Marienplatz Munich: Sleeping place instead of armrest

At the Marienplatz S-Bahn station in Munich, which Deutsche Bahn is currently modernizing, new benches for waiting passengers have been in place for some time. The benches – or more precisely the armrests on them – have now been targeted by a group of activists. They want to draw attention to defensive architecture and the way homelessness is dealt with by removing the armrests.

On Tuesday, January 17, 2023, a group of activists unscrewed armrests from several waiting benches at Marienplatz S-Bahn station in Munich. This turned the benches, which were divided into individual seats, into longer seats that are also suitable for lying down. With this action, the activists want to draw attention to the way homelessness is dealt with. The Süddeutsche Zeitung, Merkur and Abendzeitung newspapers all reported on the action.

In their reports, the media outlets quote from a presumably anonymous statement from the group. The activists’ motto: “We will not be repressed”. They did not associate themselves with a party or organization; they had come together spontaneously. Sleeping places were created on 23 benches at the Marienplatz S-Bahn station in Munich. Individual armrests were left screwed on for people who needed them.

The activists removed the armrests “to draw attention to the displacement of homeless people”, AZ and Merkur quote from the statement. They had decided to take action themselves instead of waiting for the parties to solve the problems.

As can be seen from the reporting, the activists probably perceived the armrests on Marienplatz as examples of “defensive architecture”. Defensive or hostile architecture, hostile design, anti-homeless architecture – this refers to structural measures that are intended to prevent certain actions in public spaces or public buildings, for example, or to keep out groups of people that the installers perceive as “undesirable”. Elements such as paving stones under bridges, spikes on surfaces or armrests on benches are intended to prevent homeless people from staying there for longer. The term defensive architecture came in third place in the 2022 Unword of the Year competition: the jury criticized “the misleading euphemistic term for an inhumane construction method that deliberately seeks to ban marginalized groups from public spaces.”

Deutsche Bahn is currently modernizing five underground S-Bahn stations in Munich. Marienplatz is also one of them. In addition to new cladding on the pillars, walls and ceiling, the measures there also included new furniture. In February 2020, the Abendzeitung newspaper reported on criticism of the new benches: homeless people could not sleep on the benches and the separate seating areas could be too narrow for some people. It is not clear from the report who voiced the criticism. However, Deutsche Bahn has rejected the accusations.

When asked by G+L, a Deutsche Bahn spokeswoman explained that the S-Bahn stations were being modernized to ensure a pleasant stay for everyone. The aim is to offer travelers and station visitors attractive stations – “defensive architecture or exclusionary structures do not fit in with this claim.” Deutsche Bahn states that its waiting benches should be comfortable to sit on. Armrests make it possible to sit at a “comfortable distance” from strangers and are standard for waiting furniture, even in comparable places such as airports. They help people with limited mobility to stand up or sit down.

Finally, the spokesperson points out that helping the homeless is an important concern for Deutsche Bahn: “The Deutsche Bahn Foundation, which it finances, works together with its long-standing partner, the station mission, to help people in difficult situations and helps people without a fixed abode.” According to the SZ, a Deutsche Bahn spokesperson also said that charges would be filed for damage to property. The armrests on the benches at Marienplatz in Munich are to be reinstalled.

In their statement, the activists are said to have referred to a brochure from street furniture manufacturer Metdra. In it, the manufacturer writes: “The optional armrests make it easy to stand up and at the same time prevent misuse for lying down.” Metdra states on its own website that it supplies platform furniture for Deutsche Bahn. In an undated Metdra brochure on “Furniture for public transport and Deutsche Bahn AG”, statements similar to the above quote – that armrests prevent “unwanted use as a place to lie down” – can be found in the description of two bench models for Deutsche Bahn, among others. It was not possible to find out whether the benches from which the activists at Marienplatz unscrewed the armrests were also made by Metdra. G+L has not yet received a response to an inquiry to the manufacturer.

One day after the action, the city council faction of the parties Die Linke and Die Partei submitted a request to Munich’s Lord Mayor Dieter Reiter. The request was initiated by city councillor Marie Burneleit, who sits on the city council for Die Partei. Under the subject line “Ban defensive architecture – no misanthropic architecture in Munich”, the parliamentary group is calling on the city administration to list defensive architecture that has been implemented or is planned. They are also asking for suggestions on how this could be removed or made more people-friendly and banned in the city in future. Examples of defensive architecture in Munich include round benches at train stations that are divided by armrests.

According to the activists, the action at Marienplatz in Munich is intended to point beyond the benches there: “Our action is not just about the individual benches. We need to rethink how we as a society want to deal with homelessness. We don’t think that the people who are to be displaced by this architecture are the problem. It’s the conditions they have to live in that are wrong,” the media reports quote from the group’s statement.

What else is going on in Munich? The offices of MLA+ and Lohrengel Landschaft won the urban and landscape planning competition for a new district in the fall of 2022. Read more about what is planned for Munich’s Dreilingsweg here.