Case Study Mercedes Benz Museum

8/10/2019 Case Study Mercedes Benz Museum

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MERCEDES-BENZ MUSEUM

UN STUDIO

RYAN SCHWARTZ


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INDEX

FORM ............................................................................ 2

BODY ..............................................................................8

TECHNIQUE ................................................................11

SPACE ..........................................................................14


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FORM


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In the heart of Stuttgart, Germany stands a beacon of

exemplary automotive engineering, proudly housed in an equally

impressive museum. The Mercedes-Benz Museum by UN Studio

is unique in that it showcases a static collection of specific vehicles

- rather than an accumulation of various works of art, pieces

of cultural or historical significance, scientific curiosities or other

exhibits typical of museums.

The building itself embodies and reflects many characteristicsof the legendary automobiles that it holds, and becomes itself a

monument to fluidity and mobility.

This flowing design was inspired by the trefoil, which

consists of three loops continuously returning into themselves. The

celebrated Mercedes-Benz symbol bears a strong resemblance to

the original design inspiration, though UN Studio accounts this to

pure coincidence.

This was undoubtedly not a mistake however, as the design

competition aimed to create a building iconic of the luxury car

brand a fact that UN Studio took full advantage of.

Form in Motion

This simple design pattern evolved from line, to surface,

to a final complex volume.

Major axes and dimensions were fixed early, and all

subsequent geometry was parametrically constructed.


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UN STUDIO

1988

19681959 1977 2006

Daimler

1901

Benz

1886

Mercedes-Benz

1926

1886

WWI WWII

2012

Vehicle Sales

UN Studio Projects

Architects Ben van Berkel and

Caroline Bos attempted to create a twist

on the museum typology by harnessing

the incredibly specific programmatic

individuality of this building.

As a museum centred on

automobility, they focused much of their

attention on the ambulatory circulationsystem within the building which began to

dictate the overall form.

Museums of late pushed their

respective boundaries in regards to form,

but this project became an sum of the

best features used in the past.

Frank Lloyd Wrights Guggenheim

Museum in New York was pioneering in

its use of a prescribed spiral circulation

system. UN Studio inverted and doubledthis system into intertwining helices with

two main narrative scripts.

In a similar fashion to the Centre Pompidou in Paris, this circulatory space becomes celebrated. Unlike Paris which segregates these

circulation spaces from the gallery however, the two become so enmeshed that it becomes difficult to distinguish one from the other.

The Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin by

Mies van der Rohe provided unobstructed

routes, allowing patrons to choose their

own paths. The double helices in this case

were meshed in such a way as to allow

various combinations of specified routes,

adapting the form to keep this function.

Varying Trajectories

The union of UN Studio with Mercedes-Benz

was well timed, given the climaxing success

of both companies.


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Combining these factors with the reversal of ambulation through

the space (where patrons enter the building, immediately ride an elevator

to the top floor, and begin their descent) a distinct typological form

was created, applauded, and subsequently copied by others shortly

thereafter.

The unending loops of a trefoil translate directly into the spatial

arrangement of displays within the museum.

Throughout the nine levels of exhibits there are no closed roomsand no straight walls. This encourages the smooth, flowing continuity of

overlapping exhibits which are based on along a narrative timeline (thereby

having no abrupt starts and stops) - all coexisting simultaneously along a

blurred continuum.

Start

Finish

Ambulation

Plan

Axonometric


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EXHIBIT EXHIBIT

The enmeshed double helices

used as both display and circulatory

space allow for a directional narrative, but

also allow patrons to have choice in their

route of exploration.

Over100YearsofHistory

in4-6HoursofExploration

Narrated Choice

This continuity was masterfully

accentuated by the deliberate removal of

focal points that distract the viewers eye

away from the exhibits. These include

angular corners where walls meet the

floor, ceiling, other walls, or the intense

use of colour.

Through folding, curving, and the

removal of colour, the architects were

able to allow the cars on display to

consume the entire focus and attention of

the viewer, while the visual distractions of

the formal structure begin to fade quietly

into the background.

Narrowing Focus


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Though never explicitly stated by UN Studio architects, the materiality

and aesthetics of the museum bear striking resemblance to the formal

qualities of the modern automobile, especially those of Mercedes-

Benz. The projection of car onto building allows the two to mirror one

another, strengthening their symbolic relationship.

Mirrored Projection

Colour Scheme

Grill Elements

Hard Lines

Subtle Curves

Iconic

360 Ribbons of Glass.

Glowing Lights


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BODY


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UN Studio used the ramping

helices as a subtle form of influence

on the body. The dynamic between

horizontal and gently descending floor

planes acts as a subconscious clue to

visitors exploring the museum.

The oblique floor planes were

meant to stimulate the mobility ofpeople walking and are used as

transition areas between exhibits,

whereas exhibits are housed on more

static traditional surfaces, causing

visitors to slow their pace.

This is further augmented by

strategic use of the curving and folding

walls and the periodic choice of route

that must be made.

In a sense, this allows the user

to focus more intensely on the exhibits,

while also allowing people to view the

various cars from a variety of anglesand heights as they pass by (not only

horizontally but vertically), making the

cars seem less static..

The lack of intense colour

and visual way-finding landmarks in

combination with a melding of levels

and continual rotation easily playstricks visitors. Sense of direction and

elevation are soon thwarted by means

of the rhythmic circulatory paths.

Many Cars, Many Angles

Plane & Pace

Elevation

Pace

Periodic Choice


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As a building dedicated to a

vehicular time-line, one can begin to

appreciate the subtle approach taken

to ensure its adherence to this peculiar

program.

As previously examined,

museum typologies often consist of

a singular open plan where users

can bounce in seemingly random

fashion from exhibit to exhibit, or a

highly structured narrative of discrete

elements to be viewed only one at a

time.

These approaches, although

appropriate in some instances, were

not suitable for this program.

UN Studio was able to

cleverly condition the interaction and

experience provided by the museum

to the visitors, in a fashion that mimics

the rhythmic ebb and flow of time.

Overlapping booms and busts are

provided in a cyclical experience

as one exhibit beings to fade from

view, another is beginning to loom just

ahead.

Conditioned Sensory Experience

The car is a machine dedicated to motion. Similarly, the Mercedes-Benz Museum is a

machine dedicated to motion. It was designed specifically to move hundreds of thousands of

people each year around its exhibits - cars on display that were built to move, but are forced to

sit still in their new environment. It is the museum itself that seems to shift instead, smearing its

internal boundaries and blending its formal elements.

This sense of blurred distortion holds strong ties to the modern car, especially the renowned

speed of Mercedes-Benz engineering.

In this case however, instead of cars speeding past, the building races all around you as

do hundreds of other visitors, while the cars themselves sit in perfect clarity.

Role Reversal


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TECHNIQUE


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The creation of copies inherently

reduces the value of the original, thereby

elevating the cost or perceived value of

singular works of art, rare cars, first edition

books, etc. By creating a unique and non-

reproducible building, the significance of the

building is elevated. Visitors who wish to

experience the museum and its exhibits musttravel to the museum itself as that particular

experience cannot be found anywhere else

in the world. Similar buildings may exist, yet

none that begin to resemble a copy of the

original.This is in part due to the use of

computer aided design by UN Studio in

the museums creation. Though curvilinear

forms have been seen in architecture

for centuries, the complex mathematical

geometries existing in multiple dimensions as

seen in the Mercedes-Benz Museum require

computer design aid for both modelling and

engineering purposes. Computer aided

design (CAD) has revolutionized building

technology and modes of construction.

The use of computers in the modelling

and drawing of this building allowed for

complete freedom in form. The multitudeof continuous curves, slopes and oblique

lines of the building resulted in a structure

that was incredibly complex to build. Each

concrete form was custom made and there

were thousands of pieces of angled glass

for the windows that needed to fit exactly in

place. Without the use of computers, this

building would have been nearly impossible

to build. Without the original schematic

plans, the building literally could be not bereproduced.

Somewhat ironically however, the automobile (even with its complexgeometry) was has been specifically designed for mass production. As

the two begin to slowly converge, perhaps this will have the same effect on

buildings of the future. The advent of CAD has also allowed for the easy

reproduction and distribution of construction drawings, allowing indefinite

reproductions and copies to be made quite readily, thereby devaluing iconic

architecture.

Reproducibility

VALU

E

COPIES

Complexity via CAD


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The complex geometrical form of the

museum lends itself not only to an effective

exhibit layout and experience, but also some

highly advanced public safety features. As

modern buildings, especially those open tothe public, are subjected to more rigorous

safety codes, these standards become

increasingly informative to the buildings

composition. This is especially true in the

case of fires a long standing nemesis of

the built environment.

The central atrium which connects

to each floor via open air circulation allows

for a complex ventilation system to remove

smoke in the case of fire. Aside from

common sprinkler systems, this building has

the ability to generate a strong wind current

within the atrium by means of several large

fans in the roof which form a vortex of

swirling air. This miniature tornado sucks

the toxic air from all circulation and exhibit

spaces into the uninhabited space of the

atrium, while simultaneously allowing fresh airto permeate into the public spaces through

the opening of multiple vents. Visitors are

then able to see and make their way out

safely out of the building. This autonomous

behaviour nearly resembles organismal

self-preservation characteristics, detecting

problems and mitigating them.

Technical Safety

The creation of an iconic building for the sole purpose of displaying objects

immediately increases the perceived value of the objects being displayed, as if they

were on a pedestal. This transformation of the objects aligns with Mercedes-Benzs

company objectives, those of high value luxury cars. By constructing a pedestal on

the scale of a multistory museum to display its own goods, Mercedes-Benz is forming

an elevated image of their own product to all who enter the museum.

Display Value


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SPACE


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By designing the Mercedes-Benz Museum as a series of

continuous, interlocked set of ramps, UN Studio effectivelyfashioned a giant knot of concrete. This knot essentially

creates spaces by developing the areas under, over and

around the unadorned concrete structure. Through a

continuous folding and striation of a single homogenous

element, numerous different spaces are delineated. By

focusing on the pedestrian pathway and its form, the

interstitial spaces inhabited by exhibits materialize.

These interstitial spaces again pose somecomparison to that of the automobile. An

infrastructural framework is first built,

establishing and demarcating a particular

inhabitable space, clearly defining an inside

and outside. This space can then be

expropriated and inhabited by the users.

Space Creation

Spatial Demarcation


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The space created by and within the form of this building is one of neutrality. UN Studio essentially created a concrete and glass shell

to be inhabited by exhibits and visitors. The vast, open spaces of the museum are all interconnected and act as a larger, singular space

that encompasses the entire assemblage of exhibits. The individual exhibits may be unique, but the encompassing nature of the space acts

to make each level and display era work as a part within a larger whole.

This ambiguity also allows the curators of the museum to swap exhibits over time as necessary, as the building lends itself to

continuous display alteration. As new features are created and old ones grow stagnant, exhibits and cars can be replaced and the museum

building will still act as a perfect neutral backdrop to showcase the vehicles. In this sense, the museum acts as a static yet adaptable space

through which time glides, highlighting whatever era the curator currently desires.

The location of this museum as a nodal home for

Mercedes-Benz in Germany acts as an anchor in space.

Though Mercedes-Benz vehicles can and literally do exist

everywhere on the planet, their country of origination serves

as a focal point through which the cars are born, and also

where the pre-eminent return to be showcased. The museum

draws upon the achievements of the company and its globalexperience, aggregating into a common home, creating a

space nearly to that of worship.

The end result of UN Studios efforts has resulted in a

dominant architectural node that acts centrally in a complex,

hierarchical multi-national network. Working as both a local

and global tourist attraction - a literal cultural shrine for the

German-born automobile - the Mercedes-Benz Museum in

Stuttgart is that of a modern museum typology deeply rooted

in architectural theory and the proud home of Mercedes-Benzs

exemplary history.

1926

2012

Variable Continuum Display

Nodal Anchor


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REFERENCES

Ben Van Berkel and Caroline Bos, Buy Me a Mercedes Benz, (Barcelona: Actar, 2006)

Ben Van Berkel and Caroline Bos, UN Studio Design Models: Architecture Urbanism Infrastructure,(London: Thames & Hudson, 2006)

Falk Jaeger, UN Studio, (Calbe: Jovis Verlag GmbH, 2009)

Mercedes-Benz Museum, ArchDaily, Accessed December 1, 2012, http://www.archdaily.com/72802/mercedes-benz-museum-un-

studio-photos-by-michael-schnell/

Mercedes-Benz Museum, UN Studio, Accessed December 1, 2012, http://www.unstudio.com/projects/mercedes-benz-museum

Tornado World Record at Mercedes-Benz Museum Stuttgart, YouTube, accessed December 1, 2012, http://www.youtube.com/

watch?v=79XVdJRKhE0

Case Study Mercedes Benz Museum

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