Mercedes-Benz Museum
The name Mercedes-Benz gives people the perception of wealth, sleekness, speed and luxury. The Mercedes-Benz Museum gives people the perception of wealth, sleekness, speed and luxury also. Germany is the place where the first automobile was invented; therefore, it is an appropriate setting for the automobile museum. Award-winning architects from UN Studio designed this very unique building. The building was started in 2001 and completed and opened in 2006.
Sometimes, a museum is just about what the walls and insides hold. Not so with the Stuttgart, Germany Mercedes-Benz Museum. The museum structure itself is also about the clever architecture used in the design of the building where every detail was thought through allowing for display spaces and also a restaurant, office spaces and other uses. This very large, 16,500 square meter building has facades that are covered in aluminum and glass. It takes the shape of a three-leaf clover using three overlapping circles with the center removed to form a triangular atrium. This design compliments the cloverleaf of the nearby fast lanes of the highways B14 and B10. The shape of the building is also a reminder of the logo used for the Mercedes-Benz Company, a circle with a three-pointed star. The building is made up of only rounded forms and curves, having no right angles. Another unique feature is there aren’t any pillars used for support in the building.
When museum guests ride on the elevators, they are able to experience part of the museum by being shown an introduction to the museum.
In 2007, 860,000 people visited the Mercedes-Benz Museum. Admission is free for everyone. It would take about two hours to tour the nine levels of 160 cars and 1,500 exhibits.
I chose this building for a couple of reasons. First of all, I really enjoy cars and secondly, the design of this building is so unique on the inside and out, it is a clever way to exhibit many unique cars, limousines, sports cars and even buses. It would be a wonderful experience to visit Germany and drive to the Mercedes-Benz Museum one day.
www.unstudio.com/projects/year/2006/1/139
http://www.viamichelin.com/viamichelin/gbr/tpl/mag5/art20060615/htm/tourisme-mercedes-museum.htm
