There's something almost dreamlike about this striking, elegant clinker-clad office building rising from an industrial estate – as if it had wandered into this corner of Munich from somewhere far more urbane. Located on Mühldorfstraße 8—the street that lends the building its name M8—it stands just a few hundred meters from the booming Werksviertel district. Like a Bürklein structure on Maximilianstraße, a repurposed industrial courtyard in Berlin, or a historic counting house by Hamburg's harbor, M8 by Oliv Architekten feels equally at home anywhere. Its exterior walls cloak themselves in brick slips, a practical choice that reduces wall thickness while maintaining authentic character. The meticulous precision and perfect regularity of the façade makes this technique seamless. This four-story structure stretches 46 meters wide and 76 meters deep, its floor-to-ceiling metal-mullioned windows defining each elevation. The eaves remain disciplined at the standard 23-meter height. The entrance is particularly commanding—soaring arches frame the façade, while 44 round arches encircle the entire building, their rhythm punctuated by carefully articulated pilaster strips that structure each axis of the outer skin. Floor-to-ceiling glazed doors open onto a double-height foyer, complete with lounge areas and a café. Raw concrete walls speak quietly against this nod to early industrial architecture. A bold black steel staircase—open and sculptural—sweeps toward the first floor and into the central courtyard. On the ground level, frosted glass rounds filter light into the office spaces. Here, the mood shifts entirely. White plaster walls and thoughtfully designed planting beds and seating by landscape architects Pangratz+Keil create a tranquil refuge. Tenant Jochen Schweizer added playful touches to his two-floor suite: a slide descending into the courtyard and a cable car waiting only for its steel cables. The entire roof operates as a usable garden, framing mountain vistas. The building's impressive depth enables sprawling open-plan office suites across 17,000 square meters of gross floor area. Optima-Aegidius and IKR Kuschel brought this exceptional project to life. M8 earned LEED Gold certification in recognition of its ecological and economic performance.

www.oliv-architekten.com

Photography Credits:

Edzard Probst
www.derfotograf.de

(Published in CUBE Munich 03|21)