The construction work on the new triple gym at the Herrsching secondary school is on the home stretch.
The final exams are to take place there after Pentecost.
At the request of Starnberger Merkur, the school special purpose association and the architect allow a look inside in advance.
Herrsching
“We took everything we didn’t need with us,” says Stefan Amon, Managing Director of the secondary school association in the western district, about the construction of the new triple gymnasium at the Herrsching secondary school.
First the "extremely difficult" building site, then the pandemic, the Ukraine war also caused delays and as if the injustice wasn't enough, the roof also caught fire in July last year.
Nothing came of the commissioning, which was planned for autumn 2022.
The triple gymnasium project took a total of three years to build.
The normal construction time is one and a quarter years, according to architect Ulrich Köbberling from the Sommersberger office.
This time he, Amon and also Herrsching's mayor Christian Schiller as deputy chairman of the association are quite confident
Schiller had already proudly referred to the construction progress and shown pictures in the citizens' and district assemblies.
As he stands in the gym with Amon and Köbberling, he proudly looks around and shouts "Hello".
"The reverberation is gone immediately," he says happily afterwards and refers to the well thought-out acoustics in the 1225 square meter hall, in which only the three are.
In other halls it is not possible to have a good conversation, says Köbberling.
A perforation in the panels on the wood-panelled walls and ceiling ensures that things are different in the new gymnasium.
The new hall is approved for up to 1000 people, with 280 visitors on the grandstand alone.
Connected to the school building by a glazed connecting corridor, the visitor first enters a spacious foyer with an equally spacious kiosk including a pantry.
Barrier-free access is possible from the side through an automatically opening door.
The hall itself offers everything a school could wish for - it is a sports facility as well as a place for meetings or performances.
"By installing professional media technology and the associated stage, audio and lighting elements, the hall can be used optimally," says Köbberling proudly, pointing to two trusses under the ceiling.
"You can lower them and attach curtains to them, for example." "Ideal for school theatres," says Schiller.
While the delivery of materials was the biggest problem in the meantime, everything that is still required for completion - with the exception of the ventilation devices - is already on site and is partly stored on the sports floor that has already been laid.
You have to believe the gentlemen that this is noble and black, because it is currently equipped with protective coatings.
In order for it to look elegant for a long time, a resin ban will apply in this hall, says Amon sternly.
The managing director of the school special purpose association is the managing director of the municipality of Gilching in his main job.
"100 days left today," says the 64-year-old.
Because in 100 days he will be retiring, but will remain managing director of the school association for two more years.
As such, over the past 13 or 14 years, he has overseen four major construction projects with a total volume of 55 to 65 million euros.
The triple gym accounts for 11.7 million euros.
When it was planned in 2019, the cost was estimated at 10.139 million euros.
Köbberling remembers every digit after the decimal point.
The increase in costs rankles him, "that's a chunk of money," he knows.
And yet in times like these, at 17 percent, it is still relatively within limits.
The result, which also has a few gimmicks, makes him, Amon and Schiller proud in the end.
Starting with the lighting through the "translucent profiled glass facade", for which we had to wait nine months simply because of delivery problems.
"It also had to be patented again," says Köbberling.
But she can do a lot.
Even in strong sunlight, you can play in the hall without glare - without additional sun protection outside.
This is ensured by a translucent insulating material between the panes.
Another gimmick are the prestressed concrete beams, the delivery of which in September 2021 was spectacular.
Now they stretch impressively over the hall – without any supports.
So no pillar that takes away your view.
"Free of supports," says Amon happily.
Installed in each of these supports are 35 meter long LED light strips that can be switched on individually.
Köbberling calls this a “signature detail”.
Another special detail can be found in the cabin aisle, in which windows that can be owned are arranged like a wave.
Köbberling expects the interior to be completed by mid-May.
What's still missing are the 20 meter long, ten tonne ventilation units that intelligently regulate the indoor climate.
It can only be installed on the flat roof once the work on the outer skin has been completed.
This was delayed by the fire.
Köbberling estimates that this may take until June.
This last installation is in no way inferior to the delivery of the prestressed concrete beams.
The ventilation units are also delivered with a heavy-duty articulated lorry and have to be lifted onto the flat roof with a special crane.
Once this is done, we can finally celebrate, school and club sports can take place again in the usual framework after years of improvising.
