Five Courtyards in Munich

In 1994, the HypoVereinsbank held a competition for the redesign of an entire street block in the centre of the city. The winning scheme, by the architects Herzog and de Meuron, originally proposed the demolition of all post-war buildings, a concept that was subsequently abandoned. In the end, only one facade – overlooking the pedestrian zone – was redesigned. Internally, however, with the completion of the first stage of construction, this urban complex has assumed a completely new form. It is now dissected by a sequence of courtyards and linking access routes lined by shops and cafés. The central element is the 14-metre-high Salvator Arcade, over which creepers are suspended to form a hanging garden. The Portia and Perusa Courtyards allow fresh air to stream through the shopping arcades and also afford aview out to the sky above. Folded, perforated sheet-metal screens drawn over the illuminated facades result in a fascinating interplay between light and shadow. An organically shaped corridor along the east-west axis subtly complements the neo-Baroque facade to the west. Anirregular pattern of tiny circular mirrors embedded in the rendering along the tunnel-like exit from this route creates a playful transition to the ornate facade of the existing building. Atits end, the tunnel divides in two. One of thebranches terminates in a window through which cool violet light radiates out into the street, providing passers-by with a hint of the qualitative, modern architecture behind this facade.