Making Heimat. Germany, Arrival Country

Winter-proof lightweight halls are a part of the City of Munich’s crash programme to relieve the accommodation crisis. Almost 20 halls in various parts of the city are currently planned or have already been built, in addition to the use of barracks and other existing buildings in which a major part of the 20,000 refugees received in Munich are now living. The office of günther & schabert has prepared feasibility studies for the City of Munich for 17 locations, and at three locations it was commissioned with the work. The main concern of the architects was to avoid a rigid camp character. “We don’t want to build a good German camp.” says Jan Schabert, “Despite the time restriction of two years, we attach importance to the quality of space, urban planning and interiors.” 
Three snow load halls and 42 containers have been set up at the Max-Pröbstl-Straße site in the city’s Daglfing suburban district. Two “living and sleeping halls”, each with 116 beds, adjoin a “catering hall”; 15 sanitary containers with a doctor’s practice dock directly onto the halls; office and storage containers are arranged along the street front. The conversion of the halls for living purposes proved to be a feat of strength: the 17.5 by 51 metre system buildings are normally used as marquees without floors or windows suitable for living accommodation. The architects planned an insulated floor made of wooden planks with foam glass gravel fill, canopies connecting to the sanitary containers and floor-to-ceiling glass doors to a create a visual reference to the outside – details which repeatedly led to disputes with the profit-motivated hall manufacturers, who were intent on short construction times.  
The interior design also differs significantly from other locations: a system of 1.60 metre high wooden panels was used to separate off areas for two, four and five beds. The offset arrangement formed entrance niches and avoided monotonous hallways. The main meeting places are the “loading bays” opposite the glass doors, wide sofa benches on the outsides of the sleeping areas, where mobile phones and other devices can be charged at numerous sockets. To enable the residents a maximum level of participation, on moving in they were invited to select from various curtain colours as doors to the sleeping compartments. The walls and floors made of three-ply sheets were constructed by a carpenter who is currently working under intense pressure to produce the element system for further halls: the role model is being copied. The project demonstrates how costly it is to implement a temporary location when architects insist on halfway acceptable housing. At other locations lightweight halls had to be demolished because they were unable to withstand the elements. 
 
Text: Doris Kleilein 
from: Stadtbauwelt 48.2015