Tuesday 6-8-2010

This is the U-Bahn station at the Technical University of Munich northern satellite campus in Garching. We visited the Center for Applied Research where they develop and experiment with different types of building systems such as hot water storage systems, solar thermal vacuum tubes, and geothermal heating systems.


This is the back side of the U-Bahn station and it transitions into an urban landscape where people can inhabit this green space.


This is inside the Center for Applied Research. I completely geeked out on the lecture and tour that was provided to our group. They are researching some awesome sustainable technologies that are renewable and safe for the environment.


This building known as the 'Mensa' is similar to a student union building because it contains the student cafeteria and public space for students but it also has classroom space.


The facade of the Mensa building has a really awesome glass louver system that diffuses direct sunlight to reduce glare which mitigates solar heat gain.


Interior of the Mensa


This building was awesome because it has a four story slide built within the central atrium.


Here is the four story slide.


Here's me exiting the four story slide, it was badass!!!!


This building is the computer science building and holds the largest computer within the EU which contains 100,000 processors. We were not allowed to take pictures inside the room, which was more like a warehouse, where the computer was located.


This 2 foot thick concrete wall protects the computer mainframe and the metal grid is used as lighting protection.


Our next stop was the Swiss RE. Can you spot it in the distant. The Swiss RE is one of the largest insurance corporations in the world that reinsures other insurance companies that insure high risks investments such as buildings and large developments. Swiss RE also is the world leader in researching global climate change because the companies they insure tend to be affected by natural disasters, and they set their insurance premiums by forecasting global climate change and weather patterns and areas that are at risk for natural disasters. So if insurance premiums change around the world it is because of Swiss RE and the type of research they are doing, which is directly related to global warming. The definition of their business can get confusing. Here is the link to their site if you want to know more. http://www.swissre.com


The exterior of the Swiss RE building.


The Swiss RE building has an elevated green screen which enclosed the whole complex in a shroud of wisteria





The Swiss Re is such a lucrative company that they have a collection of Andy Warhol's original artwork.


Staring into the courtyard. This building was awesome!!