Service Centre in Munich
The new service centre at the foot of the enormous statue of the allegorical figure of Bavaria literally opened its doors punctually for the beginning of the Oktoberfest, Munich’s famous annual beer festival. Three vertical-lift gates, each the full height of the building, rise to give access to the police, first aid and the festival offices, and also the Bavarian Red Cross, the fire brigade, technical standards, a lost property office and youth services. The building replaces a tenacious temporary structure in the same site, the Theresienwiese, the large open space in which the beer festival takes place, which has no other buildings on it. The new service centre is now the only permanent structure there, situated near the embankment to the west of the festival ground, but it is low, and its untreated copper skin will turn green, which will also help to keep it inconspicuous. The hermetically sealed façade is the result of the high security demands needed to protect against vandalism all the year round, particularly during the long periods when the building will stand empty for most of the time. The façade will then change into a smooth, entirely closed envelope, resisting unwanted visitors. But appearances are deceptive: bands of windows are concealed behind folding shutters at the front, on the south side the vertical-lift gates open on to lavishly glazed lobbies, concealed doors are built into the façade, and fully-glazed courtyards are cut into the cube facing the slope on the west side. The interior is surprising well lit, as the coarse-meshed expanded metal cladding provides protection against people peering in from the outside, but admits daylight into the rooms behind. When it was not possible to provide illumination from the façade or the garden courts, skylights have been set in the flat roof. The service centre has approximately 400 employees, who have already made themselves very much at home. The inviting courtyards are planted and furnished with beer-drinking benches and sun umbrellas and suggest relaxation. They provide a welcome contrast with the racket from the beer tents.
