the Milchhäusl will be reminiscent of veterinary medicine in the future.
The LMU is looking to the future with great optimism when it comes to the site on Koeniginstrasse. The new building will optimally support top research in the field of physics with the appropriate facilities and also represent it externally with this innovative building, said President Bernd Huber when presenting the results of the architecture competition.
Bavaria’s Minister of Science Bernd Sibler (CSU) referred to the “sensitive urban development location” of the new building at the transition from the city to the English Garden. The fact that the winner of the architectural competition for the Forum der Physik could be presented is a “strong signal”. Because the forum will be the center and thus the architectural calling card of the entire physics faculty. The new building “strongly strengthens the international visibility and attractiveness of Munich physics and Bavaria as a science location as a whole”. Excellent framework conditions are also required for excellent academic performance.
So far, the veterinary area has been largely closed to the public. That will change with the future campus, which will probably only be fully completed in ten years. Thomas Kaßner from the State Building Authority Munich 2 and architect David Gabrysch from the winning office Niederberghaus und Partner emphasized this. The campus should create an open and inviting atmosphere, a green connection with new paths to the English Garden. After the forum, for which the competition has now been decided, the buildings for Theoretical Physics and Experimental Physics, which will be located directly at the English Garden, will come in the next construction phases. The last construction phase then consists of three complexes for astrophysics in the area of the square with the snake fountain.
The building of the “Forum of Physics” has a special place here. It should form the “showcase” of the campus, as the dean of the physics faculty, Ralf Bender, emphasizes. Exhibitions and events should make it clear what is being researched and worked on. The offer is aimed primarily at pupils, their parents and teachers. The first prize of the architecture competition is not only convincing architecturally, but also ideally supports the goals that are being pursued with this house.
Second place in the competition went to Reinhard Bauer Architekt BDA, Munich, with Hackl Hofmann Landscape Architects, Eichstätt. In third place came the Henn office, Munich, with the landscape architects office Rainer Schmidt, Munich. All 23 submitted works will be exhibited until October 22, 2021 in the main LMU building, entrance area, first floor, at Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1.