Interims Audimax by Deubzer König + Rimmel Architects

Deubzer König + Rimmel Architects designed the Interims Audimax building at the Technical University of Munich in Germany.

Due to recent reforms in the German school system, a great number of school graduates will enter universities very soon. A significant lack of space made it necessary to build new lecture halls among other facilities.

The new lecture hall will be a temporary solution for 10-20 years. The hall is situated north of the mathematics and computer science department of the Technical University Munich, Campus Garching.

A very limited budget of just 60% of regular building costs and a very short planning and building period (approximately 9 months) made the decision to use a wooden structure easy. The primary structure is filled with a wooden frame construction based on a 62,5cm grid.

The almost square building contains two lecture halls with 479 and 288 seats. They are separated by a corridor which provides the access for handicapped people and the speaker. The foyer, the bathrooms and the technical facilities are situated below the seating. This assured a maximum of seats within a minimum of cubature. The main accesses for the lecture halls are the two staircases and the first floor corridor.

The facade consists of rough cut spruce planks. To counter the varying exposure to the weather and given the short time of service, the decision was made to coat the facade in black wood stain, so that the aging process is not visible. By offsetting the facade’s substructure by one module the image of an undulating surface is created, which is shaped by the light.