The new headquarters of the German Automobile Club (ADAC) features a dynamic design and harmonized concept, enriching the Munich skyline. With 75,000 square meters of usable space above ground, and 50,000 square meters of usable space below ground, ADAC headquarters offers all 2,400 ADAC Munich staff an abundant amount of room, including offices, a large conference and training center, a restaurant and a printing plant.

The building complex consists of a five-story plinth building, upon which a high-rise tower is constructed. The ground plan of the star-shaped plinth building measures 187 meters in a longitudinal direction and 107 meters in a transverse direction. The ground plan of the high-rise building atop the plinth measures 35 by 65 meters.

The high-rise tower was deliberately placed next to the railway tracks so that it neither cast shadows onto the courtyard and neighboring buildings, nor dominated the street.

A large number of demanding engineering solutions were required to support the high-rise tower, to build above two existing underground railway tunnels and transform the round body of the building above ground into a rectangular basement structure below. The foyer area, spanned by a multifunctional steel-and-glass roof, as well as the complex building façade, which allows individual user control, also proved to be particularly demanding challenges.

The structural system developed for the cantilever of the tower on the north-eastern side of the building provides a good example of an innovative solution. On the side facing northeast, the tower building stretches approximately seven meters beyond the contour of the plinth building. The loads from the columns running along the façade of the high rise had to be transferred to the recessed columns in the base building. For this purpose, the design team developed a system of slanted struts extending over three and five stories, respectively. This solution required engineers to find a balance between tension and compression loads acting on the struts. Compared to space frames and trussed girders, this solution not only uses less space, but can also be constructed at less expense.

The main sustainability strategies begin with the building’s siting over active railway tracks. The necessary 350 deep-bored piles for the foundation were "activated" with plastic pipes to bring up ground water into the floors of the building for thermal cooling and heating. The facade construction prevents infiltration by using relatively simple, low-tech componentry. To provide natural ventilation for all office spaces an economical composite window was developed. The window construction includes a mechanical air supply device with mechanical flow control, which regulates the flow of fresh air and automatically closes under excessive wind pressure. Sun protection blinds, mounted behind the baffle pane of the composite window, minimize the solar gain while optimzing the use of natural daylight.

Inside, the various routes toward the building converge at a central glazed foyer in the courtyard; from here, a “ring road” on the first floor serves as an internal street connecting together the six parts of the building, each with its own service core. Elevating the internal circulation made it possible for the ground floor to be dedicated to public use.