Zaha Hadid Architects
Central Building - BMW Plant
Leipzig, Germany

Image courtesy Zaha Hadid Architects

Zaha Hadid Architects recently won a competition to design the 40,000 square meter Central Building for the new BMW Plant in Leipzig, Germany.
The scheme, chosen from an initial shortlist of 25 international firms, is due on site by January 2003.
The project is a unique opportunity, proffered by an adventurous client, to push the boundaries of contemporary office design, articulating a transparency and flexibility of internal organization that is exciting and fresh.

Image courtesy Zaha Hadid Architects
Top View of Model

The Central Building is the nerve-centre of the whole factory complex, acting as a dynamic focal point for its major activities. The underlying diagram of the design is distinctive, as the administration is located in the centre of the building, between the production sites (Body in White, Paint Shop and Assembly). The result is a continual flow of semi-finished cars “floating” by on conveyor belts, past the desks of administrators and engineers as they work.

Image courtesy Zaha Hadid Architects
The Entrance

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Interior View

The organization of the building is transparent and flexible; the generous lobby allows for deep views into the building, and the insertion of courtyards admits daylight and visibility to the building's heart.
Interaction between blue and white-collar sectors is encouraged and facilitated by the mixing of functions and creation of combined social spaces.

Image courtesy Zaha Hadid Architects

The car-park is an integral architectural feature that draws on the inherent dynamism of vehicle movement to generate a sense of fluidity. The result is an assimilation of complex forms and directions within a seamless whole.

Image courtesy Zaha Hadid Architects
Site Plan

Image courtesy Zaha Hadid Architects
Ground Floor Plan

The Central Building is scheduled for completion in 2004.

Zaha Hadid arcspace features

April 22, 2002