Jury shortlists winning designs for the new Max Planck Campus in Martinsried
The next steps will determine who will implement the new Max Planck Campus
The jury meeting for the second phase of the two-stage architectural competition for the new Max Planck Campus in Martinsried took place on Munich’s Prater Island on 4-5 November 2025. The meeting was chaired by architect Prof. Tobias Wulf from the Stuttgart Technical University of Applied Sciences.
The renowned jury comprised leading architects, representatives from the Bavarian State Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development, and Energy, the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts, the municipality of Planegg and of the two future users – the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry and the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence.
The competition was announced on 17 December 2024, with 15 submissions participating in the first phase. Six of these were selected for the second phase. From these, the jury now determined the prize winners.
Max Planck Society President Patrick Cramer opened the two-day session. In his opening remarks, he praised the commitment and dedication of the participating teams, emphasizing the project’s special significance. He thanked all involved for their extensive work and contributions to the open, constructive, and democratic process. He also said that the Max Planck Society will put a strong focus on carefully guiding the remaining steps to ensure the success of the future-focused project.
After an extensive assessment of the submitted designs, the jury found that the shortlisted designs show great potential and provide many remarkable design solutions. However, it was concluded that all the chosen submissions still have the opportunity for further development and refinement in certain areas, given the project’s exceptional complexity and the multitude of requirements for the new campus.
“The task was highly complex, requiring a carefully prepared jury session with extensive discussions,” said jury chair Tobias Wulf. “Beyond functional requirements and challenging framework conditions, the central focus was on how to design a future-ready Max Planck Society research campus in terms of urban planning, architecture, and energy. The final decision will be made after further in-depth work to refine the proposals. Nevertheless, all submissions demonstrated impressive quality and the extraordinary commitment of participants deserves special recognition.”
The jury unanimously deciding to award two equal second prizes and one third prize, rather than selecting a single winner. This will allow for further development of the designs before making a final decision on the best approach for the complex campus project.
Award-winning designs
The following teams were awarded prizes:
| Joint 2nd prize: h4a Gessert+Radecker Generalplaner GmbH, Stuttgart | Joint 2nd prize: Staab Architekten GmbH, Berlin |
|---|---|
| architecture, landscape architecture, technical equipment, structural engineering, urban planning | architecture |
in collaboration with
| in collaboration with
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| 3. Preis JSWD Architekten, Köln | |
| architecture, urban planning | |
in collaboration with
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The awarding of the prizes was decided by a simple majority. At the end of the jury meeting, the panel recommended that the Max Planck Society commission the winners to refine their designs based on the jury's feedback for evaluation in the next phase of the selection process.
Background: A new campus for excellent research
After more than 50 years of intensive use, the existing buildings of the two Max Planck Institutes in Martinsried are showing their age. In the long term, the buildings can no longer meet the flexible requirements of modern scientific research. In the future, the facilities will not be able to meet the adaptable, technical, functional, and sustainability requirements that future research endeavors will demand. As comprehensive renovation would be economically unfeasible, new buildings will be constructed on the Max Planck Society's site.
The two-phased competition sought an interdisciplinary design for the structural redevelopment of the renowned research site in Martinsried. The focus was on urban and architectural planning of the new campus that will unite the research, administrative, and infrastructure facilities of the two Max Planck Institutes.
The new campus will combine innovative life science research with a modern, open, and climate-neutral campus concept. Construction is planned in several phases; with the first phase covering around 43,000 square meters of floor space.
Next steps
The three award-winning teams will refine their designs through a cooperative process that is integrated with the legally-required procurement negotiations. The aim is to select a final design by spring 2026 as the basis for further campus planning and to commission the appropriate partner offices as general planners for the realization of the Max Planck Campus. Subsequently, all designs from the first and second competition phases will be made available to the public.
The following step will be to integrate the selected design into the urban development plan, thereby laying the foundation for its implementation.