Interview
Frage: The origin of Parkstadt Schwabing is now 30 years ago. To what extent is the ARGENTA Group involved in the development of Parkstadt Schwabing?
Answer FL: Since the end of the 1980s, ARGENTA, under the leadership of Dr. Helmut Röschinger, has been one of the main drivers behind the development of Parkstadt Schwabing. Last year, we decided to realize the last vacant building plots with an area of approximately 4 hectares in accordance with the development plan from 1999. The new Amazon headquarters will be the next building block in Parkstadt Schwabing, further consolidating the high-tech location of Parkstadt Schwabing.
Question: One of the requirements of the property owners and the City of Munich was a high building density with a maximum quality of life. How did you meet this requirement?
Answer FL: In the case of the Motel One and Microsoft properties, we already attached great importance to high-quality materials on the facade as well as in the open space design, which benefits the public space. Architecturally, we will continue the facade language of the hotel at the Amazon headquarters. In addition, we will invest in the urban redevelopment of the intersection area between the hotel and Amazon Headquarters in order to develop a new “urban center” with the existing square, which will give Parkstadt Schwabing a new face. To this end, ground-floor retail space will be provided in the Amazon building, including a supermarket and restaurants. The ground-floor façade will also be set back 2m, creating an arcade-like, covered outdoor area for tables and chairs oriented toward the new square.
Question: What do you see as the success of ARGENTA’s projects?
Answer FL: We provide the client with modern, timeless architecture of high construction quality. For Microsoft, we realized a “New World of Work” – a high-tech building with certification to “LEED Platinum” standard, which we handed over to the tenant ready for occupancy in May 2016.
Each customer receives individual and intensive support. We are constructing the Amazon headquarters for the user as a “shell and core” building, with the user taking charge of the fit-out itself, including the upstream planning phases. The coordination of processes and the dovetailing of landlord and tenant construction services therefore had to be planned very precisely as early as the lease negotiations. We attach great importance to close and long-term teamwork with our partners. For example, we have been working with GSP Architekten for over 30 years, Teuber + Viel is on board for many projects, and in WBRE we have found a reliable partner for project management and construction management. In our joint projects, WBRE is more or less our extended construction department. For Microsoft, Motel One and now Amazon, the project team has taken on all delegable construction tasks.
Question: What does Parkstadt look like when finished?
Answer FL: ARGENTA still has plots of land in the southern part with building rights for around 84,500 m² of floor space for uses typical of a core area. We build and lease spacious modern buildings surrounded by park and green areas according to the individual wishes of the users with a guaranteed completion date. The high-quality, representative architecture implemented by ARGENTA corresponds to the attractiveness of the location. The technical equipment meets the high requirements of demanding users in conjunction with the applicable standards. The buildings are certified to a high standard. The floor plans are flexibly designed so that they can be oriented towards individual, combined and/or open-plan offices as desired. An underground parking garage is assigned to each building.
