Biennal Barbara Cappochin Prize 2009

MERCEDES SALZBURG

Object of the work:

BRIEF Car dealership with garage and showroom
To find a concept that reconciles the different needs and tempi of human and car under one roof and to integrate this building into the landscape was the most determining challenge of this brief.
The building is located along a prominent urban road leading into Salzburg and can only be viewed when driving by. Assuring the sustainability of a creative entrance to the city of Salzburg was in its own best interests.
The dynamics and motion of cars has yielded to a conceptual approach which draws one into the building.
The effect greatly increases the enjoyment of the visitor. The user can move within the building as if on a public road: it is possible to drive through, park, get out of the car and experience the world of automobiles.
The sales area situated on the upper level becomes the focus of the car dealership and also in relation to the ground floor. Because it is raised above street level, it succeeds in creating a pleasantly quiet atmosphere in spite of the high traffic in the building’s interior. Hence, the showroom is no longer located at the street level, but rather in the landscape. At the same time, the sales level reacts to its surroundings by sloping towards the underlying street intersection, with its beveled platform on which the vehicles are presented dynamically.
The façade’s structure and selection of materials places the building into the landscape and assures – in addition to its high use of daylight – the transparency and lightness of the building complex.
The spanning roof and the fin-like side wings create the building’s spatial presence and frames the breathtaking view. Thus it serves to produce shade on the glass surfaces and positively influences the cleaning costs as well reducing the demand for energy required from the cooling systems.


Choice of materials:
White sheet cladding was used for the exterior of the service and sale areas; the floors were smoothed cast-in-place concrete and exposed concrete supports were used. The color concept consists of bright aquapaneel boards and ceramics tiles in the interior whereby materiality and detailed planning encourage the inside and outside to flow into each other.
In accordance with the conceptual contrast of the dark elevated ground level and bright upper building, the lower story employs dark tiles and materials. An extensive glass facade, plantings, and the use of wood in the internal fittings provide both comfort and light.
The targeted use of carpets, wood paneling, textiles and colors set the accents that serve as a means of orientation and zoning of this complex building to create various atmospheres that correspond to the perspective uses.


Technological-structural choices:
The building project remains in a logical consequence of the spatial consolidation of 8 locations distributed throughout the city. The consolidation of different locations effected significant synergies in creating a multi-brand location.
Besides the usual standards, such as regenerative heat recovery in the ventilation and air conditioning area, the high usage of daylight in the showrooms should be mentioned here, which is achieved by the optimized usage of skylights and glass surfaces. Moreover, through the vertical stratification of the sales department over the service areas an extremely compact building envelope has been created to substantially affect the building’s ecological sustainability.
The installation of central supply systems as well as the consolidation of the entire spare parts warehouses for 6 car brands saves on many movements in logistics and vehicles as well.


Use of material in respect to the context:
Special attention was given to the consistent realization of the creative demands to offset the building from the surrounding development and to fully unfold the impact as an image carrier. The sleek design in contrast to the visually loud surroundings creates a quiet constant: all variables in regard to content such as the changing advertisements, rows of automobile take place from the within the building envelope, thus the high transparency of the building is perceived as a secondary element.
The office floor’s double facade enables an interior sun protection, climate buffer zone and guarantees natural ventilation despite the noise created by traffic and the nearby airport. Therefore, a complete glassing was possible, taking full advantage of the view of the Alpine panorama.