Thursday, June 4, 2009

Mercedes-Benz Museum

Today we went to the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart. It was a wonderful experience as a designer. Everything, from the Architecture of the building and the design of the cars to the signage system and information graphics were awesome.

The building was completed just 3 years ago in 2006. It was designed by UN Studio based in Amsterdam. “The building’s height and “double helix” interior were designed to maximise space, providing 16,500 square metres of exhibition space on a footprint of just 4,800 square metres. The museum contains more than 160 vehicles, some dating back to the very earliest days of the motor engine.” (from Wikipedia)

After walking into the copious lobby of the museum you take an elevator to the top and meander down the six levels of the double helix, starting with the very first car that received a patent all the way to the latest 2009 model. Each visitor to the museum receives an audio guide that connects via bluetooth sound clips throughout the museum. On the long spiral ramps that connect the levels they put the historical period of the vehicles in context of world history. It was very interesting to look at the history of the 20th century through the eyes of auto makers.







This is the first patented automobile in the history of the world.



One of my favorites.





Mercedes was cool, even in the 80s.



A 2009 model.











They had examples of their advertising throughout the years as well.





Big type on the wall. YES!




A full wall, about 100 feet long, of fiber optic cables.





Just another example of their very cool signage.

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for the pictures and updates. My sister and brother-in-law are on the team too, but you post more photos! I'm praying that the summer goes well for all of you on the team.

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