2011 Green Tour: MÚNICH

The 2011 Green Tour visited the city of Munich, where environmentally sensitive plans and urban strategies have been applied for many years. The favourable economic setting, a culture based on hard work and true social and ecological aspirations have all favoured the creation of surprisingly efficient buildings and districts.

Once more, we learned – and the students were able to see with their own eyes – how relentless persistence, dreams and ideals can be pursued to make sustainable construction a reality.

As a summary, we attach a programme of the different visits and briefly explain the characteristics of each of the places visited:

Monday 11th

  1. TUM University: an explanation of the CLIMADESIGN Master’s Degree programme (which is equivalent to our own) by Elisabeth Endres, at the department of climatology and building facilities.
  2. AGROPOLIS: a presentation by Jörg Schröder, followed by a visit to the Messestadt Riem neighbourhood, which Integrates urban agriculture and green commerce.
  3. The Audi Terminal: a technical explanation of the branch building belonging to the car brand by the architects of the project: Felix Eisenbrand and Leticia Gil Muñoz, of the architecture company Allmann Sattler Wappner Architekten. This was followed by a trip to see the Herz Jesu church and a visit to the office where the architects work.

Tuesday 12th

  1. Building of low energy consumption housing and offices at Seitzstrasse 23: the amiable architect Martin Pool explained all of the technical details of the building and guided us on a visit to its interior so that we could discover the details of its energy-saving strategies and construction systems. We then visited his office where he explained how he works and his ideology in a more relaxed atmosphere.
  2. Architectural visit to the emblematic BMW Welt building.
  3. Visit to a residential building for two families in the Pullach neighbourhood designed by the architect and lecturer Thomas Herzog. We were guided and accompanied by Sonia Branchadell, representing the Herzog+Partner office, and we also received explanations from the amiable owner of one of the housing units.
  4. The Oskar Von Miller Forum Building: the representative of Herzog + Partner acted as our guide and explained the technical details of this sustainable building which serves as a residence for students.

 

Wednesday 13th

  1. ZAE Bayern, Bavarian Research Centre for applied energy, in Munich: a Division for Research into Functional Materials for Energy Technology. We witnessed some of the research work currently underway at the centre:

– the potential of the mineral Zeolite (an aluminium silicate that absorbs humidity and emits heat) for making clothes drying and dishwashing machines more efficient.

– the quality offered by a sealing material used with geothermal wells in the construction sector and for conserving the condition of underground water.

– the viability of a project for a buried hot water deposit for the “district heating” power station that supplies the Wagnis I and II ecological neighbourhoods.

– the Energy Efficiency of biomass boilers that work with pellets and the associated reduction in emissions.

  1. Building of the newspaper publisher Süddeutsche Zeitung: their representative, Martin Vielhauer, explained the energy strategies used in this building which has obtained “Gold” status in the LEED certification.

Thursday 14th

  1. Architectural explanation of the Brandhorst Museum by the guide Angela Maria Opel.
  2. Visit to a model for a Solar House designed by the Ikaros Team in what is currently the hotel area of Mietraching near Rosenheim (but which used to be an American military base). The Ikaros Team won second prize in the 2010 edition of the Solar Decathlon competition held in Madrid.

Friday 15th

12, 13 and 14. Visit to the Wagnis I, II and III ecological neighbourhoods with Christl Karnehm, who explained us the social function of the owners’ cooperatives and all of their social advantages, as well as the ideology behind the Wagnis neighbourhoods and their ecological awareness.

  1. BMW Museum: an architectural explanation of the building. 

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