Henning Larsen wins architecture competition for reconstruction of Siemens headquarters

A substantial majority of the 22-member jury of the architecture competition favored the winning design. Developed by Henning Larsen Architects, the plan will lay the basis for rebuilding the company's headquarters in downtown Munich. The jury comprised Siemens President and CEO Peter Löscher, Siemens Managing Board members Brigitte Ederer and Joe Kaeser, Munich Mayor Christian Ude, the head of Munich's Department of Urban Planning Elisabeth Merk, representatives of the Munich City Council and the District Committee for central Munich, and experts in architecture, urban planning and landscape conservation.

Henning Larsen's winning design was selected for its comprehensive approach to sustainability – an approach that meets the highest standards for ecofriendliness and energy efficiency. The new company headquarters will feature innovations from Siemens' own Environmental Portfolio, including energy-efficient building technologies and lighting systems as well as renewable energies like photovoltaic systems. Buildings constructed for Siemens worldwide by Siemens Real Estate, the company's real estate service provider, already meet the highest standards for sustainability.
The future-oriented architectural design for the new Siemens headquarters will be successfully integrated into the surrounding building ensemble. The historic main building on Wittelsbacherplatz, an outstanding example of neo-classical architecture designed by Leo von Klenze in the nineteenth century, will be preserved. Accessible to the general public via pedestrian passages and vibrant, leafy courtyards, the campus of the new headquarters will link the city's historic center with its museum quarter. Cultural offerings, cafés and bistros will invite passersby to linger. The interior design will provide a modern, flexible working environment for the up to 1,200 employees of the company's corporate units and its new Infrastructure & Cities Sector. The complex will feature bright offices – which, suffused with light, will foster communication and teamwork – as well as spacious meeting and conference rooms equipped with the latest, most advanced technologies.

Construction of the new company headquarters is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2012. Completion of the building is set for the end of 2015 and occupation for 2016.

Both architecturally and throughout the entire rebuilding process, Siemens is implementing the project with openness and transparency – two values that are firmly anchored in Siemens' company culture. For example, the company has closely cooperated with the City of Munich ever since planning of its new headquarters structure began. Employees, residents of the immediate neighborhood and the general public will be continuously updated on the project's progress. Siemens will also display all twelve of the designs submitted in the architecture competition in a public exhibition at the Siemens Forum on Oskar-von-Miller-Ring in Munich from July 28 to September 30, 2011.​

Explanation of the jury of the architecture competition:

With its self-confident and sensitive approach, the winning design will succeed in enhancing the quality of the urban environment within the parameters of the existing city. The spacious opening into Oskar-von-Miller-Ring will create a new self-confident address for the Siemens headquarters. The leafy forecourt will suddenly acquire a new meaning at the transition from the old city to the museum quarter, thereby creating an opportunity for inner urban development. Wittelsbacherplatz will be respected as an ensemble. The separation of Ludwig Ferdinand Palais will create a spacious entrance situation.

In the interior, a succession of diverse courtyards, each of which will acquire its own urban identity through a variety of uses and design themes, will create a continuous experience of space. The courtyard behind the Palais will be roofed over and emphasized in the design in order to serve as a representative courtyard for Siemens. The company headquarters will be opened via a clear main entrance in the middle of the complex. The differentiated architectonic language will provide an excellent link between the exterior of the complex and the existing city. Natural stone, glass and the articulation of the facades will be related to their respective counterparts. Toward the inside, the architecture will unfold in a modern, clear, aesthetic language – one distinguished by a clear, dynamic, horizontal articulation. The proposed office surfaces will be flexible, thereby creating multifaceted, modern working environments with interesting relationships toward both the inside and the outside. The sustainable design for construction, facades and energetic modules will be expressed in an independent architectural language.

It is recommended that the design be improved by deepening the proposed facade and reconsidering the height of the passageway. With the very urban arrangement of the buildings, the design will also provide scope for the further optimization of the available office spaces. Overall, it will lend the new Siemens headquarters a strong identity of its own in the middle of the old part of Munich. The plan is convincing evidence that innovative, sustainable building can mesh with the qualities of the city.​