Construction is an ongoing process. The two-storey extension, built using a timber modular construction method, and the refurbishment of the cooperative housing block on Georg-Freundorfer-Platz have been completed.

The 'Gelber Block' consists of a five-storey front building to the north on Kazmairstraße and three four-storey wings; to the south, facing Haimeranstraße, the block opens out onto the public space.

The building envelope, services and technical systems of the 169 existing flats were refurbished and supplemented by the addition of new storeys using a modular timber construction method. A total of 45 additional inner-city cooperative flats have been created – affordable housing that is urgently needed given the housing shortage in Munich. The new upper floors were built as part of the renovation of the existing building and offer urban living space for families. Prefabricated timber modules from the Allgäu region enabled a construction period of just eleven months.

The two new storeys, with their titanium-zinc cladding, complement the existing building with their lightweight construction and echo the eaves heights of the surrounding area. A space-defining cornice creates a clear distinction between the existing building and the new extension.

The existing building has been upgraded to improve energy efficiency, and the heating system has been converted to district heating. Photovoltaic panels have been installed across the entire surface of the new gable roof, forming part of a tenant electricity scheme.

New lifts in the stairwells facing the courtyard provide barrier-free access to the new storey and connect to the existing building. As part of the refurbishment, the existing flats were fitted with new balconies overlooking the communal courtyard. The striking semi-circular platforms, made of galvanised steel, are suspended from the projecting cornice of the roof extension and connected to one another by tie rods.

The newly designed courtyard features not only DIY vegetable plots but also children’s play areas and bicycle parking spaces. To strengthen the sense of community in the Yellow Block, a neighbourhood meeting place has been set up in the north-east corner, which also houses the co-operative’s social advice service.

The infill development of the apartment block will create much-needed affordable urban housing, improve the quality of life in the existing flats, and carry the tradition of cooperative housing into the future.