CASA, the Center for Applied Skateboard Arts, forms the first construction phase of the new action sports center of the City of Munich in the Pasing district. Since its opening in 2025, it has attracted visitors well beyond the city limits. The new skate hall, with an area of approximately 1,000 m², was created through the refurbishment and conversion of the former Eggen factory located north of the railway line between Munich and Pasing.
The project required a particularly sensitive approach to the listed historic fabric—a challenge that equally affected the design team, building physics consultants, and structural engineers.
The spacious and bright character of the historic hall, defined by the large barrel vault with a continuous ridge skylight and the delicate steel structure dating back to around 1913, was fully preserved. A contemporary lighting and sound system now enables a wide range of uses and creates an appropriate atmosphere.
The skate hall of the action sports center before and after refurbishment. Photo before refurbishment: Behnisch Architekten; after refurbishment: David Matthiessen.
The key tasks in building physics focused on heritage-compatible thermal insulation, room acoustics, and the design of indoor climate and daylight using whole-building simulations.
In terms of thermal performance, particular consideration had to be given to the faithfully restored gable façades, articulated by pilasters and horizontal bands and featuring curved eaves. External thermal insulation was not an option in these areas. Instead, the solid gable walls of solid brick and concrete were fitted with 50 mm mineral foam internal insulation (U = 0.53 W/m²K) and 20 mm insulating render in the window reveals. Thermal bridge calculations confirmed compliance with minimum thermal protection requirements.
Minimised reveal insulation at the gable façade, verified by thermal bridge calculations in accordance with DIN 4108-2 under standard boundary conditions.
By contrast, the smooth longitudinal façades allowed for the more advantageous external insulation system, with a thickness of 14 cm (mineral foam, WLG 045, U = 0.20 W/(m²K)). To minimise thermal bridging at the transition between internal and external insulation, the two systems were overlapped.
Principle of overlapping internal and external insulation systems (in practice, the internal insulation was extended across the entire first bay for visual reasons).
The historic cornice was recreated using the mineral external thermal insulation composite system (ETICS), with a thermally optimised transition.
The historic barrel roof made of thin-walled precast concrete elements could not be structurally verified and was therefore replaced by a visually similar timber cassette construction. This solution allowed for the integration of an additional insulation layer as well as a double-glazed skylight with integrated photovoltaic panels. The delicate steel trusses were retained after a limited number of local reinforcements.
The ground slab remained uninsulated. An economic assessment based on DIN 18599 and the thermal transmittance calculation according to EN ISO 13370 for heat transfer to the ground showed that improved insulation of the slab would have reduced the hall’s final energy demand by only around 3%. Replacing the slab was therefore deemed uneconomical. Instead, a 75 cm deep perimeter insulation against the soil was installed where possible.
To keep both investment and operating costs low, building services were deliberately reduced to a minimum. This led to the adoption of a natural ventilation concept, optimised by Müller-BBM using thermal simulations (IDA ICE).
The result is a tailored indoor climate strategy with automated supply air openings at ground floor level and exhaust flaps in the skylight. Driven by effective stack ventilation, this system ensures good indoor air quality and, particularly during heat periods, enables night-time cooling.
Fresh air supply via automatically controlled openings at ground floor level, exhaust air through the skylight, and heating via radiant ceiling panels.
Simulation results show that:
Cooling via radiant ceiling panels has been pre-installed for large events and can be activated with the planned second construction phase.
Photo: David Matthiessen
A distinctive feature is the central semi-transparent skylight with integrated photovoltaic cells (24 kWp). It was designed to provide both sufficient daylight and effective summer thermal protection. Target values derived from the simulations include:
This achieves a bright, glare-free interior atmosphere without the need for costly external shading systems.
Acoustic design also required a careful balance: the loud rolling and impact noises generated by skateboard use had to be attenuated without compromising the historic spatial impression.
Wood-wool acoustic panels with mineral wool backing (αw ≈ 0.70) were integrated into the cassette ceilings. The radiant ceiling panels were acoustically activated through perforation and sound-absorbing backing (αw ≈ 0.50), while seating niches were lined with acoustic panels (αw ≈ 0.70).
As a result, the target reverberation time of T_target = 2.0 s ± 20% was largely achieved in calculations.
For its holistic yet heritage-sensitive approach, the project received the KlimaKulturKompetenz award, won the DNA Paris Design Award 2025, and has been nominated for the DAM Prize 2026.
An article by Christoph Rein, Consulting Engineer, Müller-BBM Building Solutions GmbH,
published in Bauphysik 47 (2025), Issue 6, A15, and on bauingenieur24.de.
