Due to 15.000 vehicles per day, the Mittlere Ring is one of the most frequented traffic routes Munichs. However it is not only an essential arterial road, but a place where people live. On a site next to the Mittlere Ring, a building including multiple dwelling units had to be designed in addition to three existing housing blocks from the 60´s. Several designs of recently built projects at the Mittlere Ring attempt to mark a strong border between the street and housing units to block negative side effects of the traffic. Contrary to these designs our proposal tries to transform the theme of the design competition “living at the ring” into “living with the ring”.

Thus, we developed a building that implies an attitude of acceptance towards the ring. It is placed on the south end of site to shield the inner yard from traffic noise. Regarding shape and volume it is referenced to the surrounding existing buildings. A living area, which floats through each apartment solves the controversy problem of composing the rooms.

On the sunny and bright south side the building faces the highly frequented road. In comparison to this, the quite inner yard is located on the shady north side. By sticking the living area from north to south through the apartment both silence and natural light can be guaranteed. In addition to the primary facade the east, south and west sides of the building provide a second layer of back-ventilated glass mounted between the prefabricated concrete balustrades.