The design of the Audi Center in Frankfurt is based on the Corporate Architecture concept developed for Audi by Allmann Sattler Wappner, in which speed, asymmetry and visibility are its key typological characteristics.
New and used Audi cars are displayed on asymmetrical curved ramps that simulate the driving dynamics of an actual street scene inside the dealership. The curves carve into the building’s cubature and can be seen from afar through transparent sections of the façade that open within the perforated and folded metal cladding – a typological design element of Audi’s brand architecture.
The spaces and rooms are layered on top of one another, displaying a wide range of vehicles in a comparatively small urban footprint. The Audi Center in Frankfurt is made up of two separate structures that house the sales floor, service areas, workshop, vehicle warehouse and administrative offices in addition to the showroom. The two five-story buildings are connected via drivable bridges.
This design is just one example of how Audi’s Corporate Architecture concept can be implemented effectively through a dialogue with the specific regional parameters.
Realization:
Competition:
Specialist planners:
WSP CBP Tragwerksplanung, Munich (Structural design)
WSP Deutschland AG, München, Ludwigs Ingenieure, Düren (Building services)
realgrün Landschaftsarchitekten, Munich (Landscape design)
Raible + Partner, Reutlingen (Electric planning)
Horstmann + Berger, Altensteig (Building physics)
Transsolar Energietechnik, Munich (Energy planning)
Schmidt König Lichtplaner, Munich (Lighting design)
Photography:
Jens Passoth