SIEMENS

Munich is a vibrant metropolis, especially thanks to its city center. Anyone who has ever emerged from the downtown Odeonsplatz subway station will be familiar with the lively square in front of the Feldherrnhalle and the Tambosi coffee house, which opened in 1775. In good weather its outdoor tables are crowded with customers enjoying their cappuccinos and personal dolce vita.

And just a few steps away is Wittelsbacherplatz, which is surrounded on three sides by majestic buildings. Unlike Odeonsplatz, this square is often almost empty, even though Munich’s mayor, Christian Ude, calls it “one of the city’s most beautiful and most intact squares.” The reason is simple: The square’s imposing buildings are not open to the public. One of the palaces houses the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior; another is the headquarters of Siemens AG.

Consequently, when Siemens decided in early 2010 to build its new headquarters, representatives of the company and the city of Munich agreed that the new building complex should be as transparent as possible in order to inject new life into the Wittelsbacherplatz area. Modern interior courtyards with exhibition areas, cafés, and restaurants are to open up the buildings to the surrounding streets whileSiemens employees work on the upper floors.

Siemens has occupied the site for decades. In 1949 the company set up its headquarters in the Palais Ludwig Ferdinand in Wittelsbacherplatz, which was built in 1825 by Leo von Klenze, one of the most renowned classicist architects. Ever since then, the company has expanded its premises. Since the 1950s it has built, bought, and connected buildings. Among other things, it commissioned U.S. architect Richard Meier to build a stunning building that was completed in 2000. Today the complex is a conglomeration of buildings in different styles, which has reached its limits and can no longer make the most of technical innovations.

“The current headquarters complex is simply not fit for the future,” says Thomas Braun, head of the new construction project at Siemens Real Estate (SRE). “It’s almost impossible to update the buildings with state-of-theart technology such as air conditioning or communications technology. Moreover, the rambling layout, which is like a maze, no longer matches the company’s workflow concept, which gives top priority to good communication between employees.” This is why, in 2010, Siemens decided to build its new headquarters from scratch.

Transparent Planning. The subsequent planning process was transparent and interactive. In an effort to determine what such a new building could offer the city, Siemens included city administration officials at an early stage. The aim was not only to liven up Wittelsbacherplatz but also to make the buildings as open as possible and encourage pedestrians to use the inner courtyards. In this way the worldrenowned museum district with its pinacothèques, which are located behind the headquarters, could be reached on foot from the city center with relative ease.

The inclusion of Munich’s population in the planning process soon became another top priority. Many citizens took advantage of the opportunity to attend a workshop discussion to express their opinions, which were subsequently kept in mind during the architects’ competition for the bid. There were also indepth discussions with various target groups, including neighbors. Today all interested parties can keep abreast of the latest developments by means of websites, e-mail, and a telephone hotline.

In the next step, renowned architecture and urban planning firm Albert Speer & Partner organized a competition and invited architecture firms to submit proposals. Following an elaborate screening process involving about 40 firms from Europe and 100 from around the world, Siemens and the city of Munich selected the finalists. The criteria were clearly defined: The new building should not visually intrude on historic Wittelsbacherplatz but should nonetheless exert a magnetic appeal on people who don’t work in the complex. In addition, the architecture should reflect Siemens’ corporate values and history.

Twelve architecture firms made it to the final round. The plans they submitted were discussed by 22 representatives of Siemens and the city of Munich, including CEO Peter Löscher and Mayor Christian Ude, as well as specialists from the areas of architecture, urban planning, monument conservation, and open space planning. The contract was awarded to Henning Larsen Architects from Copenhagen, Denmark.

According to the jury, the firm’s winning design achieved the best combination of modernism and tradition. “The appearance of Wittelsbacherplatz will not change. The buildings facing the square will remain untouched, and so will the square’s present character,” says Louis Becker, one of the three managing directors of the architecture firm, which was founded in 1959. “However, behind this historic facade we’ll build one of the world’s most modern and energy-efficient buildings.”

“The new building will offer more than 45,000 square meters of floor space,” says Dr. Zsolt Sluitner, CEO of SRE. “Despite its huge size, we want the building to generate its own energy. The new headquarters will practically be a zero-energy building.” V-shaped facades, special reflectors, and connected interior courtyards that are open to pedestrian traffic will maximize the amount of daylight entering the offices. Photovoltaic units on the roof and in the glass-and-stone facades, as well as the use of ground water and rainwater to cool the building and provide a water supply, will help the new headquarters avoid CO₂ emissions. If additional power should be needed in the future, only alternative energy sources will be used. “Our goal is to comply with, or even exceed, the most stringent national and international Green Building standards, such as LEED Platinum or DGNB Gold,” Sluitner adds. The cost of the building, which will be inaugurated at the end of 2015, will be in the low trippledigit millions. Its technological systems will not only be ultramodern but will also be ahead of their time for many years to come.

The new headquarters is also expected to set new benchmarks in terms of working conditions. Flexible floor layouts will on principle make every kind of office format possible. For example, specially designed open-plan offices can promote team spirit. State-of-the-art communication technologies will enable employees to work flexibly without being tied down to a specific desk. “Our new Siemens Office workplace concept was one of the foundation stones of the new construction project. It won’t matter where we work as long as the results are good,” says Sluitner. “We want employees to enjoy maximum flexibility.” During the construction period, many employees will have to move their workplaces to nearby Siemens locations. The demolition process will start at the end of 2012 and continue for several months. “In this sensitive environment, a quick demolition process with a wrecker’s ball is out of the question,” says Braun. “Out of respect for nearby historic buildings, the neighbors, and local businesses, a careful and, above all, low-noise demolition process will be necessary before the construction of the new building can begin in the middle or end of 2013.”

In early 2016 at the latest, Munich will then have a new “green” visitor attraction. It will be a technological highlight in the historic city center — a Siemens showpiece that will be admired and enjoyed by the company’s employees and the general public.