As of: March 9, 2024, 10:03 a.m
By: Martin Becker
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The architectural firm had planned this new building - the community is now changing course.
Graphics: Space and Construction/Jonas Bloch © Graphics: Space and Construction/Jonas Bloch
The construction of the new town hall in Unterföhring has been delayed for years.
The reason: The community unexpectedly fired the architect.
He defends himself against the criticism.
Unterföhring - There is talk of a “project of the century” in Unterföhring; since the contract was signed on July 13, 2022, the architectural firm “Raum und Bau” has been planning the new town hall next to the music school and adult education center.
And now: the big bang, the sudden end, everything at the beginning - the local council, somewhat surprisingly for some observers, showed the planners the red card.
But first things first.
The architects now presented the current planning status in detail to the local council - from underground parking to hybrid construction to the ventilation concept without air conditioning and gray water treatment for the toilets.
The aim is to achieve sustainability certification of the highest level (platinum) for the future “working environments”, with the degree of fulfillment being 85.7 percent.
And finally, the managing director of “Raum und Bau”, Martin Werner, named the expected handover date in the 42-page PowerPoint presentation: December 24, 2027. The perfect Christmas present?
No, it won't come to that: Unterföhring will be working with the architectural office with immediate effect and will first have to look for new project partners.
Mayor Andreas Kemmelmeyer (PWU) tried an optimistic interpretation: “There could also be an opportunity in a new edition.”
“What we get doesn’t convince us”
The big misunderstanding between the community and the architectural firm: What just happened?
Kemmelmeyer particularly emphasized the “immense increase in costs”, from 49 to now around 80 million euros: “What we get for it doesn’t convince us.”
This functional building from the 1970s is to be replaced by a new building at the train station.
archi © Dieter Michalek
A lot of money, even if Unterföhring has a lot of it with a current total budget of 237.8 million euros.
Nevertheless, the municipality does not want to invest plus or minus 80 million euros (depending on the equipment and constantly rising construction costs).
“As difficult as it is for us, we have to downsize,” Philipp Schwarz (SPD) tried to use an anglicism, so please make it a size smaller.
His party colleague Sabine Pfister put it this way: “Other municipalities are also building new town halls, with far fewer resources - and no one works there in hovels.”
Architecture office doesn't take criticism
A criticism that the architectural firm did not want to accept.
Even though the Unterföhringen local council's decision could no longer be shaken, Martin Werner threw the ball back and described the perspective of “Space and Construction”: “We have suggested a mountain of cost savings to you.
You are at the top level for many of the topics that you want and have commissioned.” In an interview with the Münchner Merkur, Martin Werner expresses his incomprehension about the Unterföhringer change: “Untruths are being spread there.
It has been known for over a year that the project is getting out of control in terms of costs." He cites the need for office space as a concrete example: Unterföhring has registered 7,000 square meters, but now - as more home offices are being implemented after the corona pandemic - only 5,000 square meters are needed .
The “Town Hall Project of the Century” becomes the St. Nicholas Work.
Veit Wiswesser (FDP local council)
The local council told the planners that “our opinion was not received,” said Marianne Rader (CSU). For example, the proposed meeting room with an audience gallery looked “like a theater.”
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So restart.
Veit Wiswesser (FDP) alone thought this was a mistake: “This change of architect is not smart and causes a lot of additional costs.
The 'town hall project of the century' will thus become a saint-never-little work.”
Further news from Unterföhring and the Munich district can be found here.