volkswagen parking lot towers at autostadt

volkswagen parking lot towers at autostadtinterior view of the autotuerme (‘auto towers’) of volkswagen’s autostadt manufacturing facility in wolfsburg, germany

spanning approximately 16 stories, two silos are used as a kind of temporary vertical parking lot at volkswagen‘s production facility and autostadt visitor attraction in wolfsburg, germany. designed by renowned international firm HENN architekten, the 48-meter tall silos are composed of glass and galvanized steel, illuminated by night. a conveyor belt system transports finished cars directly from the adjacent manufacturing plant to the towers’ basement. from there, they are lifted into position via mechanical arms that rotate and run along a central beam, moving vehicles in and out of their bays at a speed of two meters per second.

head-on view of a vehicle being transposed

the facility is used to temporarily store new cars that are to be picked up in person at the autostadt customer center. indeed, an underground tunnel connects the two buildings, and the car rolls along an internal track to arrive first to be fitted with license plates and then to the waiting owner. each silo fits 400 cars at a time, tending to deliver about 600 vehicles to customers each day.

view from above image courtesy motortrend

visitors may take a special glass elevator to travel up the silos

view of a car being removed from the park video courtesy lunarblazeeu

daily during christmas season, the silos become the site of a festive light display video courtesy plspt

project info:

gross floor area of two towers and the basement: 25,170 m²construction period: 1998 – 2000cost of construction including kundencenter: 62,886,000 €scope: hoai 1 – 9, executive architect

via thatslikewhoa