A ‘Welt’ of knowledge in Bavaria
(Oh, Freude! Part II)
PART of the Welt’s extensive collection of BMW premium cars
MUNICH, Germany—The BMW Welt (English: BMW World) in Munich is all of 16,000 square meters. There are only around 55 vehicles there: 25 at the Welt and 30 at the Museum but only because there is so much more to this place than just vehicles.
For starters, BMW World’s structure by itself deserves special attention. Professor Wolf D. Prix refers to its design as “the architecture of movement in a frozen state.” Prix designed this unusual shape with the “cyclone” in mind—and the rest of BMW Welt representing clouds.
This building embodies speed, elegance and dynamism—values that equally pertain to BMW vehicles themselves. The BMW Welt signifies on the outside what it’s all about on the inside: dynamics and mobility.
“To put the dimensions of the BMW Welt into perspective, the roof of the BMW Welt is so big that it would have no problem covering St Mark’s Square in Venice. Yet it takes just 11 columns and the double cone (to prop the roof up),” said Helen Hüttl, LoeschHundLiepold Kommunikation GmbH Lindwurmstr, München, during an interview with Inquirer Motoring.
The BMW Welt does appear far lighter than it actually is. The roof itself weighs around 4,000 tons, or as much as 10 fully loaded jumbo jets. In addition to the 11 pillars, however, there are other, less obvious points of support for the roof—such as the elevators to the restaurant area and the VIP elevator to the customer lounge.
The BMW Welt is nine stories tall, including the four underground levels. There are 1,154 rooms in the building, many of which are hidden from plain view.
The floor of the auditorium is divided into segments and can be individually raised or lowered, allowing the overall structure—or “topography”—of the room to be altered. The three sections that make up the stage are three meters wide and might be individually used to create a smaller or larger platform. Each row of seats is 1.20 meters high and height-adjustable. This space can also be transformed into a variety of different rooms, as desired. Depending on the configuration of the individual floor segments, for example, it can serve as a level conference or banqueting hall, a venue for live performances, an exhibition landscape or a cinema with raked seating.
THE BMW Welt has been compared to the Parthenon on the Acropolis in Athens.
Super curtain
Instead of the conventional safety curtain of the classical theater that separates the audience from the stage, Hüttl described an immense 32-ton “super curtain” and two 16-ton counterbalances. In case of fire, the curtain can be completely closed to prevent the fire from spreading. When open, the wall disappears into the ground to create a seamless transition between the auditorium and the foyer. By virtue of the wall being situated at the far end of the hall, the entire auditorium has been approved for use as a stage.
As significant as the early history of the BMW brand as a maker of aircraft engines is the period when it was also a maker of motorcycles. Even before the first automobile was assembled in Munich, BMW had its R32 motorcycle, built in 1923, and developed by Max Friz. “We have been devoted for almost 90 years now—and with resounding success, as reflected not least in our numerous motorcycle racing triumphs to a passion,” said Hüttl.
A 1923 R2D2 is on display at the Welt. In comparison, the BMW R1600 GT2 is the latest version of the R2D2, and it has the i-drive with adaptive light, USB slot, and phone slot, to name a few.
Longest cantilever bridge
The pedestrian bridge that connects BMW Welt to the production plant is the longest cantilever bridge in the Bavarian area. Together with the bridge over the street, the gallery is Bavaria’s longest cantilevered pedestrian bridge at 269 meters and 7.5 meters high.
The production plant, at 269 meters long and 790 meters at its highest point, is like one massive machinery that creates the body of the BMW car. There, around 9,000 BMW associates from more than 50 countries turn out some 900 BMW 3 Series cars and 1,450 premium engines on a daily basis.
Prix compares BMW Welt to an ancient Greek temple, most notably the Parthenon on the Acropolis in Athens. But the Welt, however, is around seven times bigger but needs just a quarter of the number of columns to support its roof.
The staging area for customers is in the Welt building. Here, customers from all over the world can pick up their new BMW cars for a 515-euro collection fee.
