Workshop Building for the Vocational Training Centre Munich

The new workshop building for the Vocational Training Centre Munich accommodates the centre's facilities for young hearing- and speech-impaired persons to train as industrial mechanics, metal workers, orthopaedic shoemakers and automotive mechatronics technicians.

The design of the long, two-storey structure is dictated by the narrow and elongated shape of the plot located in an area characterised by industrial constructions. Three workshops and a central foyer with seminar rooms, social areas and sanitary facilities make up the programme of the building.

Workshop illumination is achieved by means of a profiled glass façade with integrated transparent thermal insulation, in conjunction with a skylight across the entire length of the workshop roof, to ensure homogeneous glare-free lighting. On the ground floor, a functionally designed façade is perforated rhythmically with doors and windows allowing views of the landscape. Access to the workshops is via a central entrance forecourt with trees and benches.

The foyer serves as an entrance area for visitors and is also used as a common area for trainees and a venue for internal events. Open stairs lead to the upper storey containing seminar rooms, the orthopaedic shoemaker's workshop and a teaching room. The simple and uncomplicated construction fulfils functional requirements in a clear geometric order. Basic design elements are used to formulate an open building that offers light and inviting spaces – with bright apple green interiors and changing light atmospheres inside – and a comfortable and worthy environment for the young people with their physical impairments working there.