Description
Located at the edge of the historic town center of Dresden, the Gläserne Manufaktur (Glazed Factory) was inaugurated in December 2001. Here the Phaeton, Volkswagen’s new luxury car, is assembled and sold in generously spaced premises. The site at Straßburger Platz is bordering onto the Großer Garten Park, and was formerly used as an exhibition and trade fair ground. The Gläserne Manufaktur is a place where the production and handing over of cars can be experienced. Due to the transparency of the architecture the steps of the automobile’s assembly in bright, studio-like spaces, or rather its manufacture, are visible from the outside as well.
Individual parts are delivered to the premises via a purpose-built CargoTram using the existing tram tracks of the public transportation system. Before the bodyworks enter the production line, they are exhibited in a glazed bodywork warehouse that functions like a large display window. Likewise, the completed cars are stocked in a glazed cylinder before being handed over to the customer.
Exhibitions, technological visualizations, restaurants and bars complement the production and delivery areas and form an entertainment zone, which is dedicated to the public and designed to be perceived as an urban event.
The specific combination of technology and culture promotes Dresden’s role as an integrative industrial location with a sophisticated exhibition culture. The Gläserne Manufaktur represents an event space complementing Dresden’s cultural heritage of historic sights with a striking contemporary building.
Drawings
Photos
Assembly of bodyworks
Originally published in: Jürgen Adam, Katharina Hausmann, Frank Jüttner, Industrial Buildings: A Design Manual, Birkhäuser, 2004.