Gasteig Cultural Center, Munich Concert Hall, Library, German Architecture Images
Gasteig Cultural Center in Munich
23 June 2021
Gasteig Cultural Center
Design: HENN
Location: Munich, Germany

The Gasteig in Munich, the largest cultural center in Europe, receives almost two million visitors a year and houses a unique combination of programs: a concert hall, an auditorium, educational facilities, and a public library. Constructed in 1985, the original Gasteig is a fortress-like compound of introverted functions. HENN?s for the Gasteig Cultural Center proposal transforms it into an open and democractic space whose cultural and educational programs are part of a dynamic exchange?with each other and with the city.

The heart of the New Gasteig is the Kulturbühne or Culture Stage?a bridge-like glass volume that connects the many functions of the center and displays their vibrant interior to the city of Munich. Its transparent and open architecture stands in deliberate contrast to the monolithic character of the existing building. The Culture Stage functions as circulation, foyer, exhibition space and event area, a new space of encounter and connection. With this simple, yet radical gesture, HENN has transformed the Gasteig from an inert container of culture into an active collaborator?it is a space of cultural production where employees, students, and visitors are all actors on the Cultural Stage.

Each program?the Philharmonic, the Carl Orff Hall, the Munich City Library, the...