LAB 52 AirportAcademy, LabCampus, Munich Airport
With a total gross floor area of almost 500,000 square metres, the LabCampus is currently one of the largest innovation hubs in Germany. The underlying basis for it is a master plan drawn up by Kees Christiaanse Architects & Planners. The aim of the Dutch architects and urban planners is to create a vibrant urban district that offers space for a wide variety of users and thus promotes cross-sector cooperation between established companies, outstanding young companies and research institutions. There will also be restaurants and cafes, showrooms and prototype workshops. To the north of the Besucherpark S-Bahn station, the master plan envisages four car-free neighbourhoods with potential for up to 29 buildings in total, traversed by a long green belt, the Walkway.
Subtle references to the building location.
The second building on the LabCampus to date, the AirportAcademy is located on Pioneer Square directly on the Walkway in the westernmost of these neighbourhoods - right next to LAB 48, also completed according to plans by Auer Weber in 2022. In keeping with the iconic architecture envisioned in the master plan for this development site, the new building appears as an unmistakable standalone structure. The most striking feature is the expressive exposed concrete framework on the outer edge of the two-storey base, which supports a delicate three-storey glass cube. The shape of the supporting structure is derived from the runway geometry typical of Munich Airport. This is a subtle reference not only to the location of the building, but also to its main user. While the three upper levels, which are arranged around an inner courtyard, primarily house office space, the two basement floors are reserved for the AirportAcademy. The AirportAcademy is Flughafen München GmbH's training and development centre, which also provides training and development opportunities for external participants.
Approachable building base.
Between the concrete framework and the glass facade, which is set back in the base floors, a circumferential covered outdoor space is created, which is designed as a 5 m wide arcade in front of the main entrance. This inviting open area is flanked on both sides by slightly indented single-storey exposed concrete structures, which on the first floor in front of the classrooms also create sheltered outdoor terraces for coffee breaks and a second escape route. This spatial layering allows the base of the building to be experienced as an accessible intermediate area, offering new perspectives on the symbolic supporting structure and its reflection in the glass facade. At the same time, Academy guests booked into the seminar, conference and workshop areas are given a foretaste of the spatial complexity and plasticity that awaits them after passing the main entrance on Pioneer Square.
Sensual dynamic spatial sculpture.
The lobby is designed as a two-storey space that spans the entire base of the building as an equally high exhibition and circulation area. With a reception area that doubles as a café-bar, a wide seating staircase leading to the first floor and additional culinary offerings, this is the communicative heart of the building. The space appears brightly lit and open, not only because of the 8m high glass facade facing the arcade, but also because of the elongated glass roof in the centre of the building, which also provides views of the courtyard above. Decisive for the spatial impression are the exposed concrete cubes, glazed in warm beige, with smaller seminar and group rooms facing the lobby, which stack up to form a dynamic spatial sculpture. Together with the dark grey glazed walls of the large classrooms on the gallery level on the first floor, they create a small-scale spatial continuum with an inspiring inner-city flair.
Only a few materials and surfaces.
The sensual spatial effect is also based on the restriction to just a few different materials and surfaces, which supports the concentration of Academy guests on the essentials and enhances the sculptural appearance of the space. In the lobby and classrooms, glazed and untreated exposed concrete surfaces, whose visible imperfections reflect artisanal construction processes, harmonize pleasantly with filigree window and facade profiles, white acoustic ceiling cladding and light ash wood finishes. The signage adds a splash of colour. Oversized lettering and letters indicate the location of the various Academy areas and access cores. The latter lead to the office spaces on the upper floors and have direct exits to the outside. This means that escape routes do not have to run through the lobby, which made it much easier for them to have an open design.
Flexible office layouts.
The office spaces, like the two base floors, are purist, clearly structured and restrained in terms of design. This impression is mainly due to the ubiquitous exposed concrete walls and ceilings, and to the installations that are invisibly integrated into the raw ceiling. Supply air outlets, for example, open out through suspended acoustic ceiling sails, which, together with the area-wide concrete core activation, provide heating and cooling for the spaces. Whether as a cubicle office or an open space, layouts can be configured and reconfigured with complete flexibility.
Office levels as an abstract glass cube.
On the three office floors, the exposed concrete framework of the two lower levels transitions into an open dissolved perforated facade. The delicate light effect is created by narrow load-bearing wall panes and large, staggered window openings, which allow an extension grid of 1.35 m. On the outside, this structure is overlaid with grid-printed fixed glazing, which unifies the office floors into an abstract glass cube. The double-shell facade structure enables weather-protected natural ventilation and wind-protected accommodation of the shading elements. At the same time, the interplay between the evenly spaced fixed glazing and the wall panels that jump back and forth creates a quiet dynamism that harmonizes rather than competes with the expressiveness of the exposed concrete framework at the base of the building.
