New build - GWG München

Building for Munich 

GWG München 

Renovation Projects 

Berg am Laim 

Sendling-Westpark 

Au

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Contents 

GWG München renovation projects 

Munich: Berg am Laim 

Munich: Sendling-Westpark 

Munich: Au 

Berg am Laim: The Maikäfer Estate (“Maikäfersiedlung“) 

From a residence for the people to a local recreation area 

A historical overview 

Renovation as a service to the city: 

The role of GWG München 

Moving out before the renovations kick in 

An interview with GWG München tenants 

Living together in the Maikäfer Estate 


Site plan 

GWG projects 

St.-Michael-Strasse 118 - 132 

St.-Michael-Strasse 104 - 116 

“Kainzenbadstrasse North“ 

Kainzenbadstrasse 1 - 11 and 2 - 24 

“Höhenstadter Strasse South“ 

Höhenstadter Strasse 1 - 8 

“Kainzenbadstrasse South“ 


Bad-Schachener-Strasse 69, 

Echardinger Strasse 61 - 65 


Krumbadstrasse 20 - 30 

Residential buildings along Bad-Schachener-Strasse

The Maikäfer Estate 

(Maikäfersiedlung) 

Even if it is not what you would normally think of as a garden 

estate, it definitely has a certain garden-like character to it 

that is unique in Munich. And it is this that has considerably 

enhanced the local reputation of the erstwhile “Echardinger 

Grünstreifen People’s Residential Estate”: its gardens and 

cheap rents were always the main attractions of the Maikäfer 

Estate and, although it has changed a lot over the past 75 

years, it has remained true to itself. Always cherished fanatically 

by its residents, the estate has retained a certain independence 

and introspection. The SPD party was re-established 

in Munich on 1 st February 1946 in the nearby “Echardinger 

Einkehr“ pub. The dance hall also provided a venue for 

teenagers to take their first tentative steps towards a new, 

post-war world. 

It is true that the tiny apartments, which had neither bath nor 

shower facilities, were already considered sub-standard residences 

in the 1960s, but this is only one side of the coin. With 

its low rents and close proximity to the town centre, Berg am 

Laim was also a place that attracted artists and hedonists alike. 

But much has changed since then. The tram rails have 

disappeared, as has the flight path to Riem Airport. The old 

buildings have been demolished , but the area’s sense of community 

remains. And it is the solidarity of the residents of the 

Maikäfer Estate that has set it apart over the years. In the first 

new residential property to be constructed by GWG München 

since the Second World War, the focus is on contemporary 

comforts and apartment size. The new concept can be seen 

from a distance, thanks to the new building’s conspicuous 

front end that stretches towards the Mittlerer Ring. Large 

sections of the original estate from 1936-1939 have been 

demolished and replaced by buildings born of a far more modern 

era, with facilities and low energy consumption to match. 

8

From a residence for the people to a 

local recreation area 

Today, almost 75 years since its foundation, 

the Maikäfer Estate is demonstrating 

just how much concepts of life and 

work, community and society have 

changed. Buildings reflect the world in 

which we live, mirroring the values and 

desires of entire generations. And this 

was no different in the first half of the 

twentieth century. 

In 1927, the groundbreaking Weissenhof 

Estate was opened in Stuttgart. 

White and cubic, with a rational and forward-thrusting 

design, it remains a beacon 

of modern architecture to this day. 

Built only nine years later, the Maikäfer 

Estate constitutes a counterdesign to 

this public display of internationalism, 

by focusing on the past. The “Völkische 

Beobachter” 1 from 6 th May 1936 celebrated 

the people’s residence as an 

“enormous social feat”, in keeping with 

the contemporary doctrine of “blood 

and soil”. Vacant settlers’ were compacted, 

not just to keep costs down but, 

above all, due to the lack of available 

space for building. The plan was to build 

people’s residences for families with lots 

of children. All rents were to be a maximum 

of 20 percent of the gross income. 

The gardens were intended as a means 

of self-sufficiency. 

The architect behind the Maikäfer Estate 

was one Guido Hermann Theodor 

Harbers, born in Rome in 1897, and a 

party faithful. He was installed as the 

new estate officer in 1933, when Karl 

Preis, a member of the SPD, was forced 

to retire. Harbers was already known for 

his design of the Ramersdorf Model 

Settlement from the summer of 1934, 

after which he became involved in the 

GWG Gemeinnützige Wohnstätten- und 

Siedlungsgesellschaft mbH, which had 

resumed its activities after collapsing in 

1924 in the face of inflation and currency 

reform. The new statutes of 11 th 

October 1935 stated that “the 

object of the business is the construction, 

administration and management 

of small apartments and estates.” 

1 Literally: “People’s Observer”, 

a National Socialist newspaper 

Site plan of the Echardinger Grünstreifen Residential 

Estate, which would later become the 

Maikäfer Estate, and city map from 1924 (bottom) 

9

The Maikäfer Estate in Berg am Laim 

thus became GWG’s first construction 

project. 

Harber’s 1936 model shows a continuous 

perimeter block construction, 

stretching along Bad-Schachener-Strasse 

and Echardinger Strasse, interrupted 

only by a strip of green. The terraces 

within the estate are aligned strictly 

north to south, with large gardens 

situated between each pair of blocks, 

criss-crossed by a network of manure 

and gravel paths. 

Harbers applied a couple of tricks to 

break up the strict, almost military design 

of the estate: the curve of Echardinger 

Strasse and Krumbadstrasse break up the 

grid-like pattern, while the “Echardinger 

Einkehr“ public house and adjacent 

parade ground forms its centre. 

The estate was built up in three stages. 

By 1937, 421 rental apartments and 190 

private houses had been completed. 

From 1938, a further 190 apartments 

were completed on the Bad-Schachener- 

Strasse, divided into 38 blocks of five 

families each, while the rows on the 

Echardinger Strasse and St.-Michael- 

Strasse were completed in 1939, with a 

further 190 apartments. At this time, 

nearly 3,900 people lived in the Maikäfer 

Estate, almost half of whom were children. 

By decree of the Reich Labour Minister, 

these people’s residences were to be 

“extremely low price rental apartments” 

which displayed “extreme constraint in 

terms of living space and amenities.” 

10 

Echardinger Chapel (top), 

Aerial photograph from 1961, with the 

Echardinger Strasse in the foreground 

(centre), Krumbadstrasse (bottom)

A typical apartment comprised a living 

room (with integrated kitchen) and one 

or more bedrooms. The gardens were a 

luxury, and they continue to leave a 

characteristic mark on the area to this 

day. All of the buildings were connected 

to the electricity, water and sewage networks, 

which was unusual for the time. 

Despite the minimal standards, model 

rooms complete with fine yet functional 

furnishings made by “Deutsche Werkstätten 

Hellerau” were put on display to 

convey standards of quality living. “The 

authenticity, intrinsic value, simplicity, 

and neat, smart furnishings and household 

appliances are what make the 

rooms so comfortable and friendly”, 

stated a leaflet published by the City 

Household Advisory Office in August 

1937. Nevertheless, only the rental 

apartments were in demand. Not as 

many buyers as hoped showed an 

interest in the 190 small homes. This 

may have been because despite their 

modest features, only very few people 

were able to afford such houses. 

A new start after 1945 

Although the estate survived the Second World War without 

any damage, its main construction material, light concrete 

“Iporit” made from foamed sand by IG Farben, was proving to 

be susceptible to moisture. Nevertheless, in 1949, additional 

housing was created by converting 48 attics into apartments 

of 37.5 square metres each, as a response to the rampant 

housing shortage. The amenities were just the same as before. 

The residents still lived in apartments of between 36 and 

59 square metres, with room heights of around 2,20 metres, 

no bathrooms, and simple stoves. The condition of the cheaply 

built structures continued to deteriorate and resident numbers 

declined accordingly. By the end of the 1950s, the structural 

defects were “severe”, but another decade would pass before 

the subject of renovation finally came under discussion. This 

was partly due to the fact that the low income from rents did 

not allow for anything above minimal building maintenance. 

Also, since the end of the war, occupancies were controlled by 

the Housing Office of the State Capital of Munich. 

By now, the resident structure had changed massively. In 

addition to the original occupants, who had developed and 

improved their apartments themselves, large numbers of 

students began living here, attracted by the low rent and 

proximity to the city centre, as well as large families, who 

sometimes even rented two apartments to cover their needs. 

There were also what Armin Hagen, Head of the Building 

Management Department at GWG München, referred to in 

his diploma thesis on the history of the estate as “immigrants, 

disadvantaged persons and dropouts“. 

In 1980, the city's underground rail network reached Berg 

am Laim with two stops: Innsbrucker Ring and Michaelibad. 

This development increased the pressure on city planners to 

consolidate and renovate the estate. At the end of the 1980s, 

the buildings were taken out of the social residence category, 

allowing GWG München to exercise greater influence over the 

development of the Maikäfer Estate, even though it was now 

virtually impossible to organise a “methodical occupancy of 

the apartments to raise the standard of the tenant structure 

due to their age and facilities.” Substandard apartments 

were no longer in demand. Plans were therefore drawn up to 

demolish the existing buildings and replace individual blocks 

so that they complied with modern standards. 

The 1980s became the decade of fundamental change. There 

was great resistance to the announced reconstruction plans 

for the estate, resulting in the formation of the “Tenants’ 

Association for the Preservation of the Maikäfer Estate” or 

MIG. The group organised a number of campaigns in protest 

against the impending loss of their homes and neighbourhood. 

11

Rebuild or renovate? When water damage caused a piece of a 

cellar ceiling to fall away in December 1986, appraisers confirmed 

their expectation that many ceilings would last no more 

than a further five years. A large-scale comparison project was 

planned in the St.-Michael-Strasse: Between 1988 and 1992, 

one block was completely renovated, whilst another was 

demolished and rebuilt in the same style. GWG München then 

conducted a survey, which found that both models enjoyed 

a high level of acceptance. Of course, the costs were also 

compared: The new building incurred costs of DM 3,270 per 

square metre of living space, while the modernisation cost 

only DM 2,542. Hagen summed it up succinctly: “This is not 

an economically acceptable value. It has been proven that 

modernisation can be implemented, but not with the required 

level of sustainability.” The modernised apartments still had a 

room height of 2.20 metres, a level that was no longer tenable 

in the long term. The balance was tipping in favour of rebuilding, 

added to which, statistics of the occupancy structure for 

the approximately 800 apartments showed that there were 

887 residents, of whom no more than five were children or 

young people under the age of twenty. 

Two years later, the decision was taken by the GWG München, 

in conjunction with the City of Munich, to rebuild the entire 

inner area of the estate in four phases. The future buildings 

would preserve tenants’ gardens and maintain the proportions 

of the original buildings in terms of their height. However, to 

achieve an increase in total volume, the depth of the buildings 

was to be increased. 

The climax of the extensive refurbishment activities was the 

organisation of an urban-building and landscape-planning 

idea and implementation competition for the outer areas of 

the estate on the Bad-Schachener-Strasse, which was won by 

the Munich-based architecture firm Michael Ziller. By the end 

of 2008 the first phase of the renovation project was complete. 

It comprised 58 subsidised apartments of between 

39 and 113 square metres; situated at the corner of Bad- 

Schachener-Strasse and Echardinger Strasse; and flanked by 

a seven-storey tower. The renovation of the estate then continued. 

The Maikäfer Estate stands as a real-life example of the metamorphosis 

of a settlement and its occupants: from the new 

family estate, with its ideological baggage, through a long 

period of deterioration, to the demolition of the former structures 

and a complete renewal. 

12

Berg am Laim is enclosed between Haidhausen to the west, 

Trudering to the east, Bogenhausen to the north and Ramersdorf 

to the south. 

Berg am Laim has good connections to the underground 

(U-Bahn) and urban express (S-Bahn) railway networks. Bus 

lines running north to south provide excellent connections to 

the city centre and to the surrounding area. A tram line runs 

from the Ostbahnhof station to Berg am Laim. 

Statistics Office of the State Capital of Munich 

The following data refers to District 14, Berg am Laim 

(correct as of 2008, data given without guarantee). 

Area 

Berg am Laim has an area of 629 hectares. 

Population 

The population of Berg am Laim is currently approximately 

39,800. The largest demographic group is the age group 

between 15 and 65, representing 70% of the whole; people 

over 65 constitute just under 18% while children and young 

people make up approximately 12% of the local population. 

13

Renovation as a service to 

the city: 


In 1918, before the First World War was over, the State Capital 

of Munich took the forward-looking step of establishing the 

Gemeinnützige Wohnstätten- und Siedlungsgesellschaft mbH 

(GWG München). There was a need for thousands of new 

apartments and a severe shortage of affordable living space. 

In its founding statutes, the new housing association undertook 

to ensure the “construction of apartments, especially 

small, healthy and affordable apartments for low-income inhabitants 

and members of the middle classes, with particular 

preference to large families”. Nearly 100 years later, this remains 

one of GWG’s main endeavours. In 1978, city councillor 

and general manager Hans Preißinger wrote in the commemorative 

publication marking GWG’s sixtieth anniversary that the 

main emphasis was on its socio-political mandate rather than 

economic success. Yet he also emphasised the importance of 

a solid financial base. Little has changed since the original 

objectives were first formulated in 1918. The company is still 

engaged in “providing, in a socially responsible manner, safe 

places for broad sections of the population to live in.” 

GWG München now has around 26,800 residential and commercial 

units on its books. Open spaces are a rare commodity 

in Munich. Buildings are a mirror of their times, especially with 

regard to their amenities. Just a quick look at the development 

of apartment sizes since the Second World War is enough to 

illustrate the trend of social change. While in 1950, a fourroom 

apartment had 48 square metres, a typical size for 2010 

is more than double, at 99 square metres. The trend among 

two-room apartments is not quite as drastic, but their sizes still 

grew from 35 square metres in 1950 to 55 square metres in 

2010. 

Expectations have risen too. When the first major GWG 

München modernisation programme was drawn up in 1977, 

the objective was to raise the quality of 336 residential units to 

contemporary standards. In particular, this meant replacing or 

reinforcing electrical installations, and installing bathrooms 

and central heating with a hot water supply, as well as replacing 

windows and constructing balconies, to name just a few 

of the basic measures. 1978 marked another milestone in 

GWG’s modernisation and renovation activities. The newly 

drawn up “Overall Concept for the Sustained Improvement of 

Rented Housing Ownership” categorised 4,600 of the apartments 

owned by GWG München as requiring renovation and 

a further 6,100 as in need of modernisation. Renovation often 

entailed transforming a large number of small units into a 

small number of larger ones: where no economic alternative 

was available, the only choice was to demolish and rebuild. 

14 

In 1992 the city council initiated the “Second programme 

of sustainable improvement of GWG rental apartments by 

modernisation, major repair and attic conversion” (GMP): 

As a result, GWG undertook a programme of fundamental 

modernisation for its properties. 

An essential element of these large-scale modernisation activities 

is the intense care and assistance that GWG München 

gives its tenants. Every occupant who has to move out due to 

modernisation or demolition and rebuilding measures is informed 

in good time of offers for substitute accommodation, 

to ensure that nobody is "left out in the cold", in the words of 

GWG general manager Hans-Otto Kraus. A special team was 

put together to accompany and advise tenants right the way 

through the process. Every tenant who has to move may 

“move back to his familiar environment once the modernisation 

is complete, if he so wishes,” says Hans-Otto Kraus. In 

this way, GWG München is “not only preserving the identity 

of the neighbourhood through its buildings but also preserving 

the neighbourhood of its inhabitants.”

Moving out before the 

renovations kick in – 

Social management 

in grand style – 

Examples of tenant care 

by GWG München 

Interview with GWG 

tenants conducted by 

Brigitte and Manfred 

Körper in Berg am Laim 

Bianca Pittroff, Manfred Körper, Brigitte Körper, 

Roswitha Kirchmayr and Fredi Bauer (from left to right) 

The Körper family has rented its apartment from GWG 

München for several generations, and Brigitte Körper was 

even born in it. Her mother lived there as did her grandmother. 

But the building, which was originally built in the 

1930s and contained tiny apartments with no bathrooms, was 

demolished at the end of last year. 

With help from GWG München, the Körper family found a 

modern apartment in their old neighbourhood. They discuss 

the situation with the GWG München team: Roswitha 

Kirchmayr, Bianca Pittroff and Fredi Bauer, in the building 

management department. 

How do you feel, just before the move? 

Manfred Körper: Good. 

Brigitte Körper: Very good. We are looking forward to it. 

To the move itself? 

Manfred Körper: Not really, that is more like work. But to the 

new apartment. 

Who is doing the packing? 

Manfred Körper: Both of us. 

Brigitte Körper: We have amassed a lot of stuff in 35 years. 

Manfred Körper: But we will be getting rid of a lot. 

What is set to change for you? 

Brigitte Körper: Everything. The new apartment is twelve 

square metres bigger; the old one was 58 square metres and 

had five rooms. The living room in the old apartment was 

together with the kitchen. There used to be nine people living 

in it. Now we are finally going to treat ourselves to some new 

– and bigger – furniture. Before, we had to keep everything 

small. 

And now you have 70 square metres ... 

Brigitte Körper: ... and hot water and central heating. 

15

16 

The Körper family in their old apartment ... 

What help did you get from GWG München? 

Manfred Körper: They supported us in many things, for example 

with the approval procedure, with the housing authority, 

and in lots of personal meetings. 

Roswitha Kirchmayr: Mr. Bauer will organise the move, should 

you be wanting a removal company. If the tenants wish to do 

the move themselves, they will receive 500 euros upon return 

of the old apartment. If any furnishings need altering, we will 

send a joiner. 

Fredi Bauer: Not only that, but all supply points are taken care 

of by our firms, for example for a washing machine, dishwasher, 

etc. 

We are in the former kitchen/living room of the Körper family’s 

previous apartment. It has panelled walls and a corner bench 

facing the sideboard. On the table is a map of the city. 

Manfred Körper points at a street on the map, saying, “that’s 

where we’re moving to, a ground floor apartment.” Then 

turning to his wife, “your mother lives here.” Brigitte Körper 

nods, “I could grow old in that apartment. We took one look 

and knew that was the one.” 

Even if you move, the memories remain. 

Brigitte Körper: Of course. I was born in this apartment and I 

grew up here. My grandmother lived here and so did my 

mother, and now we live here. Which is why we want to stay 

nearby and with GWG, because it has all been such a positive 

thing living here. 

You could say it was your house ... 

Brigitte Körper: ... Yes, I suppose you could. My son also rents 

his apartment from the GWG. His opinion on tenant care is 

just the same as ours and he would never move into another 

area. We have green spaces, a shopping centre, the underground. 

We don’t really need a car. 

Manfred Körper: Another nice thing about the new apartment 

is that it also has a garden. 

Do you look after the garden yourselves? 

Manfred Körper: We have a big lawn with some tall trees, but 

we are don’t intend to make any more flowerbeds. 

… but you used to have them? 

Brigitte Körper: Of course, we had to share the garden with 

three other tenants, but at some point the others lost interest 

in the garden because they were either too old or didn’t have 

the time. 

So we paid a little more rent, and bit by bit we increased 

the size of our garden. We hardly needed to go on holiday 

anymore. 

Manfred Körper: We came back from town, went into the 

garden, set up the barbecue and relaxed. 

Brigitte Körper: It was idyllic! 

What is the sense of community like in the neighbourhood? 

Brigitte Körper: It is good but it used to be a lot stronger. It 

was like we were all one big family. The one neighbour knew 

if the other was ill and would go round to check on him and 

bring him what he needed. But that has changed. Many have 

moved away or died. We are the last ones. Young people 

don’t want to live in such an old building. 

Manfred Körper: The young ones used the old estate as a 

springboard. They moved into a cheap apartment, got 

married, and then looked for somewhere bigger. 

Brigitte Körper: But there are still a few old tenants, like my 

mother for example, who is 83. And now we are part of the 

old group. If we can move into another building that is just as 

wonderful, then we will have reason to be pleased.

Everyone used to help each other? 

Manfred Körper: Everyone. The ones from the front entrance 

and the ones from the rear entrance. It was a good community. 

And nobody felt left out. 

Were you able to choose your new apartment yourselves? 

Manfred Körper: We found one that we liked and Ms. Pittroff 

made sure that we got it. The ladies from GWG München 

really took us under their wing. 

Have you met any old friends in the new house? 

Manfred Körper: Yes of course there are few others who were 

rehoused. I remember them from before. 

Brigitte Körper: One old friend gave me a hug and said how 

happy she was that we were reunited. 

Ms. Kirchmayr, how do you support the tenants? 

Roswitha Kirchmayr: In all matters, from placing applications 

with the Office for Housing and Migration and with the 

various social security authorities if required. But we also give 

practical support and advice in organising the new apartments. 

We always do our best to find the right apartment for everyone. 

Nobody is sent to live in an apartment or in an area that 

they don't like. And the Körper family is just one of many 

success stories. 

The Körper family have now moved and are getting used to 

their new apartment. 

... and in their new one 

17

Living together in the 

Maikäfer Estate: 


Posters, flyers and chants: In the mid-1980s, emotions were 

running high after it was announced that the Maikäfer Estate 

was to undergo fundamental modernisation. Many tenants 

feared they would lose not only their homes but also their 

neighbourhoods, not to mention the sensationally low rents 

close to the city centre, and their beloved gardens. The MIG, 

not a Russian fighter plane but the abbreviation for the 

“Association for the Preservation of the Maikäfer Estate”, 

mobilised itself. By the end of the 1980s, the interest group 

numbered more than 250 members. The resistance it put up 

was creative and successful, thanks to its well organised meetings 

in the Echardinger Einkehr public house and the green 

stickers bearing the legend “I mag d’Maikäfersiedlung” (“I like 

the Maikäfer Estate”). 

It was not without reason that the tenants rejected demolition 

and change. Originally built as affordable National Socialist 

“people’s apartments” in 1936, the area had for years been 

known for its sense of solidarity and neighbourliness, born out 

of an organically nurtured sense of community. In a survey, 

eighty percent of the tenants stated they would remain in the 

estate even if no renovation was carried out. 

When a compromise was finally reached in the early 1990s 

and the renovation of the estate finally took off, the former 

housing lawyer and current Lord Mayor, Christian Ude, repeated 

the three essential elements of the Maikäfer estate: 

trees, gardens and low rents. All three of these aspects have 

been preserved. To this day, even after the in part complex 

modernisation of the estate in the Munich suburb of Berg am 

Laim, it is still characterised as much by its green spaces as it is 

by the sense of identity of its residents. 

Aerial photograph of the Maikäfer Estate in 2009 

Bad-Schachener-Strasse (left), Echardinger Strasse (top) and 

St.-Michael-Strasse (bottom). In between (from top to 

bottom), Krumbadstrasse, Heilbrunner Strasse, Höhenstadter 

Strasse, Kainzenbadstrasse and Bad-Kissingen-Strasse. 

18

The MIG finally disbanded on 11 th May 1995. An advisory 

board has been looking after the tenants' interests since then. 

The findings of a large-scale survey, which was conducted on 

the tenants of the comparison projects (in both the modernised 

and the newly constructed building) three years prior 

to this, on 15th December 1992, are of great interest: both 

groups were extremely satisfied. Clearly, satisfaction counts for 

more than just square metres and amenities. It describes a 

condition that can only be sensed and not calculated rationally. 

It is something to do with having not only a home but a 

sense of home, coupled with the security of being in good 

hands. 

Although the Maikäfer Estate had no kindergartens or cafés, 

schools or sports facilities, the gardens and the closeness 

between the people created the sense of community that 

went far beyond neighbourliness. Long-term tenants speak 

of “a big family” in green surroundings. Involvement is as 

much a part of the Maikäfer Estate as is a sense of tolerance 

towards others. These are ingredients that every good 

community needs. GWG München is endeavouring to 

preserve the character of this estate, of which its residents 

are an essential part. 

20 

The renovation area: Berg am Laim 

Maikäfer Estate 

Echardinger Strasse 

6 

7 

8 

Krumbadstrasse 

9

9 

GWG Projects 

1 St.-Michael-Strasse 118 - 132 Page 22 

2 St.-Michael-Strasse 104 - 116 Page 24 

3 Kainzenbadstrasse North Page 26 

4 Höhenstadter Strasse South Page 30 

5 Kainzenbadstrasse South Page 34 

Bad-Schachener-Strasse 

Gögginger Strasse 

Bad-Kreuther-Strasse 

Höhenstadter Strasse 

4 

Public landscape park 

6 Bad-Schachener-Strasse/ Page 36 


7 Echardinger Strasse 49 - 59 Page 40 

8 Krumbadstrasse 20 - 30 Page 44 

9 Residential buildings Page 48 

along the Bad-Schachener-Strasse 

5 

Kainzenbadstrasse 

3 

1 

2 

St.-Michael-Straße 

21

Modernisation 

St.-Michael-Strasse 

118 - 132 

Modernise or rebuild? This was the 

question that had to be addressed at 

the end of the 1980s when it became 

increasingly clear that the buildings from 

the 1930s no longer complied with 

present standards and were becoming 

increasingly ramshackle. 

In September 1990, the decision was 

made: The supervisory council of GWG 

München determined that the block at 

St.-Michael-Strasse 118-132 would be 

modernised, with the requirement that 

modernisation only made sense if the 

future rent was considerably lower than 

that of a newly built social residence. 

This could only be achieved by applying 

“constraints in the standard of conversion” 

(GWG Journal 86, 1990) and if 

the GWG München covered substantial 

costs themselves. In order to render an 

objective decision regarding costs, rents 

and living value, the next block on the 

St.-Michael-Strasse was subsequently 

demolished and replaced by a new 

building. This comparison enabled conclusions 

to be drawn on which to base 

future projects. 

The modernisation plans drawn up 

by the Lenz+Partner architects bureau 

significantly raised the living standards 

in the block thanks to the increase in 

apartment size and installation of central 

heating and bathroom facilities. 

Forty small apartments of 35 square 

metres each were converted into 26 

small and six family-sized apartments. 

Even though noise abatement measures 

were not possible and the ceiling 

heights remained at 2.20 metres, the 

tenants reacted extremely positively to 

the new-old building, when asked in a 

survey. 

22 

View of the corner of St.-Michael-Strasse 

and Bad-Kreuther-Strasse 

View of the façade after 

modernisation 

N

View of garden side 

Floor plan of attic, section (top) 

and ground floor (bottom) 

Address 

St.-Michael-Strasse 118 -132 

Architecture 

Lenz + Helmes Architects 

Munich 

Open-space planning 

Eduard Knöpfle, GWG München 

Apartments 

32 subsidised apartments 

Areas 

Total living area 1,436 m² 

Site area 3,452 m² 

Average apartment size 45 m² 

Commercial 71 m² 

Construction costs 

Total 2,139,000.00 c 

Funding 

First funding channel (1. Förderweg) 

Completion 

1991 



23

New build 


104 - 116 

The dormer windows are crowned by 

curved roofing. Even the balconies are 

reminiscent of gentle waves, drifting 

their way towards the gardens. The 

dimensions of the new building appear 

somewhat familiar. 

When the Munich architects Ottow, 

Bachmann, Marx and Brechensbauer 

were awarded the contract to plan 

a new comparison building on the 

St.-Michael-Strasse alongside another 

building that had undergone modernisation 

only the previous year, they had 

to orient their activities in line with the 

existing “structure of the estate, green 

spaces and tenant structure.” They 

created a calm structure that matched 

the familiar surroundings. The interior 

displayed the advantages of modern 

floor plans. Rather than creating a series 

of identical units they designed a range 

of different apartment types, including 

maisonettes on the first and second 

floors. 

The residences range from 1.5-room 

apartments of 47 square metres to 

3 and 3.5-room apartments of 75 and 

88 square metres respectively. In 42 subsidised 

residential units, families live 

alongside single tenants; senior citizens 

alongside children. Below the gardens 

is an underground garage with space 

for 132 cars. In comparison, the first 

garage, built in 1939, had space for no 

more than 12 vehicles. 

24 

The old building (top) 

View of the street side (centre and bottom)

Floor plan of attic, section (top) 

Floor plan of first storey (bottom) 


Address 

St.-Michael-Strasse 104 -116 

Architecture 

Ottow, Bachmann, Marx and 

Brechensbauer, Dipl.-Ing. Architects BDA 

Munich 


Ruoff Landscape Architects 

Ottobrunn 

Site management 

Rudolf Blumenschein, GWG München 

Apartments 


Areas 


Floor area 1,780 m² 




Total 5,830,000.00 c 

Funding 


Completion 

August 1992 


25


“Kainzenbadstrasse 

North“ 

Kainzenbadstrasse 1 -11 

and 2 - 24 

An estate in green surroundings. Looking 

at the buildings in the Kainzenbadstrasse 

North with their wooden 

balconies and steel stairways leading to 

gardens and trees, you may be 

reminded of a landing stage for a large 

ship. 

Four blocks, each with three entrances, 

mark the first phase of the renovation 

area in the heart of the Maikäfer Estate. 

It picks up the characteristics of the former 

terraced houses and its maisonettes 

reveal a contemporary lifestyle, compact 

yet individual. 

26 

Pre-construction drawing from 1943 for 

the “construction of urgent housing“ in 

the Kainzenbad-and Höhenstadter 

Strasse 

Street view of Kainzenbadstrasse 2-24

Former street view of the Kainzenbadstrasse 

Outline of the ground floor including gardens 

N 

The ensemble, with its mirror-image 

buildings on either side of the road, 

radiates calmness and clarity. 

Between October 1996 and July 1998, 

the Lenz+Partner architects bureau 

created 100 apartments, of which 54 

are subsidised, plus 46 owner-occupied 

apartments with ground leases. To protect 

the old trees, the public Kainzenbadstrasse 

was converted into a private 

road, which also made it possible 

to construct an underground garage 

beneath it. 

27

28 

Access to the gardens from the first floor (top), 

View of balconies from the garden (bottom)

Garden (top), 

Section of the first storey floor plan, with balcony 

and outside stairway. (bottom) 


Address 

Kainzenbadstrasse 1 -11 (subsidised) 

and 2 - 24 (owner-occupied) 

Architecture 


Munich 


Dipl.-Ing. G. Hansjakob, Landscape 

Architect, Munich 


Dipl.-Ing. Michael Krauß, 

Architects + Engineers, Munich 

Apartments 

100 apartments, 

including 54 subsidised rental 

apartments and 

46 owner-occupied 

Areas 

Subsidised: 





Owner-occupied: 






Total (subsidised) 4,825,000.00 c 

Total (owner-occupied) 5,215,000.00 c 

Funding 


Completion 

July 1998 


29


“Höhenstadter Strasse 

South“ 


1-8 

Architects rarely get the chance to design 

the step-by-step improvement of 

an existing type of building. The 

Lenz+Partner architects bureau took the 

opportunity to use the experience 

gained from the “Kainzenbadstrasse 

North” project to design the perimeter 

areas of the landscape park that makes 

its way through the Maikäfer Estate, 

together with the new building. Here 

too, they took existing garden structures 

and old trees into account, selecting 

direct access to the green areas via projecting 

first-floor balconies. Connected 

by walkways, the apartments open out 

towards generously dimensioned gardens. 

30 

Pre-construction drawing from 1949 for 

retrospective attic conversion 

Höhenstadter Strasse and Kainzenbadstrasse 

View of the private road

Detail of balcony 

Gardens accessed by outside stairways 

Outline of ground floor with gardens 


Ninety-two subsidised rental apartments 

were constructed on the estate between 

October 1998 and September 2000. The 

mixture of different sizes and types of 

apartment represented a break with the 

former identical apartment structures 

of the original buildings. Contemporary 

comfort can be found here, from the 

townhouse-like garden apartments to 

the attic apartments. 


N 

31

32 

Original building shortly before demolition 

Building type A – view from the street side

Building type B – street side with walkways (top) 

Garden side with large balconies (centre), 

Access to gardens from the first floor (bottom) 

Photograph from 2000 

Address 

Höhenstadter Strasse 1 -8 

Architecture 

Lenz + Partners Architects 

Munich 




Site Management 



Apartments 


Areas 


Floor area 8.240 m² 

Site area 8.954 m² 



Total 10,057,000.00 c 

Funding 


Completion 

September 2000 



33


“Kainzenbadstrasse 

South“ 

Kainzenbadstrasse 13 - 23 

and 26 - 36 

Building in the heart of the Maikäfer 

Estate whilst preserving its character and 

green spaces with old trees was a challenge. 

Fortunately, the Lenz + Partner 

architecture firm had already gained 

considerable experience during the 

Kainzenbadstrasse North and Höhenstadter 

Strasse builds, and was able to 

apply this expertise to the Kainzenbadstrasse 

South project. The result was 

108 subsidised apartments, ranging 

from single tenancies to family-sized 

units. 

Once again, the buildings were invisibly 

connected by an underground garage. 

And again, the designers made plenty of 

use of light-coloured woods, adding 

large external stairways leading from the 

first storeys to the gardens. The buildings 

and grounds were completed in 

September 2002, forming a substantial 

part of the Maikäfer Estate’s green 

heartland. 

34 

Detail showing balcony with stairway to 

the garden 

View along the west side (left) and east 

side (right) of the Kainzenbadstrasse

Street view (top), 

Detail showing balcony on the west side 

(centre), Children’s playground in the estate 

(bottom) 

Address 


Architecture 


Munich 







Apartments 


Areas 






Total 10,620,000.00 c 

Funding 


Completion 




35


Bad-Schachener- 

Strasse 69, 


61 - 65 

The seven-storey tower at the junction 

between Echardinger Strasse and Bad- 

Schachener-Strasse is likely to be the 

clearest representation of the transformation 

from a former people's residential 

area to a contemporary urban estate 

with lots of green space. Its conspicuous 

presence is a clear indication of what 

21 st century residences have to be capable 

of: setting standards that comply 

with but also go beyond low-energy 

laws, and façades with composite thermal 

insulation systems. 

36 

Former building on the Bad-Schachener-Strasse 

View from above of the Bad-Schachener-Strasse 

(bottom) and the Echardinger Strasse (left) 

towards the north (photograph from 2009)

Street view of Bad-Schachener-Strasse 

Artwork by Klaus Behr 

Corner of Bad-Schachener-Strasse/ 


The architect Michael Ziller won the 

urban development ideas competition 

for the Maikäfer Estate with a design 

that is as consistent as it is flexible: 

preserving the character of the estate, 

maintaining the green areas, and at the 

same time undertaking considerable 

consolidation. The four-storey residential 

and commercial building with shops and 

58 apartments faces the road as a noise 

barrier. The rear sides of the apartments 

open out towards the quiet garden with 

large, protected patios. This building 

phase was completed in January 2009, 

to replace 92 demolished residential 

units, which have now undergone contemporary 

reinterpretation. 

The underground garage has 106 

spaces for both tenants and customers 

of the shops, and has been skilfully concealed 

below the building. All apartments, 

shops and even the garage have 

barrier-free access. 

37

38 



Mietergärten 

Illuminated façade on the Bad-Schachener- 

Strasse 

Plan of open spaces 

N 

Krumbadstrasse

Green courtyard 

Roof garden 

Atrium Atrium 

Floor plan of atrium apartments (section) 

� 



Address 

Bad-Schachener-Strasse 69 

Echardinger Strasse 61-65 

Architecture 

buildings and urban development 

zillerplus Architects and Urban Planners 

Munich 


Irene Burkhardt Landscape Architects 

BDLA, Munich 


Dipl.-Ing. Michael Krauß 


Apartments 


4 commercial units 

Areas 





Commercial floor space 1,937 m² 


Total residential 11,520,000.00 c 

Commercial 7,100,000.00 c 

Funding 

Socially funded housing (SWF) 


Completion 

Commercial October 2008 

Residential January 2009 

39



49 - 59 

It isn't until you look at a city map that 

you can fully comprehend the change in 

scale to the Maikäfer Estate on Echar - 

dinger Strasse. Narrow structures with 

tiny units have been replaced by a 

contemporary residential building with 

significantly more volume. The building 

now comprises more than 60 apartments 

(instead of the previous 35) plus 

an underground garage with space for 

67 vehicles. The building opens out 

eastwards towards the inner courtyard, 

where the gardens of the ground-floor 

apartments are located. 

All tenants can access the pergolas 

between the private garden sheds, as 

well as the roof garden. The architects 

H2R Hüther, Hebensperger-Hüther, 

Röttig also accommodated the substitute 

cellar rooms and laundry rooms 

here, since the car park meant there 

was no more space for them underground. 

This has turned the roof garden 

into a somewhat unusual meeting place 

for tenants. 

40 

Former building on the Echardinger 

Strasse in 1965 

View from the street

Rear side with gardens and semi-public 

green spaces 

Section of floor plan (rotated) 

Second floor (top) and 

Ground floor with outside areas (bottom) 

N 

41

42 


Large green areas in the courtyard 


N 


Krumbadstrasse

Balconies to the west 

Playground in the courtyard 

Address 


Architecture 

H2R Architects BDA 

Hüther, Hebensperger-Hüther, Röttig 

Munich 



Munich 




Apartments 


Areas 






Total 10,130,000.00 c 

Funding 


Completion 


43



With its protruding sections in mocha 

hues, the estate on the Krumbadstrasse 

perhaps represents the most advanced 

example of urban living in the Maikäfer 

Estate. Instead of 38 cramped residential 

units, the building houses 46 slimline 

apartments with gardens, whose energy 

balance is some 10 - 20% below the values 

required by the EnEV energy saving 

regulations. 

The maisonettes are oriented towards 

the west, with a view of the generously 

proportioned communal gardens and 

their splendid old trees. The inviting 

front follows the gentle bends in the 

road’s course. 

44 

Old building, just before its 

demolition in 2009 

View from the road looking south

… and looking north 

N 

Floor plan of the first storey (section) 

Various apartment types 

The Zimmermann und Partner architects 

bureau from Cottbus created an urban 

building that clearly shows just how 

much the Maikäfer Estate can be 

changed without affecting its fundamental 

values: plenty of green, light and 

air. The inclusion of lifts and a planned 

shared residence for senior citizens 

make the new building fit for a future in 

which significantly more older people 

will determine the nature of the local 

area. 

45

46 

Rear side showing pergolas and gardens 

Entrance on the Krumbadstrasse




N 

Address 


Architecture 

Zimmermann + Partner Architects BDA 

Cottbus 



Munich 




Apartments 

46 privately financed apartments 

Areas 






Total 12,790,000.00 c 

Completion 

July 2010 



47

Residential buildings 

along Bad- 

Schachener-Strasse 

In spring 2009, GWG München 

announced its “Competition for the 

Construction of New Residential Buildings 

Along the Bad-Schachener-Strasse”. 

The total space planned for the subsidised 

residential buildings comprises 

3.3 hectares. 

At the same time, the street is also to be 

redesigned. Part of the competition was 

also devoted to the landscape, building 

and outside space planning of selected 

sections. The jury awarded two prizes: to 

ARGE Dipl.-Ing. architect Florian Krieger 

with Dipl.-Ing. architect Silke Thron from 

Darmstadt and Dipl.-Ing. Irene Burkhardt 

(landscape architect), from Munich, and 

also to Robert Meyer from Munich with 

T 17 landscape architects Manfred Kerler 

also from Munich. 

The realisation was awarded to ARGE 

Dipl.-Ing. architect Florian Krieger. 

The first models show the Bad-Schachener-Strasse 

as a dynamic space. 

48 

View of the Bad-Schachener-Strasse towards 

the west

Sections of the southern view (top) 

and northern view (bottom) 

Outline of the ground floor including 

outside areas 

N 

The architects consciously created a 

“choreography” of building structures 

that accentuates the road space, turning 

it into a veritable gateway to the city. 

The architects describe this as a “balance 

between their structure as identifiable 

buildings and their integration into an 

overall formation” in which “the staggered 

construction alternates with complete 

incisions into the cubature atop the 

continuous two-storey pedestal.” The 

roof gardens are almost Mediterranean, 

with a glass shield offering rain and wind 

protection and providing additional free 

space for the upper storeys. Many apartments 

are oriented towards three sides: 

the east, west, and north. To keep the 

noise levels within manageable limits, 

kitchens and bathrooms face the road, 

with living rooms and bedrooms opening 

out to the rear side via loggias. GWG 

München plans to commence construction 

in late 2010/early 2011. 

49

1 

51 

93 

58 

59 

62 

64 

66 

70 

74 

76 

80 

82 

84 

86 

90 

Contents 




Munich: Au 

Sendling and Sendling-Westpark 

The expanding city: Sendling and Sendling-Westpark 


Emphasis on communal living: 

Bavaria’s first shared residences for senior citizens 

in subsidised housing 

Site plan 


Hansastrasse 150, 152-156 

Kössener Strasse 1-9, 2 - 6 

Hinterbärenbadstrasse 17, 21, 25, 29 

Rattenberger Strasse 21-25 

Rattenberger Strasse 20, 22 

Alpspitzstrasse 5, 7 

Fernpassstrasse 29 - 37 

Hinterbärenbadstrasse 65, 67 

Alpspitzstrasse 8 

Badgasteiner Strasse 3 

Fernpassstrasse 27, 27a, 27b 

Badgasteiner Strasse 4 - 6a 


Krünerstrasse 74 - 88 

Garmischer Strasse 

Competition 

51

Sendling and 


There are few districts in which the dramatic transformation 

that Munich has undergone since the Second World War can 

be seen as clearly as it can in Sendling-Westpark. The area that 

used to be dominated by the fields and meadows of the surrounding 

farms is now an urban district with neighbourhoods 

set in green surroundings. Many of the apartment buildings 

were constructed in the 1950s, with simple coal stoves and 

coal hot water boilers, and in part without bathrooms – a far 

cry from the composite thermal insulation systems and solar 

panels of today. Even though the architecture of this period is 

undergoing a renaissance, art historians and monument conservationists 

have generally restricted their enthusiasm to official 

buildings with slim profiles and clear line designs. There is 

no talk of the beauty of a bygone lifestyle on the breadline. 

The ambivalent strata of the economic miracle can be peeled 

back layer by layer, starting with the simple buildings, whose 

sole purpose was to alleviate the chronic shortage of housing 

and going all the way to the expansive estates, long since set 

in generously dimensioned green surroundings, with trees that 

are themselves witnesses of times gone by. 

Green is also a constant theme of Sendling-Westpark. And 

what would fit this theme better than the splendid landscape 

park of the same name, created for the International Garden 

Exhibition IGA in 1983. Divided into two sections by the Mittlerer 

Ring, the 60,000 square metres of parkland, pathways 

and green fields with a beer garden and lakeside café are a 

veritable blessing. Landscape architect Peter Kluska has created 

an expansive landscape of artificial moraine hills, that 

offers something for everyone: joggers and families, amateur 

gardeners and rose fans, or those who simply wish to take a 

pleasant walk or have a barbecue in pleasant surroundings. 

The park is a melting pot of Munich’s nations and social 

groups. 

The area is in many ways the direct opposite of the altogether 

more plain and simple park on the Isar. The Westpark is the 

scene of all manner of leisure activities, including volleyball 

and football, walking, cycling and sledging, acrobatics and 

chess. With its open-air theatre and cinema on the lakeside 

stage and numerous festivals, including many for children, the 

park, which is now over 25 years old, is the backbone of the 

entire neighbourhood. 

Now that a tunnel is being built below the Mittlere Ring on 

the Garmischer Strasse and the area is undergoing traffic 

calming, virtually eliminating noise and emissions, the advantages 

of the district are becoming clearer: its central position 

and astounding green spaces, which remain a joy to behold, 

despite the modernisation and building works. Here, Sendling- 

Westpark is green, unbelievably green. 

58

The expanding city: 

Sendling and 


The farming village of Sendling was first 

mentioned in 782. There were villages 

all the way to Wolfratshausen almost 

until the end of the nineteenth century, 

at which point Munich looked to the 

south and found Ober-, Mitter- and 

Untersendling (Upper, Middle and Lower 

Sendling) on the Isar slope, to be a 

sanctuary in the face of the rampant 

housing shortage. At that time, the 

Sendling-Westpark of today did not 

even exist. 

“Munich has only one graveyard before 

the Sendling Gate”, writes Karl 

Baedecker 1846 in his “Handbook for 

Travellers in Germany and the Austrian 

Empire State.” A “large number of 

monuments remind one of those who 

have passed away.” The father of the 

travel guide also remarks on the holy 

water font, “constructed in 1831 in 

memory of the upland farmers who fell 

at Sendling at Christmas 1705 for the 

royal house.” Of course, Sendling’s 

Night of Murder is an essential part of 

Sendling’s history, but history didn’t stop 

there. Or, perhaps we should say that it 

largely bypassed the villages on the 

southern side of the Bavarian capital. 

If, in 1890, you had taken the difficult 

path along what was to become the 

Lindwurmstrasse, you would have been 

surrounded by farmers’ fields, which 

would later gradually give way to tenements, 

residential blocks and small 

apartments for workers and tradesmen, 

as well as industrial buildings. Then, the 

Südbahnhof was built, connecting 

today’s District 6 to the rail network. 

Warehouses were built, followed by the 

slaughterhouse in 1876 and the great 

market halls in 1910, around which further 

shops and businesses resided. Up 

until the 1920s, it was the residential 

blocks for low earners that characterised 

Sendling more than anything else. The 

former town centre, high above the 

Isar, with its Old Sendling Church of 

St. Margaret, was not incorporated into 

the City of Munich until 1 st January 

1877. This of course included the fields 

and meadows to the west, the area that 

would later form the site of Sendling- 

Westpark. 

Section of the city map from 1929 showing 

the first urban planning for what 

was at the time still an agricultural area. 

59

After the Second World War, the gaps in 

the city’s fabric gradually began to be 

filled up again. In the middle of it all 

was GWG München with its enormous 

building programme and massive responsibility 

to provide housing for people 

in the lower social strata. By 1951, 

the proportion of new residential buildings 

earmarked for social housing was 

85%, although this figure would fall to 

45% in the ensuing two years. The 

estates that arose in this period featured 

extremely sparse amenities. But they did 

feature one luxury, located between the 

buildings: the generously proportioned 

garden areas, that these days are a 

rareity. Between 1952 and 1964, a large 

estate arose along the Krüner Strasse, 

over an area formerly used largely as 

farmland, comprising 226 buildings with 

1,742 rental and 90 owner-occupied 

apartments. However, their “simple 

construction” was to result in enormous 

problems in the long term in terms of 

maintenance and modernisation,” 

wrote Uli Walter more than twenty years 

ago in his History of the GWG (Sozialer 

Wohnungsbau in München, 1993, p. 

109). 

60 

But there were few alternatives. By 

1957, Munich’s population had crossed 

the 1,000,000 mark, and pressure grew 

to turn unbuilt areas into industrial 

zones, and to create housing on farmland 

for all those people who had 

moved south. Munich continued to 

Aerial photograph of the GWG estate in 1961 (top), 

View of the site when it was still farmland, 1912 

(bottom) 

prosper, and by the the 1972 Olympic 

Games, it had developed into the highly 

praised "World City with a Heart". The 

period which saw ring-road bypasses be 

built around the inner city to calm the 

city-centre traffic has now largely been 

forgotten. This was also the time in

which the Garmischer Strasse was integrated 

into the Mittlerer Ring. Clearly, 

the section from the Luise-Kiesselbach- 

Platz towards the Westpark had to absorb 

this traffic, resulting in a drastic 

change to the quality of life there. The 

fact that a tunnel is currently being 

planned to take the traffic away from 

the Garmischer Strasse shows which 

way the wind is now blowing. The “carfriendly” 

city now has to show that it 

means what it says. The tunnel offers a 

great opportunity to reconsolidate a 

neighbourhood that has been cut into 

pieces by traffic. GWG München is now 

undertaking a major programme of 

urban renovation to increase the quality 

of life in the surrounding neighbourhood. 

District 7, as Sendling-Westpark is 

officially called, is now on the way to 

becoming one of the most pleasant 

neighbourhoods in the Bavarian capital, 

combining a central location with a high 

quality of life. 

Residential building incorporating the 

“Krüner Stube” public house, Fernpassstrasse 

1956/57 

Sendling lies to the south of Ludwigsvorstadt-Isarvorstadt. The 

district is bordered by the S-Bahn railway line to the west and 

encompasses the Isar, including the Flaucher, in the east. The 

Mittlere Ring passes directly through the district. The district of 

Sendling-Westpark is located in the south-west of Munich, 

and stretches from Schwanthalerhöhe (Westend) and Laim in 

the north to beyond Obersendling in the south. The eastern 

border is the S-Bahn railway line to Wolfratshausen. The 

district is bordered to the west by the Fürstenriederstrasse. 

Sendling-Westpark is connected directly to the urban transport 

network by the U6 line. 


The following data refers to the entire District 6 Sendling and 

District 7 Sendling-Westpark (correct as of 2008, data given 

without guarantee). 

Area 

Sendling and Sendling-Westpark have a combined area of just 

under 393 hectares. 

Population 

The population of Districts 6 and 7 is 37,940. 

The proportion of senior citizens over the age of 65 is approx. 

14.1%. The proportion of children and young people up to 

the age of 15 is approx. 11.2%. 

61

Emphasis on communal living: 

Bavaria’s first shared residences 

for senior citizens in subsidised 

housing 

One of a kind: Bavaria’s first shared residences for senior citizens 

in subsidised housing are located in Sendling-Westpark, 

in a unique cooperative project between GWG München and 

Caritas. For a whole year, the social welfare association and 

GWG München held information evenings and other events 

designed to aid and support residents in taking their first steps 

towards a new phase of life. 

Building two shared residences for senior citizens requires far 

more than simply ensuring that everything is barrier free. It 

entails creating a structural framework for a changing society 

with its new forms of living. The fact that both young and old 

live alongside each other in the Hinterbärenbadstrasse shows 

how much potential is concealed in a society which is becoming 

older and more colourful. The erstwhile extended family 

has become a multi-generational society, which offers plenty 

of scope for personal encounters. 

The first of the two residential ensembles for senior citizens 

was opened in June 2008. Dietmar Bock, senior commercial 

manager of GWG München, summed up the concept of 

the “WGplus – Living in Community plus Service” project as 

follows: 

“What GWG München wants is to be able to serve its tenants 

for a lifetime, wherever this is possible. All tenants who wish 

to do so should be able to remain in their homes, even if they 

suffer from physical or health restrictions. For us, this service 

also includes organising help.” (GWG Journal, special edition, 

October 2008, p. 4). So what is behind this special service? 

“The basic idea behind WGplus is to allow residents to share 

an apartment in which the various individual areas cater for all 

wishes and the communal areas represent an additional option” 

(GWG Journal, special edition, October 2008, p. 15). 

62

Aerial photograph of Sendling-Westpark 2009 

Garmischer Strasse – Mittlerer Ring (top left), 

Ohlstadter Strasse (bottom left) 

In between from top to bottom: 

Heiterwanger Strasse, Hinterbärenbadstrasse 

and Krüner Strasse (construction site) 

From left to right: 

Fernpassstrasse, Badgasteiner Strasse, Alpspitzstrasse, 

Rattenberger Strasse 

Previous page: 

Garmischer Strasse facing north 

63

Horst W. Opaschowski's study "Germany 2030. How we will 

live in the future" (2008) demonstrates just how accurately 

this project is responding to the needs of society. The future 

researcher writes that people’s desire for community is unbroken 

despite the increase in individualisation: "Everybody under 

one roof - but everyone for themselves. A form of living that is 

as communicative as it is individual, which allows you to be by 

yourself and helps to prevent you from being abandoned." 

Even if Opaschowski is clearly focusing on shared housing for 

senior citizens, he still presents reference points that are of relevance 

to an extra-familial dialogue between the generations. 

And it goes yet further. It can be seen when comparing the 

last few years, for instance, that “people are getting ready for 

a new form of domesticity, feeling at home in familiar surroundings,” 

sums up Opaschowski and concludes, “more and 

more people are reflecting on the family and having their own 

four walls as a hive of stability.” Viewed against this background, 

the self-determined treatment of ageing, infirmity and 

community will take its place within the core of the future social 

order. 

Help as a service, community as an option, and freedom as a 

basic requirement, this is how one could sum up the basic 

principle of a communal residence for senior citizens – as a 

voluntary community that offers contacts and exchanges but 

remains rooted in the idea that people come together as and 

when they wish to. Such a community also tolerates retreat, if 

this is what some members wish. 

Each communal residence comprises individual apartments 

with a shower and small kitchen plus additional communal 

facilities, such as a large kitchen/living room, a lounge and an 

adjacent loggia. They also include a bath and washroom plus 

an additional room for guests or carers. 

Since it is oriented to the south and to the green courtyard, 

the living rooms enjoy plenty of light and sun. Residents have 

everything within their view and remain involved in the goings 

on in the community. Can’t the children sometimes be an 

annoyance when they run around and shout in the garden? 

“Not necessarily,” says the responsible GWG München project 

manager. “The people who move in here do so voluntarily, 

so anyone who lives here is here because they wants to be.” 

And it is this voluntary factor that creates the opportunities for 

a form of living that many have already experienced in their 

younger days. 

Living together in a small area, with the option to withdraw 

every now and then – this dual relationship of openness and 

retreat is already signalled by the long and wide south-facing 

balcony in front of all six apartments, which while connecting 

them into a structural whole, includes light partitions to maintain 

privacy between neighbouring units. 

64 

The renovation area: 


9 


9 

8 

Hinterbärenbadstrasse 

Krüner Strasse

6 

4 


1 Hansastrasse Page 66 

Kössener Strasse 

2 Hinterbärenbadstrasse Page 70 


3 Rattenberger Strasse Page 74 

Alpspitzstrasse 

4 Fernpassstrasse Page 76 


4 

Fernpassstrasse 

7 

7 

7 

Heiterwanger Strasse 

Badgasteiner Strasse 

5 

5 

5 Alpspitzstrasse Page 80 


6 Fernpassstrasse Page 82 

7 Badgasteiner Strasse Page 84 


8 Krünerstrasse Page 86 

9 Garmischer Strasse Page 90 


3 


Krüner Strasse 

3 

1 

1 



2 

Hansastrasse 

2 

Zillertalstrasse 


65

Modernisation and 

extension 

Hansastrasse 150, 

152 - 156 

Kössener Strasse 1-9, 

2 - 6 

The tall trees, the children’s playground 

and the new wooden panelling on the 

newly built upper storey: The estate on 

the Hansastrasse looks like it has just 

been built. In truth, the building originates 

from the 1960s but underwent 

extensive modernisation in 2000 - 2003. 

The Munich-based Michael Morschek 

architecture firm began by exposing the 

original shell and then replacing the 

outmoded electrical installations and 

pipelines, before creating 100 modern, 

low-energy apartments with contemporary 

room layouts, including new bathrooms, 

noise insulation between the 

apartments and composite thermal 

insulation in the façade. Ruoff landscape 

architects from Ottobrunn near Munich 

augmented the major structural modernisation 

with contemporary garden 

designs with new plants. 

66 

Northern section – the former building prior to 

modernisation 

Southern section – courtyard, 

with the building on the Kössener 

Strasse to the right

Northern section – building with 

additional storey after modernisation 

Example floor plan before (top) and 

after (bottom) modernisation 

67

68 

View of the courtyard 

Plan of open spaces in the southern 

section 


Hansastrasse 

N

View from the garden and street 


Address 

Hansastrasse 150, 152 - 156 

Kössener Strasse 1-9, 2 - 6 

Architecture 

Michael Morschek Architects 

Munich 


Ruoff Landscape Architects 

Ottobrunn 

Apartments 

Hansastrasse 150, Kössener Strasse 2 - 6 



Hansastrasse 152 - 156 


Kössener Strasse 1-9 



Areas 












Total 3,023,828,00 c 


Total 1,868,744,00 c 


Total 2,164,414,00 c 

Completion 

August 2001 Hansa-, Kössener Strasse 

May 2002 Hansastrasse 

April 2003 Kössener Strasse 

69

Ecological 

modernisation 


17, 21, 25, 29 


21- 25 

Five-storey buildings on the Hinterbärenbadstrasse 

and a three-storey building 

on the Rattenberger Strasse, gabled 

roofs and numerous tiny apartments 

around a green courtyard: This is what 

the residential block looked like prior to 

the extensive renovation. 

Originally built in 1954/1955 as a fivestorey 

terrace and staggered to follow 

the course of the Hinterbärenbadstrasse; 

by the start of the new millennium, the 

many small apartments no longer met 

contemporary living standards. They had 

neither noise nor thermal insulation 

and the heating was provided by single 

coal stoves. Some of the apartments 

didn't even have bathrooms. Reason 

enough for GWG München to undertake 

thorough modernisation and implement 

low-energy measures. As a beacon 

70 

Hinterbärenbadstrasse before 

modernisation 

View of the façade after 

modernisation

Old trees and wooden walkways 

Wohnküche Bad Bad Wohnküche Wohnküche Bad Kammer Kammer Bad 

Wohnküche 

Zimmer Schlafzimmer Schlafzimmer Zimmer Zimmer Schlafzimmer 

Schlafzimmer 

Abs 

Plan of the ground floor before (top) and 

After modernisation (bottom) 

Hinterbärenbadstrasse 21 

Balkon Nebeneingang 

Balkon Balkon Balkon 

Wohnen/Schlafen Wohnen/Schlafen Schlafen Wohnen Wohnen 

Schlafen 

Flur 

Bad Küche 

Hinterbärenbadstrasse 21 

neu 

Bad 

Flur 

Küche 

Abs 

Laubengang 

Aufzug 

Abs 

Küche 

Flur 

Abst. 

Bad Küche 

Nebeneingang 

Flur 

Abst. 

Zimmer 

N 

Bad 

Abs 

project within the “Experimental Residential 

Construction – Ecological 

Modernisation” programme initiated 

by the Supreme Building Authority in 

the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the 

State of Bavaria, the aim of the planners 

was to combine multiple standard 

energy-saving components to test their 

efficiency. 

In the course of the comprehensive 

modernisation programme between 

2002 and 2005, the entire technical 

building services were completely 

renewed in three construction phases; 

highly insulated windows were installed, 

and composite thermal insulation incorporated 

in the façade. The latter was 

augmented by translucent, energystoring 

elements integrated into the 

southern façade. Heat is supplied by a 

condensing boiler and an independent 

cogeneration unit. A solar-powered 

system also supplies hot water. Photovoltaic 

elements on the roof supply solar 

electricity which is fed directly into the 

public electricity grid. 

The transformation is visible from a 

distance. First yellow, followed by red, 

then blue and finally green. These are 

the colours radiated by the façade of 

the ecologically modernised buildings in 

the Hinterbärenbadstrasse. Mention 

should also be made of the standard 

of modernisation, which undercuts the 

levels prescribed in the 1995 thermal 

protection regulations by 30%. 

71

The Otto Klär architects from Dachau 

added a further storey to all the buildings, 

connecting pairs of stairwells 

through a front-standing tower with 

walkways and a lift, providing barrierfree 

access to all apartments. In addition 

to the optimised layouts of the apartments, 

the new, south-facing balconies 

raise the quality of living considerably. 

The steel balconies stand structurally 

separate and resist thermal bridges. 

But there is more: the Munich landscape 

architect Jutta Giessel completely 

redesigned the green spaces to incorporate 

the old trees, adding pathways and 

play areas, wooden walkways and new 

bushes to underline the spaciousness. 

The buildings and courtyards have long 

constituted a unit. The result is an 

effective ensemble that can be enjoyed 

by all who live here. And the efforts of 

GWG München and its planners did not 

go without recognition. In 2005, they 

received the honorary prize for “quality 

residential building, housing for senior 

citizens and exemplary renovation”, one 

of five honourable mentions. A truly 

model project! 


72 



N

Courtyard with extensive play areas and 

green spaces 



Address 

Hinterbärenbadstrasse 17, 21, 25, 29 

Rattenberger Strasse 21 - 25 

Architecture 

Otto Klär Architects Engineers 

Dachau 


Jutta Giessel Landscape Architect 

Munich 


Otto Klär Architects Engineers 

Dachau 

Apartments 


Areas 






Total 11,970,000.00 c 

Funding 

Socially funded housing (SWF); 

Energy-Saving Funding Programme (FES) 

of the State Capital of Munich 

Awards 

Honourable mention in the 2005 honorary 

prize for quality residential building, 

housing for senior citizens and exemplary 

renovation awarded by the State 

Capital of Munich 

Completion 

June 2002 to February 2005 

73


extension 


20, 22 


The Munich-based Michael Morschek 

architecture firm added two extra 

storeys to the building in the Rattenberger 

Strasse, originally built in 1955. 

In addition, the apartments have been 

enlarged, two lift shafts added to improve 

access, and the building enhanced 

in line with low-energy principles with 

the addition of composite thermal insulation 

and thermal glazing. The original 

18 apartments, which were heated 

with individual gas, wood or coal stoves, 

completely lacked modern amenities, 

and in same cases didn’t even have 

bathrooms. One of the three staircases 

was removed to create additional living 

space. To allow the addition of two new 

storeys made of cellular concrete, lowpressure 

injections had to be applied 

to the foundations to increase their support 

strength. 

Now, 20 comfortable apartments have 

balconies on the garden side of the 

building, protected against weathering 

from the widely projecting roof. Thanks 

to the aforementioned insulation and 

connection to the district heating 

network, the building also possesses 

excellent energy-consumption values. 

The open spaces were designed by the 

Teutsch-Ritz-Rebmann landscape architects 

from Munich. 

The building on the Alpspitzstrasse was 

also peeled back to its raw shell state to 

allow fundamental renovation and the 

addition of two storeys. Thanks to the 

lift and two new towers for the two 

staircases, the interior of the building 

now also meets modern requirements. 

The apartments are all barrier free 

and two of them are even suitable for 

wheelchair users. Noise prevention 

measures have been incorporated to 

ensure a contemporary level of comfort 

and the composite thermal insulation 

and connection to the district heating 

network ensure low energy costs. 

74 

Rattenberger Strasse, 

garden and street views


Views of the garden and roads 


Address 



Architecture 

Michael Morschek Architects, Munich 


Teutsch-Ritz-Rebmann Landscape 

Architects, Munich 


Peter Zeitler Engineers GmbH 

Munich 

Apartments 





Areas 













Total 3,034,339,00 c 


Total 3,907,945,00 c 

Funding 



Completion 

October 2005 Rattenberger Strasse 

November 2006 Alpspitzstrasse 

75




65, 67 

The corner of the junction between Hinterbärenbadstrasse 

and Fernpassstrasse 

is a demonstration of what can be 

achieved with intelligent architecture: 

The so-called cooperative, which features 

two crèches, two nurseries and an 

after-school club for around 100 children, 

is located to the north on Hinterbärenbadstrasse. 

Then there are the two 

communal residences for senior citizens 

with their eleven apartments, and two 

medical practices. An experiment, but 

one that can be learned from. For, since 

the extended family no longer exists and 

even the post-war nuclear family is 

gradually being replaced by increasingly 

open forms, with patchwork families 

and long-term partnerships, this estate 

represents a modern, shared living space 

for young and old. 

76 

Original building before renovation 

View of the Fernpassstrasse (left) and 

Hinterbärenbadstrasse (right)

Loggia 

Schlafzimmer 

Gemeinsames 

Wohnzimmer 

Bad 

Wohnzimmer 

Courtyard with view of the balconies of the 

ensembles in the second and third floors 

Gem. Küche 

Wohnung 5 Wohnung 4 

Schlafzimmer 

Bad 

Bad 

Gem. Bad 

Wohnung 3 

Wohnzimmer 

Waschr. 

Wohnung 2 

Schlafzimmer 

Bad 

Bad 

Floor plan of the senior citizens ensemble 

in the third storey 

Example floor plan of an apartment 

1 Combined bedroom and living room 

2 Threshold-less access to balcony 

3 Bathroom and toilet with floor-flush 

shower basin 

Gast 

Betreuung 

Diele 

Wohnung 1 

Schlafzimmer 

Wohnung 2 

Treppenhaus Aufzug 

1 

2 

Arztpraxen 

3 

N 

You may not be able to tell from the 

outside, but this large, compact structure 

is a solid monolithic construction 

with few details. The building is connected 

to the municipal district heating 

network, and its highly insulated 

exterior walls made of cellular concrete 

display consumption values that are 

approximately one third below the 

guide values laid down in the 2008 

EnEV energy saving regulations. This is 

also to do with the fact that the northfacing 

façade is sealed. On the other 

hand, the south-facing side opens out 

to the sun with generously dimensioned 

balconies. 

Residential ensembles with individual 

sections are situated on two storeys: 

apartments of 20 square metres comprising 

a combined bedroom and living 

room, small kitchen and shower room 

with a floor-flush shower basin and a 

balcony. Then there are the communal 

rooms, such as the large living room 

with adjacent west-facing loggia, 

kitchen and disabled-friendly bathroom 

with standalone bathtub. There is also a 

room that can be used by visitors or carers. 

There are various services that residents 

can avail themselves of through 

Caritas, from shopping and errand running 

to meals on wheels and extensive 

care. 

The view over the spacious green spaces, 

which features residents' gardens, 

pathways and a playground, and was 

created by landscape architect Irene 

Burkhardt, provides constant fascination. 

77

The power of rows is visible from the 

building on the Fernpassstras se. Simple 

elements, cleanly joined and stacked to 

produce an ample, unmistakeably modern 

architecture. With its abstract, vertical 

waves of protruding and receding 

sections, the façade modulates the road 

space of the Fernpassstrasse. The large 

garden-facing balconies, with the underground 

garage below, resemble theatre 

boxes. 

The 38 apartments, alternating between 

three and four rooms, are completely 

barrier free, and were constructed – as 

with the front building containing the 

cooperative facility and the communal 

senior citizens’ residences – as a monolithic 

structure by the Franke Rössel 

Rieger architects bureau. The lowenergy 

concept provides for their integration 

into the district heating system 

of the City of Munich. Extensive green 

spaces connect the buildings to the 

park-like courtyard with its precious 

trees, the majority of which have been 

preserved. 

The new building received the 2010 

honorary prize for quality residential 

building, housing for senior citizens and 

exemplary renovation awarded by the 

State Capital of Munich in the category 

“Honorary prize for publicly funded 

senior citizens’ housing.” 

78 

Courtyard with ample green spaces and 

play areas (top), 

Section of plan of open spaces (bottom) 

N

View of the Fernpassstrasse (top), 

View of the courtyard side with gardens 

(bottom) 

Address 


Hinterbärenbadstrasse 65, 67 

Architecture 

Franke Rössel Rieger Architects 

Munich 



Munich 


Sellack Architects Engineers 

Munich 

Apartments 


11 residential units in 2 communal 

residences for senior citizens 

2 medical practices 

Areas 





Floor space of practices 327 m² 

Floor space of cooperative 

facility 1,004 m² 


Total 11,527,005,00 c 

Funding 

KomPro A 


Awards 

Honorary prize for quality residential 


exemplary renovation 2010 awarded by 

the State Capital of Munich 

Completion 

April 2008 Fernpassstrasse 

June 2008 Hinterbärenbadstrasse 

Miscellaneous 

Five-group cooperative facility for a total 

of 99 children devised for and sold to 



79


extension 



This modernised building on the Alpspitzstrasse, 

originally built in the 1950s, 

now features a 14-metre-high tower, a 

series of walkways and two new storeys. 

As previously achieved with the buildings 

in the Rattenbergerstrasse and 

Alpspitzstrasse, the Michael Morschek 

architects from Munich have once again 

succeeded in creating a barrier-free 

building with contemporary comforts 

and modern floor plans combined 

with good energy data, thanks to the 

incorporation of composite thermal 

insulation and thermal glazing as well 

as – once again – connection to the city 

district heating network. 

Initially, the building was returned to its 

shell state before concrete was injected 

to prepare the foundations for the 

additional load resulting from two new 

storeys. The 28 apartments enjoy barrier-free 

access through a series of 

walkways. In a model experiment, the 

installation lines were laid in shafts in 

front of the façade, to enable repairs to 

the lines from the walkways and to prevent 

noise transfer to the apartments. 

The mixture of sizes ranging from small 

one-room apartments up to three and 

four-room apartments makes the building 

flexible enough to appeal to a range 

of target groups. 

Again, the Munich landscape gardeners 

Teutsch-Ritz-Rebmann fashioned all the 

green areas and open spaces. 

The building on the Badgasteiner Strasse 

appears quite modern, yet it is not new. 

It has been given a completely new face 

by the addition of two new storeys containing 

four apartments each, constructed 

using cellular concrete plus a 

frontally positioned stairwell with lift 

and walkways. Munich architect Michael 

Morschek has consciously given the 

interior of the building a modern 

redesign, bringing a contemporary level 

of comfort to the buildings’ apartments, 

which are of various sizes and enjoy barrier-free 

access. 

80 


Original building before modernisation 

View from the street side (centre) 

and garden side (bottom)


Original building before modernisation 

View from the street side (centre) and 

floor plan of first storey showing the 

various apartment types (bottom) 


Address 



Architecture 

Michael Morschek Architects, Munich 


Teutsch-Ritz-Rebmann Landscape 

Architects, Munich 


Bernd Karl Engineer 

Schwabmühlhausen 

Apartments 





Areas 













Total 3,697,667,00 c 


Total 2,690,679,00 c 

Funding 

KomPro A 


Completion 

July 2008 Alpspitzstrasse 

December 2009 Badgasteiner Strasse 


81


Fernpassstrasse 27, 

27a, 27b 

The Blauwerk architects’ partnership 

have designed a series of elegant apartments 

along the Krünerstrasse, complete 

with residents’ gardens and 

delicately designed balconies. The complex 

has 42 residential units of varying 

size, with between two and four rooms, 

showing just how ecological and economic 

demands can be brought together 

perfectly in a modern residential 

building. 

By employing a monolithic construction 

using high-grade cellular concrete and 

supplying heat from the district heating 

transmitting station in the main heating 

centre in the Fernpassstrasse, GWG 

München has managed to undercut the 

demands of the 2007 EnEV energy 

saving regulations by 10%. A 30KWp 

photovoltaic system with crystalline 

modules has been installed on the flat 

roof of the complex, which feeds 

electricity into the network run by the 

Munich utilities company. 

The compact structure with clear 

divisions gives the complex its special 

aesthetic qualities, fully in line with the 

enhanced quality of living. Residents’ 

gardens and park-like open spaces with 

beautiful trees show that it is possible 

to live in an urban location in green 

surroundings. 

82 

Original building before renovation 

Detail of balcony (top), view of Krüner Strasse 

showing patios and residents’ gardens (bottom)

Photovoltaic system across the entire 

roof 

N 

Plan of open spaces (top), first storey 

floor plan (bottom) 


Address 

Fernpassstrasse 27, 27a, 27b 

Architecture 

Draft planning 

Kern + Schneider Architects 

Munich 

Partnership Blauwerk 

Munich 

Final planning 

mw konzept GmbH 

Munich 


Irene Burkhardt Landscape Architect 

Munich 


Taub Architects 

Munich 

Apartments 


Areas 






Total 7,104,800.00 c 

Funding 


Completion 

August 2010 

Miscellaneous 

Undercuts requirements of EnEV 2007 

by 10% 


83


New Building 


4 - 6a 


How energy-efficient and economical 

can a contemporary modernisation be? 

What role can the renewable material 

wood play in the future? It is with these 

and other questions that Prof. Hermann 

Kaufmann of the Chair for Wood Construction 

at the Technical University of 

Munich found an open and willing partner 

in GWG München for conducting 

comprehensive studies. Initial investigations 

of the five buildings between the 

Badgasteiner Strasse and the Fernpassstrasse 

painted a rather heterogeneous 

picture. The buildings from the 

1950s were completely outdated in 

terms of their construction, energy 

specifications and contemporary comfort 

expectations. But, rather than simply 

demolishing the solid, three-storey 

structures (in the middle and right of the 

plan of open spaces) and replacing them 

with new buildings, the aim was to preserve 

the primary structure to as great a 

degree as possible. This beacon project, 

initiated by utilising wood materials in 

the modernisation of the existing apartments, 

represented the birth of a model 

project, which received partial funding 

from the German Energy Agency (dena). 

ARGE Kaufmann.Lichtblau Architekten 

bureau in Munich was set up especially 

for this project. It developed a way of 

strengthening the existing building by 

employing pre-fabricated façade 

elements made of wood and glass, 

which were suspended on the front of 

the existing support structure. The 

wooden cladding promises short con- 

84 

FB1 

FB4 FB1 FB1 FB1 FB4 FB4 FB3 FB3 FB4 FB4 FB1 

HK HK 

900/600/100 900/700/100 

FB3 TB1 FB6 FB3 Ost FB3 Ost TB1 

FB6 TB1 

FB6 FB6 FB6 

TB1 

FB3 Ost FB6 

TB1 

Glas 

Glas 

Glas 

Glas 

Glas 

16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 

Original building, street side Original building, garden side 


Floor plan of building on the Badgasteiner Strasse 

N 

FN2 

FN2 

FN2 

FN2 

TN1 TN1 

TN1 

N 

FN2 FN2 

FN2 

FN2 

FN2

struction times, an excellent eco-balance, 

and high quality, while emphasising 

the potential of employing wood 

constructions in building modernisation. 

The comprehensive modernisation of 

the buildings on the Badgasteiner 

Strasse plus the addition of an extra 

storey mean that GWG München has 

been able to increase the housing area 

by 50%. This too is an example of sustainability. 

After detailed investigation, it was decided 

not to renovate the old buildings 

in the Fernpassstrasse but to replace the 

buildings using wood construction. The 

aim is to utilise the benefits of wooden 

constructions in this passive house. 

Benefits include a positive eco-balance; 

low wall thickness with excellent insulation 

characteristics; short construction 

time thanks to the prefabricated components; 

and the pleasant internal environment. 

Hopefully, this project will open the door 

to the use of modular wood construction 

in modernisation projects throughout 

Germany. At any rate, GWG München 

has made a start. 

Solar site survey 

(with the Fernpassstrasse in the foreground) 

View from Badgasteiner Strasse 



Address 



Architecture 

Kaufmann.Lichtblau Architects 

Munich 


Stefan Kalckhoff 

Landscape Architect BDLA 

Munich 


Kaufmann.Lichtblau Architects 

Munich 

Apartments 


Areas 





Construction costs (provisional) 

Total 11,361,488,00 c 

Funding 

KfW: various, FES, State Capital of 

Munich: “Low heat requirements”, 

dena model project: “Low Energy House 

Conversion”, EU funding: snowcluster 

Completion 


December 2011 (provisional) 


June 2013 (provisional) 


85


Krünerstrasse 74 - 88 

Here, the transformation is so close, you 

can touch it. GWG München is replacing 

the existing buildings on the eastern 

side of the Garmischer Strasse, which 

were originally built in the 1950s and no 

longer satisfy present-day expectations 

of amenities, comfort, layout and ecology, 

with new buildings. As the Committee 

for Urban Planning and Building 

Regulations ruled in 2003, “the condition 

of the current buildings and their 

inadequate layouts do not justify modernisation 

as an option for urban renovation.” 

However, the splendid trees 

and copses around the 42,000-squaremetre 

site will remain. They will form a 

green strip, known as the village green. 

While the Mittlere Ring will be enclosed, 

a modern neighbourhood will arise, 

which will preserve the benefits of the 

existing structure and its high proportion 

of green spaces, and even add to it. 

86 

Original building 

View from the west (top) and east (bottom) 

�� 

��

Aerial photograph of the 

existing buildings 

(with Garmischer Strasse 

to the left and Krünerstrasse 

below) 

Perspective drawing of the buildings 

“It made sense from the start to replace 

the current row structure using the 

existing buildings spaces”, wrote the 

Zurmöhle Architects (zam) from Munich. 

“Despite the considerable restrictions 

resulting from the Mittlerer Ring, there 

are a number of valuable intermediate 

spaces in the second row towards the 

east, characterised by an alternation 

of tended lawns and voluminous, spaceforming 

trees.” Thus, the planner 

suggested creating a continuous green 

strip, passing through the middle of the 

new residential area. And that is exactly 

what is going to happen. 

As a foundation for GWG München’s 

activities, both an urban development 

framework plan and a green space plan 

were devised in 2002/2003, followed in 

2004 by the first planning workshop. 

The great potential that this area possesses 

quickly became apparent. It also 

quickly became clear that the existing 

three-storey buildings would have to be 

replaced by four-storey ones with a 

greater building: both to create more 

floor space, and to preserve the valuable 

natural monuments, i.e. the trees. The 

construction of underground garages 

would compensate for the shortage of 

parking spaces. 

It will not be long before closed rows of 

houses will screen the estate from the 

Mittlerer Ring, with a green paradise at 

its centre, and a whole series of “tree 

houses”, as the architects call them – 

free-standing, fabric-covered balcony 

towers, erected in front of the buildings, 

where residents can enjoy being outside, 

under the cover of the old trees. 

87

With glass-fibre cables, a satellite terminal, 

underfloor heating and ceramic 

flooring: the amenities are of an excellent 

quality. It is all made possible thanks 

to the intelligent, cost-saving construction, 

which reduces the number of 

building components and employs standardised 

elements. 

Thanks to the high-insulation, monolithic 

construction, the connection to the 

City of Munich’s district heating network, 

and the thermal solar power panels 

on the roof, the relatively low flow 

temperature of 35° required by the underfloor 

heating can be easily achieved. 

The main advantages of the new estate 

can already be appreciated today: the 

green heartland in Sendling-Westpark 

will be preserved, and a housing complex 

will emerge that combines contemporary 

lifestyle with a high quality of 

living. 

88 


Balcony design studies 

Krünerstrasse 


Plan of open spaces for the area to the 

east of the Garmischer Strasse 

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Address 

Krüner Strasse 74 - 88 

Architecture 

Franke Rössel Rieger Architects 

Munich 


Teutsch-Ritz-Rebmann 

Landscape Architects, Munich 


Taub Architects 

Munich 

Apartments 


Areas 

Krünerstrasse 


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Site area �6,964 

m² 

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Average apartment size � 66 m² 

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Total 14,021,000.00 c 

Funding 

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Completion 

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September 2012 (provisional) 

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Competition 

Garmischer Straße 

For some, living alongside the Mittlerer 

Ring road has been a reality for over a 

generation. At last, the tunnel below 

the Garmischer Strasse from the Luise- 

Kiesselbach-Platz (at the end of the motorway 

from Garmisch-Partenkirchen) to 

the IGA Bridge/ Westpark presents a 

unique opportunity to improve the existing 

housing. The starting point was the 

city council resolution entitled “Plan of 

Action for the Mittlerer Ring 2001- 

2005”, which required a system made 

up of “noise protection modules.” 

One of the main aims is to develop a 

housing row between the Krünerstrasse 

and the Hinterbärenbadstrasse, from 

which the apartments look out towards 

the sunny south without being exposed 

to the noise of traffic. Four teams of 

architects devised proposals: Felix & 

Jonas Architects from Munich, together 

Design by the Felix and Jonas bureau 

Overview model showing the Garmischer 

Strasse (vertical), “gap filling“ 

(left), and the housing terrace (right) 

90 

Views, section, and floor plans 

Western section – Noise protection: gap filling (top) 

Eastern section – housing terrace building (bottom) 

The competition 

area along the 

Garmischer Strasse




with the landscape architects Mahl- 

Gebhard, the Munich architects 

Friedrich Poerschke Zwink together with 

landscape architect Peter Wich, architects 

Müller und Naegelin from Basle 

together with the Vogt landscape architects 

from Zurich, and Regina Schineis 

architects from Augsburg, with Munich 

landscape architect Regine Keller. 

The demands were high. The objective 

was to raise the quality of life on the 

Mittlerer Ring by a decisive degree while 

at the same time devising a catalogue of 

measures for conveying building owners 

the “technical possibilities available for 

improving living quality in similar cases.” 

Together with the planning department, 

GWG München tendered an expert 

report, which presented concrete recommendations 

in April 2005. 

Of the four project teams, two presented 

“feasible” solutions: the Müller 

und Naegelin bureau with Vogt landscape 

architects and the Felix and Jonas 

bureau with the landscape architects 

Mahl-Gebhard. 

What both teams have in common is 

that they protect the western building, 

standing sideways to the ring, by means 

of delicate building designs oriented in a 

north-south direction, thus creating a 

continuously green urban space in the 

middle of Munich. 

91

1 

51 

93 

100 

101 

104 

105 

106 

108 

112 

116 

120 

124 

Contents 




Munich: Au 

Life in the Au 

From hostels to a workers’ neighbourhood to an urban oasis 


Building for Munich: The Au renovation area 

Energy and the environment 

Site plan 


Lilienstrasse 16, 18 

“Mariahilfplatz“ 

Mariahilfplatz 19-31, Mariahilfstrasse 24, 

Schweigerstrasse 16 

“Auer Mühlbach“ 

Lilienstrasse 55 - 67 

Franz-Prüller-Strasse 4 - 10 

“Am Paulanerplatz“ 

Paulanerplatz 1a - 10 

Franz-Prüller-Strasse 1 -5 


Schweigerstrasse 15, 17 

Zeppelinstrasse 29 - 33 

“Lilienstrasse North“ 


93

Life in the Au 

The Viktualientmarkt is just a short walk away; Gasteig and 

Nockherberg are right on the doorstep; and green spaces 

abound. When you take a walk through the Au, along the Isar, 

with children playing on the green fields and sunlight glistening 

through the canopy of chestnut trees, you can hardly believe 

that you are in the middle of a city. Even though you are 

just next door to the Ludwigsbrücke, the Deutsches Museum 

and the Müller’sches Volksbad, you can feel how relaxing it 

can be to live in Munich. 

It was not always like this. The historic Au used to lie outside 

the city walls, and although it was the flood plain of the Isar, 

which could burst its banks at any time, it was still densely 

populated. Its residents were workers, day labourers, all those 

who were attracted to Munich but were not actually citizens 

of the city. The neighbourhood retained its image as a paupers’ 

quarter right through the twentieth century, although 

this image did finally start to fade during the last few decades. 

When people enthuse about the Au these days, what they 

are thinking about is the Nockherberg, the Auer Dult and its 

location near the centre of the city. The latter has given rise to 

new desires. The character of the Au is now being changed by 

luxury renovations. Small businesses are moving further afield 

while loft apartments are appearing in renovated backyards. 

Yet the composition of Munich's right heartland – which is 

situated directly beneath the steep hillside with its beech and 

chestnut trees - is just right. And this is thanks to GWG 

München. 

The Au is open-minded. A high-class restaurant might open 

up alongside bars and long-established public houses. The 

Lilienstrasse is bustling, whilst quiet rules in the adjacent 

street, in the green courtyards and in the parks of the Auer 

Mühlbach. As King Ludwig I wrote in his poem: 

One does not search for Munich's art exhibition in / the halls / 

For the exhibition itself; simply look at Munich. 

Art and the art of living are so inextricably linked in the Au 

that they are not reflected in great architecture, but instead 

in the way that people live together. It is the mixture that is 

decisive. Affordable housing for everybody, a basic condition 

for all cities, is the foundation. Everything else will take care 

of itself, so close to the river. 

100

From hostels to a workers’ neighbourhood 

to an urban oasis 

Those searching for stories of Munich's 

past should look no further than places 

like Schwabing and Bogenhausen, or 

Sendling and Nymphenburg. But the Au, 

located in the heart of the Bavarian state 

capital, is in many ways the opposite of 

the gleaming city propagated by the 

likes of Thomas Mann: the flood plain of 

the Isar, tradesmen’s quarter and working 

class district. It may have something 

to do with the poverty of the neighbourhood 

that Lena Christ masterfully yet 

harrowingly described in her “Rumpelhanni”. 

Or it may be because the Au 

has always lived with change, with mass 

migration. Its history embodies the 

constant rise of a quarter from a hostel 

district to a working class neighbourhood 

to an oasis in the middle of the 

city. 

In his “History of the City of Munich”, 

published in 1796, Joseph Burgholzer 

described the location on the river that 

was regularly plagued with floods as a 

bustling place: “in that very place, 

houses are built or raised every year.” 

The Au was not suitable for agriculture 

and was therefore a place for the working 

population even before industrialisation. 

As Burgholzer wrote, “in the 

evenings, on the way home, it is as if the 

whole Au had been in the city.” The 

bourgeois Munich was on the other side 

of the Isar. But here, on the right bank 

of the river, lived millers and fishermen, 

and all the day labourers, messenger 

boys and workers without whom the 

“city” would not have been able to 

function. The Au was always the 

“other” Munich, a satellite whose independence 

took a whole generation to 

achieve. It was bestowed city rights in 

1818 while another 36 years later it 

finally became a part of Munich itself. 

In the mid-eighteenth century, the already 

heavily populated Au began to 

grow in density, particularly around the 

Lilienstrasse, the old country road leading 

to Tölz, and the Isar bridge. The very 

low-price accommodation comprised a 

single house shared by several tenants, a 

Site map “The Au 1858” (top) 

Overview map of Munich from 

1760 (bottom) 

101

situation that continued into the nineteenth 

century. These so-called hostels, 

with their own entrance steps, occasionally 

consisted of an entire storey, but 

could also only comprise a single room. 

In 1911, Rosa Kempf described the poor 

housing in her study “The Life of the 

Young Factory Girl in Munich” as “low, 

stifling, cramped and damp and full of 

people.” The sociologist painted a harrowing 

picture of life among the lower 

classes. One family had 19 children, the 

father had consumption, the children 

were anaemic and the wife was completely 

exhausted and sapped of en- 

Top: Zeppelinstrasse (1905) 

Bottom: Franz-Prüller-Strasse 11 (1905) 

ergy.” A modern-day visitor to the lively 

Auer Dult today might have a drink at 

the Nockherberg or enjoy a walk along 

the Isar, but they would be hard-pressed 

to imagine the conditions under which 

people used to live here. And yet the 

blunt descriptions of misery written by 

Karl Valentin, born in the Au in 1882 as 

Valentin Fey, were also regarded as scandalous. 

Tiny apartments and untenable hygienic 

conditions are long since a thing of the 

past. The Au is becoming a location of 

choice for higher wage earners, as they 

move in droves into the centre of the 

city, changing as they do the old mixture 

of the neighbourhood. The typical blend 

102 

From top to bottom: Franz-Prüller-Strasse 

(1905), Lilienstrasse (1905), Mariahilfplatz 

View of the inner city (1808)

of small businesses and residences is 

fading away. Old workshops are being 

converted into luxury loft apartments, 

while dirt, dust and labour are disappearing 

from the Au, as more and more 

tradespeople move elsewhere. But one 

thing has remained constant: the attraction 

of the Paulaner monks’ "Starkbieranstich” 

Strong Beer Festival on the 

Nockherberg above the ice-age slope. 

However, over the last couple of 

decades, the downside of a prosperous 

city like Munich has started to become 

apparent. Luxury renovations and gentrification 

have begun impacting on the 

neighbourhood beyond the Deutsches 

Museum. Badly hit during the Second 

World War, little more than 20% of the 

housing in the Au is older than 100 

years. The primary aim of the buildings 

erected just after the war was to create 

as much housing as possible, as quickly 

and cheaply as possible. Cramped apartments 

with oil stoves in the rooms were 

the rule rather than the exception. The 

main requirement: For people to have a 

roof over their heads. 

But expectations rise. What may have 

been tolerable yesterday is no longer accepted 

today. It is now virtually impossible 

to rent out apartments with neither 

central heating nor a bathroom. As the 

owner of a large number of properties, 

GWG München reacted to this situation 

and gradually improved its properties. 

Today, the results of these careful modernisation 

measures are a wonder to 

behold: green oases, residential ensembles 

whose quiet courtyards and old 

trees are the perfect place to enjoy the 

day as it draws to a close. The old and 

the new infuse each other, not only 

because GWG München made every 

effort it could to preserve the longevolved 

social structure. 

The Au is located to the right of the Isar, stretching from the 

Ludwigsbrücke bridge in the north to the Wittelsbacherbrücke 

bridge in the south. Below the slope of the Isar’s high bank is 

the Lower Au (Untere Au), while the Upper Au (Obere Au) lies 

above the slope. 

The Au is bordered to the north by the Rosenheimer Strasse, 

Hochstrasse, Rablstrasse und Balanstrasse. It is adjoined here 

by the neighbourhood of Haidhausen, which is part of the 

same district. 

The railway lines to the east form the border to Obergiesing, 

and the Humboldstrasse in the south separates the Au from 

Untergiesing. 


The following data refers to District 5, Au-Haidhausen, in its 

entirety, and is not restricted to the Au neighbourhood (correct 

as of 2008, data given without guarantee): 

Area 

Au-Haidhausen has an area of 422 hectares. 

Population 

– There are 55,288 people living in District 5. 

– The proportion of senior citizens over the age of 65 is 

approx. 14%. 

– The proportion of children and young people up to the age 

of 18 is 10%. 

103

Building for Munich: 

The Au renovation area 

Energy and the environment 

The limits of the cheap post-war buildings are clear to see. 

Back then, the aim was to quickly plug the holes ripped into 

the fabric of the streets by the war by providing as many 

people as possible with a roof over their heads; nowadays the 

primary aim is to make the housing stock fit for the energy 

challenges of the 21st century. The greatest savings potential – 

but also the greatest challenges – are to be had by structural 

engineers, architects and planners. 

The two key conditions to be met by all renovation measures 

conducted in the Au are contemporary comfort and low 

energy consumption. In a great many projects conducted by 

GWG München, it is quite clear that apartments and layouts 

no longer conform with present-day standards. It is quite common 

for apartment sizes in modernised buildings to be double 

what they were before. While activities in the 1970s and 80s 

centred around adding central heating and bathrooms, the 

main emphasis is now on ensuring the buildings’ energy 

efficiency. District heating connections and additional solar 

panels on the roofs serve to reduce the “auxiliary costs” while 

safeguarding GWG München’s previous investments in the 

buildings. At the same time, expectations of the aesthetic results 

of the renovation have also risen. Modern windows and 

composite thermal insulation are incorporated in the façades 

in such a way that the buildings retain their character, while 

being equipped to face the future with its rising energy prices. 

The EnEV energy saving regulations have been frequently revised 

and intensified in recent years, rooting in law what experts 

have been demanding for a considerable time: we all have to 

learn to make efficient use of our fossil fuel resources. This is 

especially important when it comes to building houses, where 

heating amounts to one third of all energy expenses. A new 

building without composite thermal insulation in the façades 

or insulated roofs and cellar ceilings would be unthinkable 

today. These measures alone result in savings of almost 50%. 

Implementing further reductions in secondary costs is becoming 

an increasingly important theme for building owners 

and tenants alike. Rainer Grießhammer, author of the “Öko- 

Knigge” ecological guide, gives a few figures. Standby equipment 

in a two-person household accounts for nearly 400kWh 

alone, and is responsible for emitting 200 kilograms of CO 2 

into the atmosphere. Replacing a class A refrigerator with an 

A++ model will result in a saving of several hundred euros 

over the appliance’s lifetime. 

Anyone who invests in housing renovation is not just helping 

the environment but is also doing something to conserve the 

property. But what is behind sustainable building techniques? 

The German Society for Sustainable Building (DGNB) places 

the emphasis on new materials and new standards. Its most 

potent argument is that of cost. Sustainable building only adds 

about 5% to the cost of a building, as its president, Werner 

104 

Sobek explains. On the other hand, “reductions of up to 20% 

in heating, refrigeration and maintenance costs are not impossible.” 

In the long term, this corresponds to the building’s 

costs alone. Many experts are talking of a turning point in 

construction. They want to create houses that no longer 

consume energy but actually produce it. However, this is still 

some way off. Right now, the aim is to achieve what can be 

done, to realise the potential that the existing buildings offer 

and to gradually raise their standard to that of new buildings. 

Renovation and ecological improvement spur on transformation, 

bringing buildings closer to the zero-energy emission 

threshold, thanks to the incorporation of cogeneration units in 

the cellars and solar panels on the roofs. Technical advances 

are readily visible from the composite thermal insulation systems: 

from thick façade constructions that the building wears 

like a pullover, to slim vacuum isolation panels (VIP). 

For GWG München, another important aspect is its “social 

and economic responsibility”. Its current modernisations 

undercut the requirements of the energy saving regulations by 

nearly one third. Thanks to FES funding (Munich Funding for 

Saving Energy), renovations of existing buildings achieve the 

standard of a KfW Efficiency House 70. GWG’s investments in 

modern condensing gas boilers and heat insulation alone 

saves 20,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year from affecting 

the world’s climate. And it doesn’t stop there: at the northern 

end of the Lilienstrasse, a model project for a CO 2-neutral 

energy supply is being devised in cooperation with the Fraunhofer 

Institute for Structural Physics, which, it is hoped, will 

point the way towards the future. 

In concrete terms, this means that the complex of 149 apartments, 

originally built in 1957, is undergoing modernisation to 

the extent that in the overall balance, its energy consumption 

will be at least 50% below the level for new buildings. Renewable 

energy is employed for heating and hot drinking water. 

The most modern materials available are being used, with an 

energy envelope comprising composite thermal insulation 

made of resol foam and extensive vacuum insulation, plus 

triple heat insulation glazing and high efficiency window 

frames. Energy is supplied by a heat pump and thermal collectors 

installed on the roofs. A condensing gas boiler also 

comes into operation to offset peak loads. 

With such sophisticated technology, the attitude of the 

tenants plays a central role. Before they move in, they are 

given detailed information on how best to “operate” their 

new apartment. Over a period of two years, heat energy 

consumption and user behaviour are measured and evaluated 

to provide an objective assessment of the model project’s 

success and basis for drawing conclusions regarding future 

constructions.

The Au renovation project 


1 Lilienstrasse Page 106 

2 “Mariahilfplatz“ Page 108 

3 “Auer Mühlbach“ Page 112 

4 “Am Paulanerplatz“ Page 116 

5 Lilien-/Schweiger-/Zeppelinstrasse Page 120 

6 “Lilienstrasse North“ Page 124 

Zeppelinstrasse 

Mariahilfstrasse 

2 


2 

5 

Schweigerstrasse 

Mariahilfplatz 

Lilienstrasse 

3 

Franz-Prüller-Strasse 

1 

Lilienstrasse 

6 

Paulanerplatz 

4 

Auer Mühlbach 

105

Modernisation 

Lilienstrasse 


The two buildings erected in the year 

1952 are not particularly conspicuous, 

with their 36 very small apartments. 

And yet, when you take a closer look, 

you see the finely proportioned detail of 

the perforated façades, the almost 

square windows, and the attractive door 

frames. 

By 1997, the complex was ready for 

modernisation. The single-room apartments 

with no bath or central heating 

facilities were transformed into modern 

apartment rows, comprising twelve 

one-room and twelve three-room apartments. 

As part of the general renovation, 

the Munich architect Stefan 

Holzfurtner opened up the building to 

the west, towards the courtyard. He 

put large French windows into every 

apartment, to ensure that they enjoyed 

copious amounts of sunlight. 

As much of the original building structure 

as possible was preserved on the 

inside, and a minimum of intrusion 

employed to achieve maximum space 

and atmosphere. Even the façade appears 

the same as it was before. The old 

casement windows have been retained 

and the colour is still reminiscent of the 

1950s. 

For its careful modernisation programme, 

the Supreme Building 

Authority of the Bavarian State Ministry 

of the Interior awarded the project the 

highly desirable Bavarian Housing Prize, 

in 1997. Two years later, it also received 

the German Builder-Owner Prize. 

106 

N 

View of the rear side before modernisation (top) 

View from the road after modernisation (bottom) 

Floor plan before (top) and after modernisation 

(bottom)

Views of the inside 

Presentation of the Bavarian Housing Prize in 1997 

with Stefan Holzfurtner, Alfred Sauter, Bernd Krönert 

(former GWG general manager), Eduard Knöpfle 

(from left to right) 

Isar 


Address 


Architecture 

Holzfurtner and Bahner Architects 

Munich 


Eduard Knöpfle, GWG München 


Dipl.-Ing. Stefan Holzfurtner Architect 

Munich 

Apartments 


Areas 



Site area 538 m² 



Total 1,440,000.00 c 

Funding 


Award 

Bavarian Housing Prize 1997, awarded 

by the Supreme Building Authority 

of the Bavarian State Ministry of the 

Interior, German Builder-Owner Prize 

1999 

Completion 

1997 

Lilienstrasse 

107

Modernisation 

“Mariahilfplatz“ 

Mariahilfplatz 19 - 31, 

Mariahilfstrasse 24, 


Those who have only ever seen Mariahilfplatz 

looking towards the Auer Dult 

are amazed by the large, peaceful area 

around the brick church. With the 

crunch of gravel audible as you walk, 

your gaze is drawn towards to the slim 

1950s buildings that surround the 

square. The buildings appear relaxed 

and unaffected. The rear-facing buildings 

of the complex reach out into the 

green space like fingers. Beneath the old 

trees there is a real sense of calm – in 

the heart of Munich. 

There are always two aspects characterising 

the ever more complex modernisation 

and renovation activities performed 

by GWG München: the small apartments 

have to be enlarged and the 

partly rotten building structure has to 

be brought in line with modern energy 

requirements. Between June 1997 and 

May 2000, the Wolfgang Stocker architects 

bureau from Munich conducted 

the comprehensive modernisation of 

the residential complex constructed in 

1952 - 1959. This resulted in 131 privately 

financed residential units plus a 

further 22 subsidised apartments in 

the newly converted attics. “The highquality 

modernisation of the buildings is 

one of our most important construction 

tasks,” explains the architect, calling for 

people to take a holistic view of the 

“use of existing building structures” – 

from energy efficiency to reconcilable 

urban concentration. 

The “Second programme of sustainable 

improvement of GWG München rental 

apartments by modernisation, major 

repair and attic conversion,” or GMP for 

short, initiated in 1992, bore fruit in the 

estate at the Mariahilfplatz. The addition 

of balconies meant that the apartments 

could now look out to the green inner 

city areas, and coal water boilers and 

oil heaters were replaced with central 

heating. Added to this was the composite 

thermal insulation in the façades and 

the modern noise insulation between 

the newly divided and enlarged apartments. 

108 

Mariahilfplatz 23 - 31 

The garden side before (top) and after 

modernisation (bottom) 

Example layout (section) House No. 24, 

first floor, after modernisation


View from the road after modernisation 

Mariahilfplatz 28: entrance area 

Mariahilfstrasse: façade detail 

109

Between 1996 and 1997, the Wolfgang 

Stocker architects bureau also modernised 

the building at Schweigerstrasse 16 

(see next page). Since four of the twelve 

residents absolutely refused to move 

out, new doors and flooring were built 

room for room, wherever necessary. The 

work had to be conducted “around” 

the tenants, as related later by Wolfgang 

Stocker. But the result is that the 

estate now has a contemporary living 

standard, with self-contained central 

heating, new balconies, modern windows 

and complete thermal insulation in 

the façade. An additional two apartments 

were created in the attic space. 

110 


Garden side (top) and street side 

(bottom)


View from the garden side before (top) and 

after modernisation (centre) 

View from the road (bottom) 

Mariahilfstrasse 

Address 

Mariahilfplatz 19 - 31, 

Mariahilfstrasse 24 and 


Schweigerstr. 

Mariahilfplatz 

Architecture 

ABS 

Dipl.-Ing. Wolfgang Stocker 

Architect and Urban Planner, Munich 


Florian Hertlein and Stefan Kalkhoff 

Landscape architects, Munich 

Apartments 

Mariahilfplatz/Mariahilfstrasse 



1 public house 



1 business 

Areas 







Total living area 605 m² 

Floor area 668 m² 

Site area 554 m² 




Total 10,465,000.00 c 


Total 663,000.00 c 

Funding 


GMP for privately financed apartments 

Completion 

June 1997 (Schweigerstrasse) and 

May 2000 

111

Modernisation 

“Auer Mühlbach“ 


Franz-Prüller-Strasse 4 - 10 

A remarkable inner city housing transformation 

can be seen at Auer Mühl - 

bach: 105 apartments enclose a 

spacious, green courtyard with a playground, 

park benches and old trees. 

The complex is light and breezy and 

yet protective, as if modernisation and 

concentration were not something new 

but had always been there. 

Architect Wolfgang Stocker integrated 

the ensemble into the organic cityscape 

using warm, earthy hues. He was fully 

aware that the concept of urban construction 

has changed completely since 

the 1950s. The “mellowed, green city” 

from those days now too easily resembles 

a marginal zone, a periphery. But 

he took the original idea that until now 

had appeared out of place and provincial, 

an impression that was strengthened 

by the copious green spaces along 

the Auer Mühlbach and the Isarhoch - 

ufers, gave it new space, and developed 

it. 

112 

View from the road and courtyard before 

modernisation (top), view from the road 

after modernisation (bottom)

Layout before (top) and 

after modernisation (centre) 

Attic space after modernisation 

He even transformed dark, shadowy 

courtyards into sunny play areas for 

small children and places where local 

residents would quite naturally choose 

to meet. 

Balconies were installed, in themselves 

a special construction, to connect the 

residential units with the courtyard. A 

cursory look across the ensemble shows 

how much energy the architect and 

GWG München have invested in the 

sustainable modernisation. The former 

105 small and very small apartments 

have been converted into 84 larger and 

higher quality residences. An additional 

21 apartments were created by converting 

the attics. Today, the estate has been 

revitalised by the mixture of one and 

two-room apartments and occasional 

family-sized apartments. 

The jury was unanimous. “The owner of 

the building has shown in an exemplary 

manner how buildings from the 1950s 

can be improved by simple means.” The 

project won the “Honorary prize for 

quality residential building, housing for 

senior citizens and exemplary renovation“, 

awarded by the State Capital of 

Munich in 2005. This was followed two 

years later by the “German Builder- 

Owner Prize“. 

113

114 

View of the Franz-Prüller-Strasse showing 

the passageway into the GWG ensemble 

Parliamentary state secretary, Karin Roth (fourth from right) 

and GdW president Lutz Freitag (right) presenting the German 

Builder-Owner Prize 2007 to the GWG delegation, headed by 

the two general managers, Dietmar Bock and Hans-Otto Kraus

Plan of open spaces: Auer Mühlbach 

N 

Address 


Franz-Prüller-Strasse 4 -10 

Architecture 

ABS 




Luz Landscape Architects 

Munich 

Apartments 



1 public housee 

Areas 






Total 7,772,000.00 c 

Funding 


GMP for privately financed apartments 

Awards 



exemplary renovation 2005 

German Builder-Owner Prize 20077 

Completion 

December 2003 

115

Modernisation 

“Am Paulanerplatz“ 


Franz-Prüller-Str. 1 -5 

The “Am Paulanerplatz” modernisation 

project has breathed new life into this 

organic ensemble from the mid-1950s. 

A new storey has been added and the 

complex as a whole brought in line with 

modern standards, both in terms of 

energy efficiency and aesthetics. 

Once again, the Munich architect Wolfgang 

Stocker turned small apartments 

with captive rooms into 109 modern 

and bright apartments. He redesigned 

the staircases and created a contemporary 

living space with central heating, 

bathrooms, and attached balconies. The 

full thermal insulation on all façades and 

the new windows show how to create 

good energy levels from old building 

structures. 

The extensive improvement measures 

in the outdoor areas give a clue to the 

extent of the modernisation project. The 

surfaces have been unsealed to allow 

rainwater to be absorbed and re-enter 

the groundwater. 

116 

Balcony detail at the Paulanerplatz 

Floor plant of apartment before (left) 

and after modernisation (right)

View of Auer Mühlbach before (top) and 

after modernisation (bottom) 

View from Franz-Prüller-Strasse 

117

New plants create a pleasant distance 

between the (semi-)public pathways 

and the apartments. Shrubs and bushes 

guarantee an interplay of light and shadow 

on the façades instead of constant 

shade. A single central refuse collection 

point and caretaker’s office replace the 

former multiple constructions. Thanks to 

the copious green spaces and nearby 

play areas for small children, the complex 

on the Paulanerplatz offers familystyle 

living right in the city. It combines 

a reasonable concentration of housing 

with new standards, resulting in a considerable 

improvement to the standard of 

the complex. 

118 

Paulanerplatz before (top left) and 

after modernisation (top right), 

Franz-Prüller-Strasse 1-5 (centre), 

Floor plan section (bottom)

Paulanerplatz 8 and 9, eastern view 

N 


Paulanerplatz 


Paulanerplatz 

Address 


Franz-Prüller-Str. 1 -5 

Architecture 

ABS 




Teutsch-Ritz-Rebmann 


Apartments 


1 privately financed apartment 

Areas 






Total 8,101,000.00 c 

Funding 


Annual heating requirements 

New storey 35,7 kWh/m²a 

Original buildings 

plus new storey 57,5 kWh/m²a 

Completion 

November 2007 

119

Modernisation 

Lilien-/Schweiger-/ 





The dragon raises its head, children 

somersault in the tidy gardens with 

meandering pathways: This isn’t a courtyard, 

it is an oasis. The St. Mary’s Help of 

Christians Church is so close you could 

touch it and yet the noise and the traffic 

appear to have all but vanished. The 

new ensemble, situated along Schweigerstrasse 

between Zeppelinstrasse and 

Lilienstrasse, not only enjoys exemplary 

energy levels and universal access but 

it also manages something that has 

become all too rare: a place of comfort, 

a green heart for the estate. 

120 

View from the Mariahilfplatz towards the corner 

of Schweigerstrasse and Lilienstrasse 

before (top) and after modernisation (centre), 

Playground in the courtyard (bottom)

Example floor plan: second floor showing 

a variety of apartment types 

Courtyard-side entrance to the Lilienstrasse 76 

If you look a little more closely as you 

walk through the streets of Munich, you 

will notice the signs of the times. The 

city is changing, adding to and filling in 

spaces. Some changes are immediately 

obvious while with others, you have to 

look twice to notice them. For example, 

these buildings, originally built in the 

1950s, with 70 basic apartments and 

connected by a row of shops, have been 

transformed into a closed residential 

complex. 

In 2006, comprehensive modernisation 

work began on the buildings: New 

balconies, full thermal insulation and 

lifts were just some of the activities 

performed to raise the quality of the 

existing buildings to modern standards. 

Rather than simply demolish the buildings 

and replace them with new ones, 

the building owner and architect chose 

to expose the shells, remove the old 

gable roofs, strengthen the foundations, 

and finally, to carefully concentrate the 

ensemble and bring it back to life. 

121

Today, two four-storey extensions with 

an integrated row of shops and a child 

day-care centre, tobacco shop and 

house management office screen the 

green courtyard from the heavy traffic 

on the Schweigerstrasse. An additional 

storey was added to the original buildings 

and contemporary floor plans 

drawn up, resulting in a mixture of 

71 privately financed and subsidised 

apartments, including six that are suitable 

for disabled persons, in the square 

enclosed by the Zeppelinstrasse, 

Schweiger Strasse and Lilienstrasse. 

The conversion activities made sparing 

use of resources and the additional 

storeys and extensions made the best 

use of available space, to comply with 

all the requirements of the energy 

saving regulations. The newly created 

ensemble was connected to the municipal 

district heating network, and composite 

thermal insulation incorporated in 

the façade. The careful renovation was 

awarded the “Honorary prize for quality 

residential building, housing for senior 

citizens and exemplary renovation” for 

2010 by the State Capital of Munich, 

as an example of how social, ecological 

and economic factors can be brought 

into balance to create a new quality of 

living in the city of Munich. 

122 

Plan of open spaces showing 

public access paths 

N 

N

Sunny green courtyards with a variety of 

recreation and playing areas 

Address 




Architecture 

Michael Morschek Architects 

Munich 


Andreas Kübler + Partner 



Peter Zeitler Engineers GmbH 

Munich 

Apartments 



4 business units 

Areas 





Commercial floor space 583 m² 


Total 10,968,000.00 c 

Funding 

KomPro A 

Annual heating requirements 

Calculated pursuant to 

the EnEV 58,4 kWh/(m²a) 

Award 



exemplary renovation 2010 awarded by 


Completion 

July 2009 

123

Modernisation 

“Lilienstrasse North“ 


Everyone is talking about the climate, 

but what is the answer to the challenges 

of the future? Maybe it is to take an 

existing residential block, extend it by 

adding a new building, and renovate it 

to produce a CO 2-neutral residential 

complex. In this way, the Lilienstrasse 

North really does look towards the 

future. The apartments, originally built 

in 1957, have been converted by Munich 

architect Wolfgang Stocker in such 

a way that their primary energy requirements 

are at least 50 % lower than the 

value for new buildings. A four-storey, 

solid-wood construction at Paulanerplatz, 

the so-called “South Building”, 

will round off the complex to the south 

and close the quarter into a unit. 

Together with the Fraunhofer Institute 

for Structural Physics and the Ebert Engineers’ 

Competence Centre Sustainable 

Building, GWG München is using this 

outstanding project to investigate what 

investment is necessary and what longterm 

consequences of such complex 

modernisation works can be expected. 

124 

View from the road before 

modernisation 

View to the north before modernisation 

and a 3D draft of the building on the 

“Lilienstrasse North” (centre and bottom)

N 

Lilienstrasse 

Paulanerplatz 

Locations of the various energy generation systems: 

Compression heat pump (groundwater), condensing 

gas boiler, thermal collectors, groundwater conveyor and 

injection wells and photovoltaic elements 

View from the courtyard side 

The addition of storeys to all buildings 

using wood as the construction material 

not only creates space for new, contemporary 

floor plans, but also contributes 

to the building’s thermal insulation. An 

innovative composite thermal insulation 

system comprising resol foam and 

vacuum insulation is integrated into the 

façades themselves. 

The central heating plant exploits 

geothermal heat from the groundwater 

close to the surface. Then there are the 

thermal collectors on the roofs and the 

gas condensing boiler which comes into 

play at peak periods. 

Photovoltaic elements ideally feed as 

much energy into the public grid as is 

fed from the outside to run the system, 

in the form of gas for the gas-operated 

compression heat pump or electricity 

for the plant pumps. The more these 

quantities balance each other out, the 

more even the CO 2 balance is. 

For GWG München, the Lilienstrasse 

North model project represents a way 

of finding “new ways of investigating 

existing buildings” and taking “a step 

towards the renovation market of the 

future” together with the Fraunhofer 

Institute and Ebert Engineers. Architect 

Wolfgang Stocker sees this measure 

as the key to a sustainable future for 

construction. This project goes far 

beyond using new types of full thermal 

insulation and other innovative materials, 

by showing how a future may look 

that does not think in terms of individual 

building activities but in complex 

systems. 

125

The behaviour of the future residents 

will have a decisive effect on the success 

of this sophisticated project. They will 

determine how efficiently the building 

will function. It won’t be enough to 

know that the windows of the naturally 

ventilated apartments have electrical 

contacts so that the heating is switched 

off automatically when they are open. 

Residents will be given all the information 

they need for living in this technical 

house system, enabling them to actively 

influence its success through their behaviour. 

In return, researchers will collect 

and analyse data over a period of two 

years, to assess the high demands of the 

building owner and determine whether 

they can be met through everyday use. 

This could provide a valuable lesson, and 

one that will affect areas far beyond 

Munich's borders. Responsibility for its 

success does not lie in the hands of the 

technology; instead we must learn to do 

our share by playing an active role in 

achieving a sustainable future - each 

and every day. 

“This all requires a high level of investment,” 

says GWG general manager 

Hans-Otto Kraus. “Which is why this 

project could only be realised with 

federal research funding, to the tune of 

2.7m euros. The rest of the high investment 

will be covered by the dividend 

which the State Capital of Munich has 

waived in its role as shareholder. This 

will enable GWG München to conduct 

additional special activities in the field of 

residential building.” 

126 

Existing garages will be demolished and 

replaced by the South Building 

Lilienstraße 43 - 49, view from the east

�� 

Lilienstrasse 41 and 43 

View of the South Building from the road (top) 

Floor plan for first storey showing transition to 

the South Building (bottom) 

N 

41 

39 

Paulanerplatz 

Lilienstrasse 

Address 

Lilienstrasse 25 -49 

Architecture 

ABS 




Luz Landscape Architects 

Munich 

Apartments 



Areas 

Total living area 9,332 m 2 

Floor area 13,470 m 2 

Site area 6,624 m 2 

Average apartment size 67 m 2 


Total 26,373,000.00 c 

Funding 

KomPro A 

2.7 mill c grant from the Federal 

Ministry of Economics and Technology 

for innovative components 

49 

Completion 


October 2011 (provisional) 


December 2011 (provisional) 

Lilienstrasse 41 and 43 

July 2012 (provisional) 


November 2013 (provisional) 

37 

35 

43 

33 

45 

31 

47 

29 

25 

27 

Auer Mühlbach 

127


– Living in our city 

“Cities are always made up of buildings and people,” writes 

architectural historian Spiro Kostof in his standard work, “The 

Face of the City”. This may sound banal but, in fact, it cannot 

be overstated. People put their stamp on their surroundings; 

they bring buildings, roads and squares to life. 

Munich is growing. Many people are attracted to the prosperous 

metropolis. And this situation is set to stay. Once quiet 

neighbourhoods will change their character and become 

fashionable suburbs, rented accommodation will be replaced 

by owner-occupied properties and luxury loft apartments will 

replace former industrial sites. But a city does not live from 

economic success alone; it is the mixture of the different social 

groups, types, nations and lifestyles that make up its character. 

GWG München is growing along with the changes in society. 

It has taken on the challenge of sustainably renovating its 

properties and will continue to provide affordable housing for 

the people of Munich. It will continue to modernise its buildings 

and build new ones. Because neighbourhoods need a 

good mixture of people from all backgrounds to keep them 

alive. 

128


Heimeranstrasse 31 

80339 München 

Tel: +49 (0)89 55114-0 

Fax: +49 (0)89 55114-209 

info@gwg-muenchen.de 

www.gwg-muenchen.de 

GWG Städtische Wohnungsgesellschaft 

München mbH 

Editorial team: 

Hans-Otto Kraus, Zanka Hallmann 


Photographs: 

Edward Beierle, Munich 

Ingrid Scheffler, Munich 

Helmut Kolmeder and Volk Verlag 

Munich 

(Echardinger Chapel, page 10) 

Andreas Bohnenstengel, Munich 

Otto Klär, Dachau 

Aerial photographs: 

Luftbildverlag Hans Bertram GmbH 

Memmingerberg 

Historical photographs: 

Municipal archive, Munich 

Historical city maps: 

Municipal department, surveying office, 

Munich 

GWG München archive 

Text: 

Dr. Oliver Herwig, Munich 

Translation: 

Kern AG, Munich 

Design: 

Büro Roman Lorenz 

Design of visual communication 

design alliance, Munich 

Print: 

Dietz Werbemedien, Munich 

© GWG München March 2011

New build - GWG München

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