TUM School of Medicine and Health, München | Dietrich I Untertrifaller

Located in the park of the Bavarian capital, created for the 1972 Olympic games, the campus houses the Department of Sport and Health Sciences of the Technical University of Munich (TUM). The slogan of the Olympic games, ›Light, freshness and generosity‹ represents also our design. The airy, pavilion-like spacious building made of wood and glass provides a clear layout for the various research, training and sports facilities. Its slender outline – 180 meters long and 150 meters wide – fits sensitively into the master plan of Behnisch & Partner. The 19 meter cantilever canopy is a unique wooden construction made of prefabricated box girder elements that can be assembled without the need for costly auxiliary scaffolding.

Urban Context

The public Olympic Park is home to sport facilities, lakes, bicycle paths, concert venues, restaurants and a soccer stadium with a striking pavilion roof. The famous BMW four-cylinder designed by Karl Schwanzer rises across the street. The large horizontal sculpture of the TUM Campus with the cantilevered canopy self-confidently asserts itself in the landscape design of Grzimek, framed by green dams, without seeking to occupy the landscape.

All Functions under one Roof
It was crucial to us to meet the various requirements of the future users, the Technical University of Munich and the Central University Sports, in the best possible way. The bright and light construction with a maximum span of 30 meters accommodates sports halls, lecture halls, institutes, offices and diagnostic rooms under one roof.

Phases

The entire complex will be realized in two construction phases during ongoing operation:

In the first phase (2017-2022), after demolition of the existing small gymnastics halls, we erected the two new hall clusters, the cafeteria, the library, the western canopy and the complete “Rue interior”, a large part of the basement and the technical installations.

After moving into the new parts of the building, in phase two (2022-2024) the large existing halls will be demolished and the institute clusters and outdoor facilities will be built. The outside area with the various sports fields will be designed as a green park area.

We divided the clearly structured complex into two hall and two institute clusters along a central inner corridor. This “Rue interieure” runs through the entire building from east to west and connects the areas of sport, teaching and research with a variety of visual axes and generous glazing. This is where the various players meet, can talk to each other and observe other athletes.

Patios punctuate the center of the building, bringing variety and directing natural light inside the compact construction. In the east, a footbridge leads from the park directly to the first floor of the building, where the main entrance is located. An impressive 18-meter timber cantilever partially shelters the outside athletic tracks, enabling highly sensitive sports measurements regardless of the weather.

Outstanding Construction
The special wooden structure of the cantilever can be assembled from prefabricated parts without any auxiliary scaffolding. The 36 meters long and 3 meters wide elements are glued together in the workshop from commercially available veneer layer boards and glulam ribs to form high-performance wood box beams with high stiffness and minimal weight. The large cantilever can thus be realized at economically reasonable costs.

Sports halls, institute areas and the complete roof structure are built in timber. Timber was chosen to preserve the link between landscape and architecture. Timber construction enables a high degree of prefabrication and thus short assembly times. With the appropriate logistics for planning, production, delivery and assembly, the hall clusters have been set up in just two months.

In addition to wide-span glulam beams, we used hybrid ceilings in wood-concrete composite construction and prefabricated wooden elements for ceilings and walls. The central access axis, bracing staircase cores, lecture hall and climbing hall as well as the basement are designed as reinforced concrete structures.

The Sports Park

Balliana-Schubert’s landscape concept focuses on the dialogue between buildings and the green park-like sports landscape. The outdoor area with various sports fields is designed as a generously greened park area. The two streets – “Rue intérieure” in the building and “Rue extérieure” for the outdoor facilities – are the characteristic elements for the new campus. They represent meeting place, access zone and communication space.

To the west, the “Rue extérieure” connects the main building to all the sports fields. Designed as a tree figure with numerous side branches, it offers attractive lounges such as the campus square with fountains, lawn and grass waves as well as various seating areas such as the stepped tribune around the beach sports facilities. The sports areas are located between the ‘Rue extérieure’ and the ramparts of the Olympic Park. The heart of the facility is the new athletic arena, located directly in front of the outdoor terrace of the main building.