The evolution of the district that was once home to the Pfanni food factory has played a crucial role in the story of Munich. After Pfanni and other companies left the area in 1996, it became a gritty yet beloved area for nightlife and culture known initially as Kunstpark Ost, and later as the Kultfabrik. Since 2016 the area has been transformed into the Werksviertel Mitte, a dynamic, popular work-and-leisure district next to Munich’s East Station. MONACO taps into the spirit of this history with a building in two parts, referencing both the area’s current work-play balance and the colour and creative spirit of the Kultfabrik era. The building’s name is a reference to its location on Helmut-Dietl-Straße, which is named after the creator of German TV series Monaco Franze.

The work portion of the design is clad in warm clinker brick, which will be reclaimed from demolitions taking place in the region. These different brick types will be incorporated in a patchwork style that clearly shows its origins from multiple older buildings. Meanwhile the play façade is made up of colourful shingles, 70 percent of which will be made by Pretty Plastic, an Amsterdam-based manufacturer that makes façade elements entirely from recycled plastic waste. This will be the first instance of a façade using Pretty Plastic in Germany, and required a significant research effort by MVRDV’s Climate team to ensure that the product was permissible within the bounds of Germany’s building codes.

“With the sustainability approach of using Pretty Plastics, we are pleased to say that we have once again succeeded in creating a novelty in the Munich office market”, says Peter G. Neumann, the managing partner of Rock Capital Group. “This pays off in terms of ESG criteria and the ‘cradle to cradle’ approach, because the recycled plastic comes entirely from old building materials such as former plastic windows, plastic pipes, or similar.”