MA STUDIO ABOUT TIME / URBAN FOOD HALL

Architecture is not static; it constantly evolves. Time shapes use, material aging, and environmental adaptation. This studio explores sustainable construction through the lens of time, space, and culture. How can buildings be designed for different life spans? How does this temporal dimension influence construction methods and material choices? The project investigates an urban food factory near Munich’s Großmarkt, designed to embrace daily transformations while ensuring long-term adaptability and sustainability

Flour is the foundation of the Western food chain, essential for baked goods, noodles, and animal feed. Traditionally on the periphery, flour mills are crucial yet often invisible. Mahlzeit relocates mills into the city, making this infrastructure visible. The name refers to both a German mealtime and the milling process. Inspired by industrial fragments photographed by Bernd and Hilla Becher, the project reimagines the archetypal mill as a vertical machine. Examining the milling process, we observed a strong link between height changes and efficiency. Our design enhances the vertical layout of modern mills to optimize space and leverage gravity, suggesting a tower structure. This mill aims to supply Munich with flour. While the tower mills grain, an adjacent plot handles packaging, benefiting from existing logistics. The sectional layout follows a logical flow: grain is stored at the top, using potential energy for milling. This section also generates power through vertical wind turbines utilizing the Venturi effect and a solar façade. Below, milling machinery handles cleaning, separating, sifting, and dampening. Lower levels integrate public spaces: a café, park extension, test bakery, and event hall, engaging visitors. The top level offers views of Munich and insights into grain storage. Grain moves via bucket elevators to silos. Pipes transport it through milling, into a pneumatic cyclone, while conveyors link the tower to the hall. An air duct system ventilates the building. Facades have distinct functions: the west is public, the south has solar screens, and the east houses storage and service areas. The steel tower tapers upward, with seismic bracing below. Flexible floor plans allow subdivisions, while a light steel structure forms the adjacent hall.