Distribution level Marienplatz
Munich

The restricted-access level at Marienplatz is a significant gateway to the city center. It no longer meets today’s requirements for a transitional foyer. Therefore, the renovation aims not only to upgrade the building’s technical and structural integrity but also to remedy its design and functional shortcomings.

In such a spacious area, a sense of well-being only arises when the visitor knows exactly where they are. In response to the dynamic and pulsating flow of users, the restricted-access level is given fluid spatial forms and generous visual connections to all points of entry and exit.

To allow Alexander von Branca’s original design to reemerge with strength, the conservation—and, where necessary, the faithful restoration of the surfaces—is concentrated on the central areas of ingress and egress. A fundamental prerequisite for the success of the restricted-access level is the ease with which all exits to the S- and U-Bahn, the public transport-related information, and the ticket machines can be found. Their arrangement makes them self-evident, leaving the wayfinding system to play only a supporting role.

The lighting concept is an essential component of the orientation system for this area. In the central zone, the lights are concentrated to clearly mark the entrances to the U- and S-Bahn at Marienplatz. From the center, the lights radiate outward at increasing intervals toward the six exits.

Project collaboration with raupach architekten and Ulrike Brandi.