It is an architecturally difficult task: to erect a building between a two-storey listed hostel building and a new five-storey luxury apartment building that harmonises with both neighbours. The Munich office of Claus Schuh Architekten was given this task by a Hamburg investor family who want to build 15 apartments on the properties at Hochstraße 71 and 73 in Obere Au, right next to the new residential quarter on the former Paulaner site and the Nockherberg inn.
On Tuesday evening, Schuh had to present his concept to the urban design commission, which advises the city on prominent building projects – with the result that he has to revise it significantly and present it again.
The structure that Schuh presented initially appears to be two buildings, because one part has four floors and the other five. Actually, it is just a building with an entrance and a stairwell. Schuh explained that the heights correspond to the two previous residential buildings that have to give way, with the difference that flat roofs are now planned instead of pitched roofs.
The two previous buildings at Hochstraße 71 and 73 can be seen on the left of this archive picture. Where there is still an excavation pit, there are now new buildings.
(Photo: Jan A. Staiger)
During the discussion, the concept met with criticism. “I think it needs a clear decision whether it’s one house or two houses,” said architect Birgit Rapp (Amsterdam). “Right now it’s a mix that’s not clear.” City home caretaker Bernhard Landbrecht suggested that the building should move away from the hostel house: A “joint”, which could serve as an entrance to the backyard, would “mean more respect for the small houses”. As compensation, according to Landbrecht, the building could have five floors. Piero Bruno, an architect from Berlin, would prefer to see the joint on the other side of the new building.
The criticism of the district committee (BA) Au-Haidhausen was even more fundamental. The monument protection officer Nikolaus Haeusgen (CSU) complained that the hostels would be “killed”. In addition, “the luxury apartments would encourage gentrification”. The builder is the Becken family, who are also realizing the neighboring “Hoch der Isar” project with their holding company, but are building at Hochstrasse 71 and 73 for private use. They want to rent the apartments “at market prices,” the family explains on request. The prices should therefore be well above 20 euros per square meter.
Your architect Schuh reacted with little enthusiasm to the criticism. He stated that the city’s local building commission (LBK) had “six or eight drafts” checked to see which ones could be approved, from which this concept developed. If you introduce a fugue, the house cannot have a connecting effect, but will belong to one side. “But you’re welcome to try out the suggestions.”
Green City Councilor Anna Hanusch, who chaired the commission meeting, gently rebuked Schuh: “We are not the approval authority,” you have your own job. In this case, Hanusch summarized the vote, there was “a clear tendency towards a joint and the appearance of a house, but the height still needs clarification”.