Theatre by the Slaughterhouse – from Stable to Cultural Centre
Already from afar, the white and red tower, resem bling a stele and bearing the name of the Volks theater, provides orientation to visitors. The vast building volume of the new cultural centre occupies an entire city block. Due to the staggered arrange ment of the brick, expanded metal and membrane facade components, it appears discrete. The red brick facade refers to the stockyard that had been previously located here. It establishes a visual connection to the historically listed buildings by Arnold Zenetti that currently house the administra tion. A cornice in the existing structure is continued as a concrete element within the new facade. Screened from the exterior – similar to the stockyard of the past – it resembles a closed wall through which a broad arched entry allows access to an extensive courtyard. This entrance area is also an openair foyer. From here, a large circular window offers views of the foyer and its colourful design. On the back side of the Zenetti building, traces from the past remain visible, where the actual stables had been attached to the existing building. Old layers of render and paint, window and door lintels, openings that had been closed, iron rings that had served to tether cattle with ropes continue to tell the story of this place.
Livestock and graffiti
Well into the 1980s Munich’s meatpacking district exclusively served the purpose indicated by its name: slaughtering livestock and processing meat. There were halls for livestock auctions, a cattle bank, a butchery school, stables and, of course, the actual abattoir. Cattle were delivered on Wednesdays by rail – often up to 6000 of them. Calves and pigs were traded on Fridays. The live stock was driven into the stockyards and from there to the abattoir. The meatpacking facility is in service since 1878. Arrivals still take place daily, however, only of bovine cattle transported by truck. Their mooing can be heard on the streets and their smell is palpable
Volkstheater director Christian Stückl immediately liked the idea of moving the theatre to this loca tion: The urban context comprises both the meat packing facility and the neighbouring, temporary Bahn wärter Thiel cultural centre, featuring artist studios, cultural events and gastronomic functions – located in shipping containers, tram and railroad cars, spray painted in colourful graffiti. There was plenty of room available for a new building. Where previously the winter stables for cattle had stood, an area larger than three football fields remained unused for many years. An open air cinema as intermediary function already demon strated the suitability of the site as a cultural centre. Based on a feasibility study and an application for outline planning permission, the city council decided to build the theatre on this site in 2015. Already by then it was clear that two historically listed constructions should be integrated into the new complex: a standalone building on the southwestern corner and the northeastern block border structure that had previously housed admin istrative functions.
Time constraints as advantage
Due to Christian Stückl’s power of persuasion and significant time constraints, the decision to choose the site was made very quickly. The previous loca tion of the Volkstheater near Munich’s city centre needed to be vacated on schedule. Deliberations on placing urgently required storage facilities for stage sets on top of the roof revealed deficits in the areas of structural design and fire protection. An intermediary building was out of the question, due to costs. The entire budget was dedicated to the construction of a new, larger and well equipped Volkstheater. In order to ensure completion of the project according to both budget and schedule, the tendering process played a specific role: a Europewide competitive procedure with negotia tion. Of nine entries submitted by teams consisting of general contractors, architects and expert planners, five were selected to submit their bids. The jury voted unanimously for the team comprised of Stuttgartbased architectural office LRO Lederer Ragnarsdóttir Oei and Georg Reisch GmbH & Co. KG from Bad Saulgau. They were contractually obligated to complete the building on schedule for a fixed sum. This was possible since the build ing department created a detailed, 1000 page functional tender that included significant input from the technical director of the Volkstheater. It described specific requirements, including the arrangement of spaces, their equipment, a retractable stage podium and electrical outlets. It also stated that the stage set was to be placed as closely to the audience as possible or through which doors trash cans had to be moved. Both the architect and the general contractor had already cooperated within previous projects and constituted a wellpractised team. The cooperation with the building authority, responsible for content implemen tation and the entire project management, was equally satisfying.
Cultural building as machine
The new Volkstheater was opened on October 15th, 2021. It features three performance spaces: a large theatre hall, a studio theatre and a rehearsal stage. The 8 m tall stage of the large theatre hall with its iron curtain and orchestra pit with lifting platform meets modern technical standards. Stage sets can be quickly erected and removed. They can vanish just as quickly within the 40 m tall stage tower, to be lowered again by the integrated fly system. They can be retracted 10 m below the stage by machinery that includes a lifting platform and revolving stage. Covering 1000 m2, a storage area for stage sets is also located on this level. A large elevator serves to lift them upward for alterations or repairs in the metal or carpentry workshops. The workshops along the facades feature arched win dows with profiled glass that allow ample diffuse and natural daylight to enter. Once work on the stage sets is complete, they can be transported through a short corridor to the areas behind or bordering the stage.
Seats for 600 audience members are arranged in fixed rows, with the exception of the first five rows. In contrast, the studio theatre features seating for 250 spectators arranged in rows on mobile plat forms. The stage can also be set up anywhere within the space and the lighting bridge system can be adjusted accordingly. This supports a diverse range of stage configurations for experimental theatre performances. By moving seating and stage components into the adjacent storage area, sufficient space becomes available for events for up to 400 people.
The rehearsal stage receives natural daylight and can also be used for performances with up to 200 spectators. Multiple entrances ensure a high degree of flexibility.
All publicly accessible spaces, the theatre hall, the foyer with wardrobe and the gastronomic func tions cover only 20 to 25 % of the entire area. The remainder is occupied by building services, work shops and storage spaces. 20 % of floor area are dedicated to building services. This shows that the Volkstheater is both a cultural centre and a machine of vast dimensions.
Arno Lederer on the colourful Foyer
The foyer of the Volkstheater is very colourful. Isn’t this rather unusual for theatre buildings?
For the competition, we submitted a white foyer. We knew that the user preferred neutral colours. From the very beginning, it was clear to us that we wanted a different solution. Selecting colours, however, is difficult. It isn’t a democratic debate – some choose blue, others green, the architect opts for red and eventually we arrive at beige as a typical compromise. This is why we didn’t turn this into a plenary discus sion, but instead, drove to Weimar together with the director and the investor in order to have a look at the Goethe House. The succession of colourfully designed interiors is beautiful: green, blue, red, yel low. Eventually we received permission to create a colourfully designed foyer. For this space, we found inspiration in the Goethe House in Weimar and its col ourful interiors. It convinced director Christian Stückl to abstain from insisting on industrial aesthetics.
How did you develop the colour combinations?
We often used the model to test things, but also the computer and Photoshop. It took quite a while until we had assembled the Goethe colours, which are very similar to the Corbusier colours. When you pass the main entrance and walk into the foyer, the areas behind you are designed in cool hues. For the part of the foyer in front of you, leading to the performance spaces, we selected warm hues.
The foyer is the space of the audience. What role did that fact play for designing it?
That played a very sig nificant role. The speci fications called for rough, industrial aes thetics. We interpreted the foyer as a meeting point or a living room. Visitors frequent thea tres not only to see a play, but also to experi ence everything that goes with it. A foyer is a place of encounter and exchange. After the play, people want to talk about it, about the actors, the produc tion – and that should happen in a pleasant atmosphere.
To which degree does the furniture follow this intention?
It was important to offer seating near the entrance. The fixed, curved bench allows visitors to sit, talk and enjoy a glass of wine. The foyer became a narrow, long space, due to the floor plan concept. Thus, we wanted to avoid tables and chairs that would stand in the way. That is why we envisioned a long and fixed bench for this space as well.
