Leibniz Computer Centre in Garching

Computer centres of large firms and institutes are typically elaborate, hermetically sealed rooms situated – out of sight – in the basement. At Leibniz Computer Centre in Garching, the architects have developed a new typology, for which there had been no prototype. The building is arranged in three segments: a teaching wing, a departmental building and the cube for the computers. The auditoria slide past the departmental building and create a forecourt at the main entrance. Beginning in these public areas, the programme elements become increasingly discreet as one moves past offices oriented to the north and finally approaches the bridge on the third floor which leads to the computer building.