Lucky Star
Following the partial demolition of the Knorr-Bremse AG factory complex, an almost four-hectare site in Munich’s Milbertshofen is set to be transformed into a residential development – but not without some waiting beforehand. Rather than let this area sit as an empty, unused gravel pit for years, MVRDV was tasked to give the space a temporary public purpose. The resulting design provides a backdrop for music, sports, food and drink, and socialising, showing how the inconvenience often felt as a result of urban development can be turned on its head, providing local residents with socially generous temporary purpose.
- Location
- Munich, Germany
- Status
- On site
- Year
- 2025
- Surface
- 37000 m²
- Budget
- Undisclosed
- Client
- Undisclosed
- Programmes
- Mixed use, Bar-restaurant, Temporary, Sports
At the heart of the design – a collaborative vision between Michi Kern, OPES Immobilien Gruppe, and MVRDV – is the star itself, a continuous scaffold structure that crosses from one side of the site to the other. Its shape arose from connecting key access points to the site, and it supports pathways that continue from street level over the four-metre-deep crater that is the site, thus allowing people to easily traverse the site. The colour of the star, a vibrant blue, is a reflection of the site’s heritage, echoing the visual identity of the former resident Knorr-Bremse.
The star structure encloses a space for concerts, performances, and other gatherings. Built into the bottom of the scaffold structure are modular units that house bars and kiosks, toilets, and lockers, providing ample logistical support for the event space.
In the areas outside the star are the “confetti fields”, with an exuberant sprinkling of almost 100 locations for sports, play, and relaxation. The sports facilities range from boules and basketball to beach volleyball, teqball, and newer sports like padel and pickleball, complemented by a variety of children’s playgrounds and seating areas. A year-round beer garden beneath the star offers food and beverages, while the western edge of the site will host a rotating food truck festival during the summer holidays, featuring 20 to 30 vendors over several weeks.
Despite the apparently chaotic layout of this activity confetti, individual uses are carefully planned with harmony in mind. High-intensity racquet sports are clustered in the east of the site, medium intensity activities like playgrounds and sports like boules are positioned on the west, and the calmest areas are positioned at the south.
With its shining star at the centre and a dash of confetti all around, the temporary Lucky Star intervention takes what would otherwise be a sad, purposeless dent in the city and turns it into an exciting place for the people – that’s something worth celebrating.
Gallery
Credits
- Architect
- Director
- Design team
- Partners
- Co-architect:
- Dreigegeneinen
- Contractor, Project coordination:
- Geiger Gruppe
- Event specialist:
- Michi Kern
- Scaffolding contractor:
- Söll Gerüstbau GmbH