Innovations are not always to be found where they might be expected – in the media, at trade fairs, or in the heads of visionary thinkers. Sometimes they are already in our midst, in our daily lives. More precisely: in Rheinstrasse, in Munich’s popular quarter Schwabing. Here, in the inner courtyard of house number 14, a piece of the future has been created in only eight months of building – the residence of tomorrow. The first urban passive wooden house in Germany – an innovation with emotion. This project of the GBW Group brings wood as a building material back into the city – one of the oldest building materials has been used once again to spectacular effect in a German metropolis.

Arriving

Entering the inner courtyard, one is dominated by one feeling in particular: one has finally arrived. Wood as a building material is not only extremely versatile, flexible and robust: it has accompanied mankind from the dawn of time. Wood creates an intense feeling of wellbeing, an often neglected emotional connection in urban planning. The warmth that the object with its ten units radiates is ubiquitous. Floor-to-ceiling windows, two roof terraces and untreated softwood harmonise with the inner courtyard as if the building had been here forever. A striking factor: the living rooms all face south and most have windows around a corner. This means that the rooms are flooded with daylight, and passive heat production is guaranteed in winter.

The smaller gross floor area on the upper floors provides the opportunity to create a variety of flat types and sizes, including a maisonette flat (house within a house).

Wood in the city

Anyone entering the building will not fail to notice that the staircase is made of concrete. A concession to fire protection and bracing. However, the basic structure, including the load-bearing walls and ceilings, is made of spruce and fir from Bavarian and Tyrolean forests was chosen for the panelling. This traditional wood is clearly visible on the ceiling in the interior. From there, it spreads its calming effect throughout the rooms. Wood has a higher insulation value for the same wall thickness and thus supports the passive construction method. A total of 360 cubic metres of wood were used in the inner courtyard in Rheinstraße. By the time they were felled, these trees had removed 264 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere - so this is not only an emotional project, but also an ecological one.

Urban Gardening

The new building is a classic redensification in a Munich courtyard situation, which is accessed via the passageway at Rheinstraße 14 and the inner courtyard. The basis of the timber construction is an underground car park, which is built under the courtyard. In addition, communal areas with raised beds ("urban gardening"), children's play areas and parking spaces for bicycles will be created in the courtyard.

The resulting outdoor areas and roof terraces will enliven the courtyard with their views and give the new and quiet flats in the courtyard a special quality.

Awards

Nomination, BDA Prize, Bavaria 2016
GEPLANT + AUSGEFÜHRT 2015, special award for sustainable construction
German wooden building award 2015, shortlisted
Prize for quality in housebuilding 2015, acknowledgement
Award for good housebuilding 2015