Euroboden apartments by David Chipperfield will be clad in limestone

David Chipperfield designs apartment block in Munich for Euroboden

Dezeen promotion: Construction is underway on an apartment building in Munich, Germany, designed by David Chipperfield for Euroboden.

British architect Chipperfield has re-interpreted Munich's historic Stadtpalais, or "city palace", with a free-standing building that will house a variety of apartments.

Set next to a historic park, and among the large 19th-century homes of the Kolbergerstrasse, the five-storey structure will be an understated contemporary addition to the neoclassical architecture on the street.

Its facade will be accented with varying textures of plaster, designed to add depth and rhythm, and bands of Danube limestone that will run horizontally under the windows.

"The house has to somehow present itself with some respect to the overall civic idea of the city," said Chipperfield in conversation with Euroboden founder Stefan Höglmaier.

"In my opinion such architecture has to be normal and special in a good way. At the same time, we should have high ambitions for normal."

Instead of being split into two halves like some of the original Stadtpalais, a range of different apartment types and sizes will be available at the Euroboden building.

The development will have two three-storey apartments with their own gardens, as well as several one-storey apartments and two apartments in the roof.

"The question for our time increasingly is, what is luxury and what does it look like?" said Chipperfield.

"It's not enough just to use a lot of marble: It's about the essential qualities of architecture. We rely on quiet materials and spatial generosity."

Thanks to the carefully arranged floor plan, all of the apartments will have three different aspects and a central living room with an open fireplace.

French doors set flush to the walls will connect the rooms and open onto recessed balconies with views out over a park and the block's private gardens.