From an armoury to the Department of Design.
Today’s Department of Design grew out of various predecessor institutions that were located in different buildings scattered around Munich. As a result of the relocation into the historic Zeughaus on Loth Street in October 2018, all degree programmes and majors offered by the Department of Design are now located under one roof for the first time. The result is an inspiring place that offers an abundance of space where individuals can let their creative juices flow and that has been fashioned in a way that turns design into a central discipline for managing the challenges of our times. With the help of the event format called Design im Zeughaus, the department opens its doors to the general public and adds its forceful voice to the debate about design in the city.
About the architecture.
The former Zeughaus (armoury) was built in 1866 and housed the arms of the Bavarian Army. Over the years, the building has undergone many renovations, expansions and conversions. The site was originally designed to be the head building at the former Luitpold Casern. It initially served as an army museum. The building later became the home of a main fire brigade school and eventually was converted into an administrative and training building. Over a 10-year period that extended to 2018, the building was elaborately and painstakingly reconstructed by Staab Architekten, Berlin. It is now the home of the Department of Design at the Munich University of Applied Sciences.
The outer façade of the building bears few scars left by the ravages of time, and the facility has been harmoniously integrated into the cityscape as the structural gateway to the Creative Quarter. During the reconstruction project, the original room structure was largely restored, and the facility was modernised to meet the complex user needs required by today’s educational activities in design. As the years pass, the raw aluminium surfaces in the building’s interior will bear the imprints left behind by students’ work and accentuate the workshop character of the building.
This far-reaching reconstruction project has given rise to a harmonious dialogue between future-oriented design and historic building structure. The reconstruction project has lent a new identity to the building, turning it into the centre of the discourse about design in the city.
About the reconstruction project.
Oliver Jaist, an alumnus of the Department of Design, worked with project coordinator Edda Reisinger to photographically document the far-reaching razing and reconstruction work done at the former armoury. The striking images clearly show just how much work was required to preserve the structure of the landmarked building on the one hand and overhaul it to meet the needs of future users on the other
