Der Neue Gasteig

Risk of closure: After 40 years of operation, most of the 200-plus technical installations in the Gasteig have either reached or exceeded their average lifespan. Some of these cannot be repaired as the needed spare parts are no longer available. Any failure of vital technical systems (such as the sprinkler system) would mean that parts of the building or even the whole Gasteig would have to be closed. A renovation of the technical building services is therefore necessary.

Getting it right from the start: Various  renovation options were considered. Comparing these options, it soon became clear that the only sensible solution would be to completely renew all building services while also modernising and upgrading the building itself to equip the Gasteig for the challenges of the future.

The Gasteig – Munich’s powerhouse: Last but not least, Munich needs a futureproof Gasteig. By 2030, the city will be home to more than 1.7 million people, and this rapid expansion will add further to its demographic and cultural diversity. This development will make the Gasteig – Munich’s educational and cultural powerhouse – even more vital in years to come. Bringing the Gasteig up to date is an investment in Munich’s intellectual infrastructure. It will pay off in the long run by allowing the Gasteig to grow with the city and its needs – in terms of both quantity and quality.

A total demolition and complete rebuild of the Gasteig would be more expensive than its redevelopment and not very environment-friendly. Furthermore, the residents would have to put up with more construction work for a longer period. Last but not least, a radical reset would take a sledgehammer to the Gasteig’s 40-year-long success story. Many visitors and friends of the Gasteig have emotional ties to the building and its history, and demolishing it would rob Munich of a familiar architectural site.

In December 2023, the City Council decided to pursue the general refurbishment of the Gasteig following a thorough examination of possible options. The costs are estimated at around 710 million euros.

The refurbishment is currently scheduled to start in 2027 and last until mid-2033. After a commissioning phase, the Gasteig in Haidhausen could then resume full operations in 2034/35.

More light, more air, more open spaces: The future Gasteig will be open for everyone. Munich architects Henn have already completed the preliminary planning. Take a look at artists’ impressions and details.

The initial plan of finding an investor did not come to fruition. In the meantime, the municipal Münchner Raumentwicklungsgesellschaft (MRG) has been commissioned to find a partner from the construction industry to act as the future developer on behalf of Munich. The search for a partner company is ongoing.

Remediation of the building is scheduled to begin in spring 2027. That’s why Fat Cat will stop its interim use at the end of September 2026, after which they have one month to return the building to its original state. The Philharmonic Hall will be no longer be in use as of the end of June 2026, when the organ will be removed.

Gasteig München GmbH has been based at the custom-built Haidhausen site from the very beginning in 1985. This building’s location, size and layout are the perfect fit for our arts centre – even more so after the refurbishment is completed. Demolishing the Gasteig or handing it over to other users in the long term would be a great loss for Munich, both financially and culturally. The Gasteig houses many of the city’s institutions and needs the building’s 90,000 m² of floor space to continue to meet the needs of Europe’s largest arts centre into the future. While the Gasteig HP8 and the Isarphilharmonie are an successful interim solution, they only offer a third of the space that we actually need.

The HP8 site is owned by utility company Stadtwerke München. Whether the Isarphilharmonie and Hall E will continue as permanent cultural venues has not been decided yet. There are indicators, however, that part of the site should continue to function as a cultural venue.

In July 2015, the Munich City Council commissions Gasteig München GmbH to draw up a user requirements specification for the future Gasteig in cooperation with its users. At the same time, Munich’s building department is commissioned to examine the building stock.

In April 2017, the Munich City Council decides by a large majority to launch an architectural competition for the Gasteig’s redevelopment based of the user requirements specification. At the same time, the search for a possible interim venue for the duration of the redevelopment begins.

A total of 17 architectural firms from all over Europe take part in the international architectural competition for the Gasteig’s redevelopment. In May 2018, a top-class jury awards prizes to the designs of three offices: Auer Weber (Munich), Henn (Munich) and wulf architekten (Stuttgart). In October 2018, the Munich City Council chooses Munich-based Henn GmbH, together with landscape architects Rainer Schmidt Landschaftsarchitekten, to make the Gasteig fit for the future. The acoustics for the New Gasteig are to be designed by Yasuhisa Toyota and his company Nagata Acoustics International.

In July 2019, architect Gunter Henn and landscape architect Rainer Schmidt sign the contracts for planning the redevelopment together with the then Gasteig Managing Director Max Wagner.

The plan for the redeveloped Gasteig is completed. On schedule in June 2020, the Henn architectural office presents the results of the preliminary planning, with the project remaining within the specified budget of 450 million euros. In December 2020, the Munich City Council opts for an investor model to finance the redevelopment of the Gasteig and commissions the city’s building department with the tendering process.

On 8 October 2021, after a mere 18 months of construction work, the Gasteig HP8 interim premises opened in Sendling with a gala concert by the Munich Philharmonic in the new Isarphilharmonie.

In April 2022, the City of Munich will invite tenders from investors for the refurbishment of the Gasteig building in Haidhausen. Due to fundamental changes in the economic situation in the course of 2022 and other factors, no suitable application was forthcoming by February 2023 and the contract award process has therefore been cancelled. The Munich City Council has instructed the administration to investigate possible options for further proceedings and to present these by autumn 2023.

Until the refurbishment work begins, the Gasteig building in Haidhausen is available for interim usage. To this end, a “main interim user” is selected, who is has the task of subletting the premises to other users from the cultural and social sectors. In February 2023, Gasteig München GmbH concludes a contract on behalf of the City of Munich with the non-profit limited liability company Fat Cat, which expires at the end of 2024. The first tenants move into the Fat Cat in May 2023.

Partnering up for the Gasteig’s renovation: Following an assessment of the available options by Munich city council, it was decided in December by a large majority to go ahead with the refurbishment of the Gasteig. The costs are estimated at around 710 million euros. A municipal company has been commissioned with taking the project ahead and will partner up with a private-sector construction company. This partnering model is intended to help avoid delays and spiralling costs. The planning and construction work is expected to take six years.

In March 2024, the City of Munich chose MRG Münchner Raumentwicklungsgesellschaft to oversee the Gasteig refurbishment project. Originally founded to realise the Messestadt Riem project, which is now wholly owned by the City of Munich, has already completed many construction and infrastructure projects. For the Gasteig project, MRG will partner up with a construction company from the private sector.

At the end of 2024, the rental agreement with the interim users, the non-profit Fat Cat gGmbH, with the option for a six-month extension.

In response to our invitation to tender, we have received several applications from potential sole contractors to partner up with Munich’s municipal property developers MRG. The tendering companies will be provided with further, more detailed documents to be able to evaluate and then negotiate their offers.

Remediation of the building is scheduled to begin early 2027. This requires the Gasteig to be vacated and decommissioned by the end of January 2027 at the latest, ready for the construction work to begin.

This involves completely clearing the entire 90,000 square metre premises as well as dismantling the building services and shutting down all utility connections – district heating, electricity, water, gas and telecommunications. At the same time, MRG will draw up a re-use concept for the purpose of selling the building’s existing equipment and materials that can still be used.

Fat Cat’s interim use of the Gasteig will terminate at the end of September 2026. Use of the Philharmonic Hall will end at the end of June 2026, and in July 2026 the organ will be removed