Architectural competition: New build for Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Building with communication skills
The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (EI) is one of the leading engineering faculties in Germany. Among other things, it has received five of the prestigious ERC grants and can boast a Humboldt professor as well as a Leibniz award winner. The TUM main campus, with its 11 buildings set on approximately 30,500 square metres, currently hosts a total of 45 professors and around 4,000 students.
After years of use, the buildings can no longer meet the modern needs of teaching and research, nor can they cope with the increasing demand for space. That is why the department will move to the research campus in Garching in the coming years.
One of Munich’s building authorities, Staatliche Bauamt München 2, held a competition for the new EI faculty building. The aim of the competition was to design a "research facility that is modern and future-oriented in conceptual and artistic terms" to be built on approximately 45,000 square metres in total towards the western part of the research campus. The first phase of construction comprises 7,000 square metres.
A total of 20 works were submitted for the competition. The jury presented four prizes and four merit awards. First prize went to Henn GmbH in Munich. In the design, the faculty consists of four main bodies connected by a roofed communications area. The large lecture theatres are located here; this section can also be accessed from any direction. "The passageways of the EI area strengthen communication and help to form connections with the neighbouring scientific institutions", according to the report of the jury.
Turning of first sod planned for 2018
The first phase of construction work in Garching, with costs totalling €53 million, is planned for 2018. Towards the end of 2019 and start of 2020, 10 of the currently 45 professors are expected to move to the new buildings. Cost estimates for the second and third phases of construction stand at €200 million. In Garching, only very few lectures are expected to be held in the corresponding specialised master’s degree courses in the first phase of construction. All other lectures will continue to take place in the city centre.