Brand skyscraper

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The brand high-rise from the southeast (2016)
Detail of the south side with logo from 2016
Branded high-rise building from the southwest with the Mittelland Canal and Wolfsburg North / South thermal power station

The brand high-rise (until 2016 VW administration high-rise or VW high-rise for short ) is the administrative center of the Volkswagen brand and the former administrative center of Volkswagen AG in the city of Wolfsburg in Lower Saxony . The house was built according to plans from the VW building construction department from 1957 to 1959 and is located on the premises of the Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg .

history

With the expansion of the VW plant in Wolfsburg, a larger administration building was required. As with the BASF high-rise in Ludwigshafen am Rhein and the Dreischeibenhaus by Thyssen in Düsseldorf , which were built around the same time, a representative, modern structure was erected. Clinker brick was used for the exterior design , as was the case with the approximately 1.3-kilometer-long front of the factory building to the east, which runs parallel to the Mittelland Canal and faces the city.

Initially, the building was supposed to have eleven storeys, during the construction phase a decision was made to build a thirteen-storey high-rise building due to the company's expansion. In connection with the construction of the skyscraper, the south side of the factory complex was also extended by three sectors to the west.

After the construction of the new administration high-rise, the only three-story previous building, which was located to the east of the new building and previously formed the western end of the south facade of the plant, which then comprised only 19 sectors, was demolished in autumn 1959.

In 1989 the high-rise was placed under a preservation order.

From October 2013 the skyscraper was completely gutted and renovated. To temporarily accommodate the employees, the office building BT10 (also: BT 10) for around 700 employees was built on the factory premises in the park to the west, which was to be used by other departments after the reopening of the high-rise. Among other things, the high-rise building was energetically renovated and slightly changed. Part of the ground floor ceiling was removed to create a hall for the presentation of vehicles. The main entrance was moved to the west side. In February 2016 it was announced that the group's board of directors would stay in the office building, while the administration high-rise would only be used by the Volkswagen group brand in future. The VW brand boss should have his office on the 13th floor. On September 15, 2016, the house was put back into operation and renamed the “Brand Tower” after an internal VW competition. Brand Board Member Herbert Diess was appointed CEO in 2018. As he continues to be the brand director, he will keep his office in the high-rise building in addition to his new office in BT10.

Architecture and use

The branded high-rise forms the western end of the long clinker brick facade of the production area, while the also clinker VW thermal power station Wolfsburg North / South with its four high chimneys forms the eastern opposite pole. The rectangular, elongated building of the brand high-rise points with its narrow side south to the nearby Mittelland Canal. Its height, including the VW logo, is 73 meters and the roof is around 63 meters high. The red brick facade is interrupted by regular rows of windows on all four sides. On the short side, there are eight windows each row on the short side, respectively 36. The windows are pilasters of concrete divided. The top row of windows is also separated from the brick by concrete. The two upper floors have small balconies.

In addition to the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG, around 700 people worked in the high-rise . The board of directors had its offices on the 13th floor. The managers of the “Volkswagen” brand have been using the house since 2016. The supervisory board room is on the third floor .

Others

On the roof there is a VW logo illuminated at night with a diameter of around eight meters and a weight of around 7.5 tons ; it was last renewed in 2016 and 2019. The tarpaulin of the logo from 2016 was reworked into bags , which were sold at the Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg in February 2020.

VfL Wolfsburg-Fußball GmbH is also managed from the high-rise .

In April 2012, Greenpeace employees came to the 13th floor and from there to the roof to protest against what they believed to be the climate-damaging corporate policy of Volkswagen AG.

literature

  • Nicole Froberg, Ulrich Knufinke, Susanne Kreykenboom: Wolfsburg. The architecture guide. Braun Publishing, Berlin 2011, ISBN 978-3-03768-055-1 , pp. 90-91.

Web links

Commons : Brand skyscraper  - collection of images

Individual evidence

  1. a b c d e Architectural history of the VW factory at architektur-geschichte.de , accessed on June 2, 2013.
  2. Wolfsburg. The Volkswagen city. Publishing house shows and knowledge, Bad Pyrmont, 1st edition 1954, pp. 18/19.
  3. Historical notes. Publication series of the historical communication of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, Volume 10. Showcase 1. Photographs from the Volkswagen factory 1948 - 1974. ISBN 978-3-935112-20-8 , Wolfsburg 2004, edition 2015, pp. 38–39.
  4. New name Markenhochhaus. inside.volkswagen.de, accessed on May 16, 2019
  5. VW high-rise gets a little brother. ( Memento of November 9, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) at: waz-online.de , March 22, 2012, accessed on June 2, 2013.
  6. VW high-rise is being renovated. In: Wolfsburger Nachrichten . December 23, 2012, accessed June 3, 2013.
  7. VW high-rise will be finished at Pentecost. waz-online.de from December 8, 2015, accessed on February 5, 2016
  8. ^ Wolfsburger Nachrichten of February 5, 2016
  9. The VW high-rise is now called the brand high-rise. waz-online.de from September 16, 2016, accessed on September 16, 2016
  10. ^ Volkswagen: Herbert Diess in the livestream. manager-magazin.de in April 2018, accessed on June 24, 2018
  11. VW high-rise: huge crane prepares to renovate. In: Wolfsburger Allgemeine Zeitung . July 9, 2012, accessed July 13, 2015.
  12. Volkswagen shows new brand identity and logo. volkswagen-newsroom.com, September 9, 2019, accessed on September 11, 2019.
  13. VW logo on news38.de website , accessed on September 16, 2016
  14. Bags are made from the Wolfsburg-based Volkswagen logo tarpaulin. Wolfsburger Nachrichten, February 25, 2020, accessed on February 28, 2020.
  15. Greenpeace occupied VW skyscraper. ( Memento of November 9, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) at: waz-online.de , February 19, 2013, accessed on June 3, 2013.

Coordinates: 52 ° 25 ′ 46.2 ″  N , 10 ° 46 ′ 6.8 ″  E