The Blaues Haus

The Blaues Haus is located at Falckenbergstrasse 2, between Maximilianstrasse and Hildegardstrasse. It is surrounded by exclusive luxury boutiques and the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Munich and has a view of the Maximilianeum, home of the Bavarian State Parliament. Occupied by the Münchner Kammerspiele, the Blaues Haus is an inconspicuous structure at first glance, but it stands out from its surroundings thanks to the blue-painted exterior to which it owes its name: “The Blue House”.

This four-storey, functional building conforms to the rational architectural language of the post-war period of the 1960s and 1970s. The side facing Falckenbergstrasse has 16 evenly spaced windows; the other side features a large window in the style of a French balcony with a reduced cornice. All the windows are without ornamentation or bezels.

The ground floor incorporates a 3.5 metre high loading zone built with a concrete skeleton. The supporting structure is made of sandy limestone, clad on the outside with conglomerate and large glass panes. In the basement is the “Conviva” restaurant, an inclusive gastronomy project designed to integrate people with disabilities into everyday working life.

Spaces open to the general public in the Kammerspiele’s Blaues Haus include the “Werkraum” on the third floor of Hildegardstrasse 1, which has been hosting a programme of events every Wednesday to Saturday from the 2024/25 season on, including theatre plays, performances, readings, concerts, live music – and everything in between. The interior resembles an unfinished building with exposed brickwork and a permanently installed velvet curtain available for use if required. A special feature of the Werkraum is its access to the Otto Falckenberg School which connects the theatre directly with the drama school. The Werkraum’s auditorium includes 120 seats arranged in eight rows.

Another aspect of the Blaues Haus which is visible from the outside is the third-floor bridge which connects it to the Therese-Giehse-Halle. This steel substructure is covered with glass and has an interior lined with rainbow-coloured foil. During the building’s renovation, additional connecting structures were also created and the building was enhanced with a comprehensive contemporary guidance system which includes pictograms.

Tamara Reith, Marian El Mohasseb, Thomas Beschorner (Academy of Fine Arts, 2024 Summer Semester, Architecture Seminar by Dr. Ayca Beygo)