Autostadt

The Autostadt is a visitor attraction in the area around the Volkswagen factory in Wolfsburg, Germany, with a prime focus on automobiles. It features a museum, feature pavilions for each manufacturer in the Volkswagen Group, a customer centre where German customers can pick up new cars, and take a tour through the enormous factory, a guide to the evolution of roads, and cinema in a large sphere. It is also home to the largest glass doors in the world and the longest printed line. The line starts from outside Wolfsburg and travels through Autostadt to a point on a farm. It is about 4 miles long.

History

The idea for Autosdadt was started in 1994 when the concept of documenting the stages of production of Volkswagen vehicles and how the company's operations were showcased at Expo 2000 in Hannover, Germany. In 1998, Autostadt, which is German for "Car City", broke ground on the former site of a fuel company bordering Volkswagen's Wolfsburg production plant. Designed by over 400 architects, it was created as a new urban center, as it's close to downtown Wolfsburg.

The pavilion opened in May 2000 an opportunity to present famous cars which had been locked in crates to be shown to the public. It is located next to Volkswagen's main factory which is also an attraction. Every Volkswagen model is available giving the opportunity for the public to choose what they want. Volkswagen then manufactures the car to how the purchasers require it to be.

Visitors and attractions

Autostadt attracts around 2 million visitors a year. It is very popular because of the ultra modern architecture it features in each building. There is extensive use of water and vegetation between the pavilions and mounds of earth covered in grass are located in the grounds. Modern design is not just incorporated into the pavilions but also into the furniture such as benches and chairs.

It has a small track for the off-road Volkswagen Touareg underneath the bridge which leads from the main town to the Autostadt which is located above the main canal cutting through the city, the Mittelland Canal. Visitors must be able to show driver's licenses before being able to drive the vehicles. First, the guide drives the car around the track showing the features of the vehicle and giving information of the vehicle's capabilities. After driving around the track, the visitor can then drive around the track under the surveillance of the guide who sits in the passenger seat. Any other passengers sit in the back. Features of the track include a 21 degree angled hill, another hill which is angled on the side, a water tank, a sand pit which is located under a road bridge, a log road and a numerous small mounds which allow one wheel to be raised off the ground. The price of this runs at about €25 (2005 prices).

There is a mini track for children where they can drive small electric cars in the form of Volkswagen Beetles.

Autostadt has a large variety of multimedia activities and devices which include car design software. There is a room exhibiting the advantages and disadvantages different fuels have on the performance of cars. There are two cinemas which show small films in German. One of these cinemas is located in its own purpose built buildings and is in a large sphere.

Major attractions are some famous cars, such as the first petrol vehicle produced, and the Beetle which featured on the cover of "Abbey Road".

There are two 60 meter/200 ft tall glass silos used as storage for new Volkswagens. The two towers are connected to the Volkswagen factory by a 700 metre underground tunnel. When cars arrive at the towers they are carried up at a speed of 1.5 metres per second. The render for the Autostadt shows 6 towers. When purchasing a car from Volkswagen (the main brand only, not the sub-brands) in select European countries, it is optional if the customer wants it delivered to the dealership where it was bought or if the customer wants to travel to Autostadt to pick it up. If the latter is chosen, the Autostadt supplies the customer with free entrance, meal tickets and a variety of events building up to the point where the customer can follow on screen as the automatic elevator picks up the selected car in one of the silos. The car is then transported out to the customer without having driven a single meter, and the tripometer is thus on "0".

There is also a room with interactive devices which provide information on the design of cars using Audi as an example. Computer software allows visitors to design their own cars using features from Audi cars and send them to an email address and get them printed at the printer located in the centre of the room.

Pavilions at Autostadt

There are seven pavilions dedicated to car manufacturers at Autostadt.

Volkswagen production and development

There are two pavilions for Volkswagen which show production and the development of cars.

The Volkswagen development pavilion is the largest in ground area of all pavilions at Autostadt. The pavilion is circular in shape and has two floors which display all models in the Volkswagen range plus a shop of Volkswagen articles of clothing, die cast models and vehicle accessories which is located on the top floor.

The production pavilion is the smallest and one of the last of the pavilions to be constructed. It was not included on the original render of Autostadt.

Bentley

The pavilion for Bentley is built into a small hill. It has a marble roof and the entrance is cut into the side of the grass-covered mound. The exit is on the opposite side of the pavilion.

The pavilion begins with an escalator with a film either side documenting cars that Bentley has produced since the creation of the company. There is then a spiralling walkway which descends around a rotating displays of cogs illuminated by coloured lights which change throughout. Television screens of varying sizes are located around this contraption which show different videos of their vehicle's performance.

The displays include a history of Bentley. Displays of how the cars are produced are located on the main wall with two rooms which display leather and finishes in the cars. Three cars are displayed including the Bentley Speed 8 which won the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in 2003.

Škoda

The pavilion consists of a number of metal sculptures. It is the only pavilion which does not display any examples of vehicles produced by the company.

Lamborghini

The building is completely black and a show with a yellow Lamborghini Murciélago attached to the wall greets visitors. During the show, the lights dim and dry ice floods the room before finally diminishing revealing that the car has disappeared from the wall. During this, the car which sits on a vertical platform has been rotated 180 degrees and sits on the outside of the building.

Audi

The building is large and has a tour showing different vehicles, including the latest car with the Quattro engine and the car used in the Le Mans 24 hour race. A version of the Audi TT cut out of a block of wood and of brushed metal is displayed with dummies with projected faces which talk German located next to them. A spiral walkway surrounds a circular projection screen which displays different films with the projects located inside the screen cavity. Below the screen on the ground floor is the Audi R8 in which visitors can sit.

EAT

The SEAT pavilion is surrounded by water and plants and is one of the largest pavilions. A metal archway is located at the entrance to the bridge which leads to the entrance of the building. The roof of the entrance is glass and the wall to the right is comprised solely of red wing mirrors. There is a display of the third generation of the SEAT Toledo in a glass case. The platform it sits on rotates and the side doors are open. The next room then comprises all current SEAT models on display. A staircase leads up to a mezzanine level with numerous computer screens. This finally leads to an exit which comprises a wooden based bridge on metal tubes. This bridge is interactive; the tubes contain speakers which play back the Seat 'castanet' SFX with each footstep across the bridge.

External links

* [http://www.autostadt.de/info/cda/main/0,3606,2~1,00.html Autostadt Official Site]
* [http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/company/autostadt Volkswagen UK]
* [http://www.autointell-news.com/european_companies/volkswagen/vw_marke/volkswagen-autostadt/volkswag19.htm Automotive Intelligence]
*archINFORM|projekte|9469
* [http://www.seat.com/com/generator/su/autostadt/site/autostadt,lang=en.html SEAT website on pavilion]
* [http://www.bnoack.com/pict/seat.html Multimedia information of the SEAT pavilion]
* [http://www.jackrouse.com/work/project-details.cfm?index=1&box_id=142 Jack Rouse Associates]
* [http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=124257 The storage tower on Emporis]