UNStudio lines up jutted blocks of concrete and copper across Van B residences in munich

UNStudio and Bauwerk’s highly flexible apartments in munich

UNStudio and German developer Bauwerk recently completed the Van B Residences in Munich. With its one to three-room, highly flexible apartments, flats, gallery lofts, and rooftop flats, the project not only caters to changing demographics and multiple family constellations but also offers indoor-outdoor living, communal spaces, shared facilities, and a new highly flexible plug-in system that can make a 40 sqm apartment feel like a 60 sqm loft. Located on a square next to the Creative Quarter and the Olympiapark, at the confluence of the three best districts in Munich, Van B houses 142 apartments, flats, and penthouses served by 81 underground parking spaces.

Van B Residences by UNStudio | image © Evabloem

van b residences optimizes indoor-outdoor living experience

 
For the Van B Residences, UNStudio (see more here) sought to create connections between people and the outdoors by using the exterior space as an extension of the living area: in other words, pushing the inside out and pulling the outside in. This indoor-outdoor living experience is created by bay windows, balconies, roof gardens, terraces, shared and private gardens, a rooftop garden with 360º panoramic views, and an inner courtyard with fitness and relaxation zones. The complex also celebrates a sharing economy, community creation, and inclusive ways of living. As such, residents can enjoy a co-living space for working from home or social gatherings and can use a parcel box system, car/e-bike sharing, e-charging stations, and a bike repair station.

concrete and copper blocks along the shell | image © Evabloem

challenging fixed footprints with a plug-in system

While four different typologies create a diverse mix of apartments (ranging in size from 33 sqm to 168 sqm), the Van B Residences also challenges old conventions of square footage and fixed footprints to empower people to live more flexibly. The plug-in system allows tenants to easily change the use of the same floor space in seconds, making it possible to transform a room from a generous office into a cozy living room or a bedroom. To achieve this flexibility, UNStudio and Bauwerk designed an adaptable partition and furniture ‘plug-in based’ system that can be installed in all of the Van B apartments, regardless of size.

glazed facades extend the living area | image © Evabloem

 
The system introduces a set of nine optional plug-ins that enable residents to reconfigure their apartment to their immediate needs, allowing them to choreograph their space around their day instead of the other way around. Residents can choose an individual configuration of plug-ins based on a catalog of nine elements. Each partition can work in different configurations, as the modules will work together no matter which elements the homeowner chooses and how they arrange them inside their apartment. ‘What makes Van B truly special and unique is that it offers a completely new form of ‘smart’ living. This is not smart in the usual sense of tech integration; it instead involves reinterpreting ideas from the digital world in order to improve the analog, physical spaces we inhabit,’ shares UNStudio’s Ben van Berkel. 

a flexible plug-in system can change the floor space in seconds | image © Evabloem

van b residences combines copper and concrete blocks

In the apartments, the large bay windows and balconies create visual connections between the street, the homes, and the trees that line the road. These bay windows also provide the building with a sculptural, three-dimensional shell composed of concrete and copper-colored metal framing. With their glazed facades, the gallery lofts facing the courtyard on the ground floor invite residents to open their apartments and extend their living rooms into the garden. Having their own address, these triple-height apartments almost work as small houses nestled within the building. The project also includes the ‘Van B Editions’: ten individually furnished rooftop flats with private roof terraces, all finished and furnished by ten of Germany’s top interior designers.

The Van B Residences project fulfills all of the strict sustainability regulations in Germany. In addition, parts of the foundation and basement structure from the previous building were re-used for the new building, and the basement walls were reinforced. In this way, it was possible to save on construction materials while speeding up the building process. The roof garden also cools the building, while the bay windows are orientated to optimize daylight in the apartments. UNStudio designed the residential complex alongside local architecture firm BKLS Architekten. 

a mix of apartments, rooftop lofts, and penthouses | image © Bauwerk-Sorin Morar

image © Bauwerk-Sorin Morar

image © Hufton+Crow

Van B Residences sit next to the Creative Quarter and Olympiapark | image © Hufton+Crow

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image © Hufton+Crow

image © Bauwerk-Sorin Morar

image © Bauwerk-Sorin Morar

image © Hufton+Crow

project info:

name: Van B Residences

location: Munich, Germany

architect: UNStudio | @unstudio_architecture

design team: Ben van Berkel with Jan Schellhoff and Julia Gottstein, Bart Chompff,
Alexandra Virlan, Dimitra Chatzipantazi, Ana Maldonado, Patrik Noomé
client: ​​​​​Bauwerk Capital GmbH & Co. KG
local architect:​​​ BKLS Architekten
landcape architect: ​​Andreas Kübler und Partner
cost and quantity surveyor: ​Leitwerk AG
structure: ​​​​Ingenieurgesellschaft albrecht + brettfeld mbh​​
MEP​​​​: IB Schmidbauer Planungsgesellschaft Haustechnik mbH, ​​​​​MTM-Plan GmbH
fire safety: ​​​​Brandschutzservice Zobel GmbH

photograhers: Evabloem, Hufton+Crow, Bauwerk-Sorin Morar

built area: ​15, 945 sqm total (9,905 sqm above ground)
built volume: ​51.380 m3 total (29,807m3 above ground)
site area: 2, 419 sqm