Kéré Architecture Building New Daycare Center in Munich

The groundbreaking ceremony for the building, which TUM hopes will make a valuable contribution to creating an optimal working environment for university staff and students, took place with much fanfare on April 18. The daycare center is located on the main campus in Maxvorstadt, in a gap between buildings on Gabelsbergerstraße. 

Directly opposite is the Thiersch Tower, TUM's landmark, planned by the architect who gave the building its name and completed it in 1916. More than 100 years younger, the new building by Francis Kéré and Hermann Kaufmann will stand in the middle of the institute buildings and will require only short drop-off and pick-up routes for the parents of the daycare children.

Slightly set back from the street, the detached five-story building with the official name “Ingeborg Pohl Kinderoase an der TUM” adapts to the dimensions of the neighboring buildings. The structural timber construction will have a folded slatted facade made of Corten steel with a characteristic patina in earthy tones. The building envelope behind the slats is largely glazed, and the relationship between inside and outside is likely to take place on several levels. When the sun disappears, the building will appear as a lantern. The solid buildings that flank it will emphasize this impression in the future. 

From the end of 2025, up to 60 children will be cared for here. They will then have around 700 m² (7,500 sf) at their disposal. On the roof of the five-story building will be an outdoor play area called “Himmelswiese” — “field of the heavens.”