For the first time since its opening in 2000, the theme park at the Autostadt in Wolfsburg receives another building structure: The new Porsche Pavilion inaugurated in summer 2012, which expresses the importance of the Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG within the Volkswagen group family.
Curving lines and exciting bends make the Pavilion a dynamic yet reduced sculpture with its characteristics derived from the Porsche brand image. As designed by HENN, the structure captures the dynamic flow of driving with a seamless building skin. Its lines pick up speed and slow down just to plunge forward in large curves with ever-changing radii. The stainless steel cladding forms a flush envelope for this vibrant structure, creating the impression of a homogeneous unity, whilst creating a continuously changing appearance depending on light and weather conditions. At the entrance the pavilion cantilevers 25m over the lagoon’s water surface in front. Below the cantilever of the large asymmetrical roof, a sheltered external space opens up. This space is visually connected to the surrounding landscape, but forms its own acoustic enclosure, providing seating for a few hundred guests. Architecture and landscape (WES Landschaftsarchitekten) as well as interior and exterior form a coherent, flowing continuum.
Inside the pavilion a concentrated space opens up, allowing to experience the sports car brand Porsche and its history, yet, casting aside the conventional limits and restraints to perception. The elliptically curved ramp embraces the dynamic principle of the architecture and leads the visitor to the lower, around 400m² large, exhibition stage areas. (hg merz architekten museumsgestalter and jangled nerves).
Description by architects
