Approaching from the south, three striking buildings—S10, S20, and S30—announce the arrival of Schwabinger Tor: an entirely new urban district developed between 2013 and 2019 by the Jost Hurler Group. Four architectural practices collaborated on the project, among them the internationally acclaimed Max Dudler office. Swiss by origin, Dudler's work radiates a distinctive clarity and restraint evident in every detail. The centerpiece, S10, is a 14-story office and residential tower standing 50 meters tall and winner of multiple awards. S20 and S30, six stories each, complete the trio, while N10—a fourth building anchoring the northern edge of the site—was completed in an earlier phase and earned the Natural Stone Prize. The architectural language is unmistakable: ground floors dedicated to dining and retail, three office floors above, residential units crowning each structure. Dudler draws inspiration from early Chicago modernism and Louis Sullivan's foundational column principle—base, shaft, capital—making the building's purpose legible from the street. Façade supports taper gracefully as they rise toward residential floors, creating a compelling upward visual rhythm. S20 fronts Leopoldstraße with a horizontal emphasis that celebrates its length, its beige polished Moleanos limestone facade functioning as an ornamental surface. Horizontal banding subtly evokes the classical column structure. S30, equally proportioned and equally tall, shifts the conversation with its grey-green granite skin and contrasts dramatically with its neighbors. Slender, soaring windows define the office floors below, while above, a second glass facade emerges to create bay-like loggias within the residential units. Eight buildings in total comprise this neighborhood—named Schwabinger Tor, a reference that differs entirely from the historic gate of the same name, which once stood where the Feldherrnhalle now stands as part of the medieval fortifications. Today's Schwabinger Tor is designed as a vibrant mixed-use quarter, poised to reclaim its role as a dynamic urban gathering place in the post-pandemic landscape.

www.maxdudler.de

Photography Credits:

Stefan Müller

(Published in CUBE Munich 02|21)