Following the idea of “ONE” Gasteig, the new Culture Bridge extends both horizontally and vertically as a spatial continuum through all the sections of the Gasteig. The Culture Bridge functions simultaneously as a circulation node, foyer, exhibition space and an event area. It provides both visitors and staff with clear orientations and short routes between all of the building’s functions.
Regardless of its use, the Culture Bridge gives each element its own locational anchoring and individual identity, be it the Philharmonic, the Carl Orff Auditorium, the library or the Munich Volkshochschule (Centre of Further Education – MVHS).
Description of project by HENN
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 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 Munich Center of Further Education and the University of Music and Performing Arts—underwent its own transformation. In collaboration with the renowned acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota, the Philharmonic was given a complete acoustic re-design while the library, constructed during the height of print media, was updated for the digital age, its closed-off, silent spaces were opened up and its collaborative spaces emphasized.
HENN’s modernization of the cultural center is a radical reconceptualization of the building and the role of culture within the city. Now more than ever, we understand and appreciate the power of art, music, literature, and education to reflect and elevate society during moments of prosperity, and to comfort and stabilize during times of hardship. The New Gasteig—open, transparent, and inviting anticipates a future where it will once again receive millions of annual visitors.
