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Opel Headquarters

BDP, Rüsselsheim, 1997

 

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Exterior of Opel Headquarters 

Dennis Gilbert/View     Download Original

  • Exterior of Opel Headquarters    
  • Exterior view with landscaping    
  • Solar shading louvres    
  • Maple and oak flooring in the reception area    
  • Escalators in the atrium    
  • View of central atrium    
  • Latest car models are displayed on islands in the lake    
  • Ground floor plan    
  • First floor plan    
  • Section through atrium    
  • Typical office section    
  • Aerial view showing all phases of the complex    
  • Detail of typical office section    

German headquarters of automative manufacturer Opel, including office building and masterplan for adjacent visitor centre

Planned as two parallel office buildings joined by a central atrium, BDP’s Opel Headquarters accommodates around 1250 staff. The front block peels away at an angle of 45 degrees in order to present an open embrace to the main site entrance. This is to be matched, opposite, by a visitor attraction containing an auditorium, café and outdoor amphitheatre.

Staff access is provided via a first floor link bridging the site’s access road; visitors and staff alike enter via the visitor building, an idea Opel hopes will encourage non-hierarchical openness within the workplace.

Internally, escalators ascend the six-storey height of the building in a grand sweep along the length of the central atrium. Below, the atrium provides a showroom for Opel’s latest models, with further models exhibited on artificial lake islands visible through south facing glazing.

BDP’s palette of materials: profiled metal cladding, grey granite and limestone flooring, reflects the black, grey and yellow colours of Opel’s logo.

Data

  • Begun: Feb 1996
  • Completed: Sep 1997
  • Sectors: Office, Landscape design, Master-planning
  • Total cost: £151M
  • Address: Adam Opel Haus, Rüsselsheim, 65423, Germany

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