Its probably fair to say that had Porsche wanted to build their new museum in Stuttgart city centre, the planning permission process may have taken “some time”
And would invariably still be “under consideration”.
Fortunately they decided to build the museum next to their factory in the Stuttgart suburb of Zuffenhausen, a location where they have more or less feudal sovereignty, and so we are all now able to behold what is without question the most imposing and brazen architectural project realised in Stuttgart in recent years.
Much like the company’s cars and history, you don’t have to like or approve of the construction, but you can’t ignore it.
But if you do like it, or simply want to understand it better, from Friday March 16th 2013 the Porsche Museum Stuttgart is presenting an exhibition that sets out to explore and explain its own background.
Porsche Museum Stuttgart
The history of the building is quickly explained. In 2004 the Porsche board authorised an architectural competition for a new home for the company’s museum – an institution that since the mid 1970s had sat, somewhat forlorn, on the main factory complex.
The brief called for a building that translated all that is rudimentary and intrinsic in the Porsche automobile into an architectural concept.
The winning entry came from the Vienna based Delugan Meissl Associated Architects.
Much as with Oscar Niemeyer’s contribution to Berlin’s Interbau 57 architecture exhibition, Delugan Meissl’s winning design floats with an apparent effortlessness on a series of V- shaped columns.
In contrast to Oscar Niemeyer’s unassuming, quadratic contribution to the Hansaviertel, the Porsche Museum is a self-confident monolith caught somewhere between Noah’s Ark and a cooling tower. Albeit a self-confident monolith that dominates the surrounding area without ever getting arrogant. Its proportions and diagonals agreeing with the neighbouring roads and railway tracks, while – and despite initial impressions – it doesn’t rise any higher than the surrounding buildings.
Reminiscent of a rapidly growing crystalline structure that has, finally, forced its way through the earth’s crust and into the light, the Porsche Museum opened on January 31st 2009 and just 18 months later had welcomed its one millionth visitor.
The exhibition “Built in Zuffenhausen – Construction and architecture of the Porsche museum” uses sketches, models and other items from the company’s archive to explain not only the technical background to the building process, but also the decisions surrounding the choice of materials, as well as presenting some of the unsuccessful competition entries – a rare chance to see how things could have looked.
It is equally rare that a museum presents an exhibition devoted to itself. And yes one could find it narcissist. In this case we don’t – because the museum is such a compelling structure that almost demands to be better understood.
Whether you like it or not.
“Built in Zuffenhausen – Construction and architecture of the Porsche museum” can be viewed at the Porsche Museum, Porscheplatz 1 70435 Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen from March 16th until May 26th 2013.
Full details can be found at www.porsche.com
And further photos can be found in our Facebook Gallery.
Porsche Museum Stuttgart
Porsche Museum Stuttgart