2024

auf Anfrage zugänglich

Thomas-Mann-Gymnasium, Gmunder Straße 45, 81379 München

In Zusammenarbeit mit Martin Stenger
Künstlerische Gestaltung der unterirdischen Fahrradgarage: 450 Fahrradständer aus 225 raumhohen und teillackierten Edelstahlrohren von 8 cm Durchmesser mit daran montierten Edelstahlringen

Architecture: h4a Architekten, München

Landscape architecture: realgrün Landschaftsarchitekten München

Photos: Günter Richard Wett (und Video)

Text: Patricia Grzonka

The underground bicycle garage of the Thomas-Mann-Gymnasium in Munich-Sendling provides space for 450 bicycles. It is accessed via a gently sloping, roughly 40-meter long ramp, which leads down from the outdoor space into a tunnel—also ca. 40 meters long—which then opens onto the 1000 square meter area with the bicycle parking spaces.

The artistic design for this architectural situation includes the access path (ramp and tunnel) and the garage. The artist Georgia Creimer, in collaboration with the architect Martin Stenger, has created a spatial scenario that refers to the surrounding landscape, resulting in a contrast to both the urban location and setting. Inspired by a photograph of a forest which opens onto a broad meadow and is covered by a cloud-filled sky of various shades of blue, the artist developed a color concept based on ten different hues of green and blue, the basis of the project’s color scheme. The silhouette of the forest has been abstracted into a gentle wave movement traversing the side walls of the access path. The lower part of this silhouette and the pavement are characterized by green, while the blue gives the illusion of a horizon above the green on the wall and ceiling. The aim was to transform the flowing movement of cycling into a dynamic spatial and visual experience.

The same hues reappear in a similarly curved color gradient in the bicycle garage, where the parking poles have been painted at different heights. The positioning of the 225 ceiling-high metal bars recalls the image of trailing curves on a bicycle; these are created by the dissimilar rotating radius of the axles of the front and rear wheels, a phenomenon easily recognizable in the snow, for example. The poles were arranged in a curved path, which leads to the exits and structures the space. Students can navigate here as if they are traveling on different “avenues.” The poles respond to the color of the driveway, while the floor is a uniform yellow-green. The bicycles can be attached to a metal ring from two sides; thus, the bike spaces are easily accessible, and there is enough space between the wheels to accommodate both the bike rider and the bike.

With “Underscape,” Georgia Creimer and Martin Stenger have created an overall architectural and artistic design that represents a convincing implementation of the structural requirements in terms of both the physical design of the bicycle parking spaces and the spatial design and management of the bike paths. The space’s refined and spacious atmosphere barely reveals the meticulous planning and detailed execution behind it. The aesthetically highly-sensitive design of the bicycle racks, which are an in-house creation, combines practical and sophisticated design with the requirements of robustness and safety. Through the conceptual inclusion of nature, the “depth” or “recess” of the garage is understood as part of an organic environment.