Autostadt Wolfsburg

“Architecture is not an end in itself. Architecture always performs a function”, emphasises Gunter Henn, a man who has given new meaning to the term “corporate identity”. For Volkswagen, he created on a site measuring 22 hectares a world of automotive experience without equal. He brought together the seven marques of the Volkswagen brand in one location, translated each of these into a separate, unique shape and interconnected them all using a common architectural language. “It would simply have been too crude just to show the cars. We have endeavoured to create spaces in which visitors perceive the brand in their subconscious, even without actually seeing the automotive product”, Henn explains. The Bentley pavilion was created as the “jewel in the crown”, the setting being a hill with the visible portions constructed in green granite as a symbol of eleganceand understatement. To reinforce this impression, the 50 all-glass doors of the “module” are equipped with glazing rails from DORMA Glass and push handles from OGRO. Meanwhile, the DORMA BTS 80 floor springs serving the all-glass HSW-G horizontal sliding walls perform their duties in discreet concealment.

Prominent Features

In a landscape comprising waterways, lakes and green expanses, impressive constructions of urbane flair provide a distinctly municipal dimension. The “entrée” is created by the “Group Forum”, which is accessed via a pedestrian bridge over the “Mittelland” canal. Here, as is the case throughout “Autostadt” (Car City), openness and accessibility are the discernible principles underlying the corporate identity. And these characteristics are also ideally communicated by products from each of DORMA’s five divisions: Door Control, Glass Fittings and Accessories, Movable Walls, Automatic and STA. Special solutions create individual impressions, for example the horizontal sliding wall systems in the “Barolo” osteria—a combination of DORMA Hüppe Varitrans and DORMA HSW-G with its metallic glazing rails. The visible surfaces of this convivial conference facility are of aluminium with rosewood panelling.

The two 48-metre-high “car towers” of glass in the north of Autostadt were designed by Gunter Henn to provide a deliberate contrast to the four gigantic chimney stacks of the VW coal-fired power station: “Authenticity is very important to us. It belongs to the genetic code of Autostadt, its DNA.” The 20-storey glass cylinders each contain 400 new vehicles, which are stored and retrieved fully automatically in 40-second cycles. Once in the underground tunnel system, they are transferred to the Customer Centre for handover to their new owners. With all-round glazing, this elliptical construction also fits perfectly within the open character of the “city”.