Communication as a Design Principle
Max Planck Campus Martinsried
Research depends on exchange – and on spaces that enable it. This is the starting point for our design of a campus that encourages encounters, connects researchers, and interweaves architecture and landscape.
“We designed the campus from the inside out: The urban, architectural, and landscape design concept translates the requirements of everyday research into spatial structures that strengthen communication and networking.”
Andres Peña Gomez
Architect and Head of Design in Frankfurt
Functional and Connected: The Science Cluster
The laboratory and office areas of the Science Cluster are distributed across two buildings in sections. The directly adjoining laboratories and offices form two ring–shaped structures with courtyards. The two rings are connected by a shared, multi–story communication zone. This accommodates the main circulation, tea kitchens, meeting rooms, and open areas for informal exchange and networking.
Working and Researching in a Green Setting
The square flows seamlessly into a biodiverse green space that invites people to linger. Relocating a road creates a car–free district. The research buildings blend harmoniously into the landscape. Existing biotopes and green spaces are linked to form a continuous, biodiverse network of open spaces that extends throughout the campus. The staggered arrangement of the buildings creates a dynamic interweaving of architecture and landscape.
Research excellence requires more than modern laboratories and first–class workplaces. It needs places that enable encounters and encourage dialog. Our design creates such spaces for formal and informal meetings.
Patrick Lüth
Snøhetta Partner and Managing Director, Snøhetta Studio Innsbruck
Sustainability
Our concept combines ecological, economic, and social sustainability. The goal is to create a climate–resilient, economically viable, and socially inclusive research environment that makes a significant contribution to climate protection throughout its entire lifecycle while offering users a high quality of stay. The design takes into account the criteria of the German Sustainable Building Assessment System (BNB), with the aim of achieving “Silver” certification.
Resource–efficient materials, the use of highly prefabricated timber–concrete hybrid structures and recycled concrete, a detailed dismantling and recycling concept in line with circular economy principles, rainwater management, the sponge city principle, and green roofs position the campus as a pioneering model for sustainable construction.
