European schools were established across major cities throughout Europe to serve the families of European institution employees—Neuperlach among them. The concept originated with Auguste Kent, honored at the new site with a dedicated square bearing her name. Founded in 1977, the European School Munich (ESM) had long outgrown its original campus.

Berlin-based architectural firm léonwohlhage won an international design competition in 2012. Landscape architects Atelier Loidl, also from Berlin, designed the outdoor spaces. The new campus accommodates the primary school, a kindergarten, a triple sports hall, and a public plaza—the Auguste-Kent-Platz—serving 1,500 students when it opened in 2019. The building's distinctive form immediately captures attention: a length-wise structure with multiple angular offsets that create visual rhythm and define five distinct houses arranged like teeth of a comb. Running along the S-Bahn tracks, a windowless base structure provides acoustic protection. At ground level, a generous open hall serves as both gathering space and event venue, connected to upper floors by paired staircases leading to classrooms. Students progress from first grade through graduation within five separate houses, each dedicated to a year group, while administrative and public functions cluster around the central stair cores. A grand auditorium and shared dining hall complete the academic heart of the complex.

The building's distinctive character stems not only from its angular geometry but also from its carefully tinted concrete façade, which creates a rhythmic visual lightness. Classrooms open westward to generous green spaces and athletic fields. The kindergarten sits sheltered from traffic flow. This school marks another successful chapter in léonwohlhage's Munich portfolio—following residential projects at Mittlerer Ring (2009), subsidized housing at Frankfurter Ring (2016), the conversion of a former heating plant into "The Seven" on Müllerstraße (2014), and the Bavarian State Parliament expansion in the Maximilianeum (2012). The ESM complex, kindergarten, and sports facilities demonstrate the firm's continued mastery of ambitious institutional design.

www.leonwohlhage.de

Photography Credits:

Philipp Obkircher
www.philippobkircher.de

(Published in CUBE Munich 04|20)