Air Conditioned: Anatomy of a Building

Master/ 4 SWS / 6 ECTS
Lecturers:  Cara Hähl-Pfeifer, Prof. Dr. Andres Lepik
Modul: AR30190

Interior comfort contributes to planetary discomfort. Buildings today account for roughly a quarter of global CO₂ emissions, and heating and cooling alone constitute close to 40% of all energy-related emissions. We are constantly exposed to fully automated heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), even in Munich's relatively temperate climate — whether at university, in museums, hospitals or on the metro. Rising temperatures will only further intensify energy use related to indoor climate control, forcing us to confront not only how we build to cool spaces, but why indoor comfort has become culturally entrenched.

The design of mechanical systems has long been the domain of scientists, engineers and specialist planners, and grown distant from the training of architects. The “valuable” architectural form has been compartmentalised from the hidden mechanics that sustain it – an artificial division deeply rooted in the modern Western project. An inquiry into the extensive archive of the Architekturmuseum reveals an only sparse and fragmented documentation of building services in a select number of projects. This illustrates the limited scope of what is deemed historically valuable by and for architects.

Nevertheless, these systems have been designed to be invisible for a variety of reasons, not just structural or aesthetic ones. Technological complexity, required expertise, staff shortages, security measures, bureaucracy and underlying political concerns largely prevent access to information about mechanical systems and their resource consumption, particularly if they do not comply with current energy standards.

This seminar is an attempt to investigate Munich's building anatomy anyways. Together, we aim to explore what typically remains hidden: how public buildings are operated and climatised to synthesise a perfectly conditioned, comfortable indoor climate. We will shift our focus to the systems that automate and support our daily lives. More than just understanding how the technology works, this seminar delves into everything beyond: Design, usage, maintenance, repair and adaptation, exposure and exhaust. While most of this information remains inaccessible at an official level, architecture can be used as an optical device to investigate at the intersection of technology, design, and material cultural practice.

The seminar is designed as a series of workshops and Munich-based excursions, interspersed with extensive periods of independent, (on-site) research and investigation as well as creative production. Using photography and a variety of other media, we will compile a speculative study on exposure to climate-controlled environments in Munich. Aim is to produce a series of juxtaposed real and fictional images for the upcoming exhibition 'Air Conditioned: Architecture between Comfort and Climate Change'. The exhibition is a collaboration between the Chair of Building Technology and Climate Responsive Design and the Architekturmuseum.

Kick-off: Friday, 17.04.2026 (Attendance required)
Meetings: Fridays, 9:45 am - 1:00 pm
Place: seminar room 0340
Language: English
Presentations: 19.06.2026 – final presentation; 13.07.2026 – project hand-in