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Coop Himmelb(l)au's BMW World | |
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New Urbanism in Charlotte | |
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Detailing the Sobek House | |
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Coop Himmelb(l)au's BMW World The initial design had the roof largely translucent to allow visitors to see its structure. Grohmann explains that this was changed by the client. BMW opted to prevent sunlight from shining directly on the cars as they were being presented to customers. The company wanted the presentation of the vehicles to be consistently perfect, and direct sun would create an uncontrollable aspect of the experience. Photovoltaic panels cover more than a third of the 16,000-square-meter (172,000-square-foot) roof surface area. Other Levels An indoor-outdoor pedestrian footbridge connects over the road and into the building, with views down into the main hall. This bridge, which seems a setting for a fashion catwalk, puts the visitor both on display and in a position to look down on activities below. The bridge bulges out in parts to create little viewing balconies. Customers get the keys to their new cars up on the "Premiere" level, where 20 spotlit, rotating platforms show off the new purchases. To investigate the spread of exhaust fumes from the cars driven on the Premiere level, 3D simulations of thermal currents and air streams were conducted. Exhaust vents and air-intake vents were positioned in a hollow floor with a high-pressure exhaust function in order to keep this environment uncluttered. The experience of driving from the top-floor collection point down a curvy ramp and through the building to the roadway has clearly been designed to be exhilarating. Integrated Model The customized solution to the geometry of the project is made up from specific site and design constraints and resolved with a strong digital dialogue between engineer and architect. Throughout the project, the architects and engineers continually updated a shared 3D computer model. Parametric tools and scripting were used to allow rule-based processes to be automated. The use of parametric modeling and digital technologies allowed the structure and form of the BMW facility to develop together, and for ideas to be tested quickly and performance evaluated. Inputting constraints and parameters into the digital model allowed it to respond to changing needs, and to optimize structure and form. Prix says the concept for the technological building systems focused on integrating light, climate, and acoustics, and adapting their range of influence by modifying their dimensions or building in appropriate control mechanisms. The design of what Prix calls the "gigantic hall" focused on saving energy and minimizing the need for mechanical systems of heating and cooling. Only a portion of the hall uses air-conditioning. In the restaurant, guests seated near the glazed facade will appreciate that the vertical facade-support profiles are heated, allowing localized warmth and preventing downdrafts. Auto Landmark BMW Welt seems to be succeeding as a destination. Since opening in October 2007, it has already welcomed over a million visitors. The company anticipates sales of about 200 cars each day in 2008. The facility is on par in terms of "coolness" with Zaha Hadid's recently completed expansion of the BMW plant in Leipzig. Some have speculated that BMW Welt was a response to the recent Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart by UN Studio. Prix credits digital tools and new technologies with helping make his designs a reality in such a technologically and conceptually ambitious building. Referring to the difference between building at the start of his career and now, Prix says, "Radical architecture is only radical today when it is also built... that is the difference between now and then." >>> Terri Peters is a writer and designer based in London. Discuss this article in the Architecture Forum...
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