Museum in Stuttgart

Building use

Other

Country/Region

Germany

Overview

The building is used to present about 160 cars belonging to the Mercedes Benz Museum, established in 1936. The new museum had to be completed by the start of the 2006 football world cup. The cars and trucks to be presented belong to two different exposition paths: one with the “Myths” selection Mercedes’ most iconic models, and one with a chronological presentation of Mercedes’ production cars. The two different exposition paths continuously intersect to offer visitors a customizable experience.

Basic information (construction date, number of stories, gross floor area, adopted design code, engineer(s), Contractor(s), etc.)

Construction date: 2004-2006 Construction date: 2004-2006
Number of stories: 9
Gross floor area: 36,000m2
Adopted design code: Eurocode
Engineer(s): WernerSobek
Contractor(s): -Number of stories: 9 Gross floor area: 36,000m2 Adopted design code: Eurocode Engineer(s): WernerSobek Contractor(s): –

Issue and/or innovation

The two different exposition paths are characterized by a different façade of the building that is opaque in the “Myths” part and transparent in the conventional car and truck exposition. The issue was the creation of 30m unobstructed spans and a perimetral wall able to support the heavy weights still providing a dynamic aspect to the construction

Reason for composite solution

Composite was used in two elements:
– the slanted columns that mark the perimeter of the building in the conventional car and truck part of the exposition and in the floor assembly, to allow the creation of the complex double-spiraling geometry
– in the floor system, to support spans up to 3 meters and a significant load due to the presence of cars and potential crowding.

Specific solution/technical details

The slanted columns are created using heavy steel profiles (varying shapes) encased in on-site poured concrete. The concrete is heavily reinforced with additional rebars and a thin metal encasing encapsulates the pour, creating at the same time the formwork and external finish of the columns, whose geometry varies continuously. The composite floor is formed by steel beams with shear studs