BMW Welt in Munich, Germany, is BMW’s new glass-and-steel palace for car delivery and brand experience. Josef Gartner using Outokumpu’s austenitic stainless steel is building the façade. Buyers can choose to pick up their new vehicles from BMW Welt, a futuristic showroom to open to the public on 20 October 2007. The dominating feature is a “double cone,” a glass-and-steel structure that supports a cloud-like roof. Here perforated stainless steel panels act as both an aesthetic and a functional element, providing the desired impressions as well as sun protection. Stainless steel is also the dominating façade material on the upper sections of the building, and it is used in indoor cladding. The contract for the façade, roof constructions, and some indoor wall structures was awarded to Josef Gartner GmbH of Germany, a company with an extensive track record of customized steel and aluminum curtain walls worldwide. Mr Gartner selected Outokumpu as the stainless steel supplier on the basis of long-term good relations with the stainless company and Outokumpu’s long experience in the architecture sector. Outokumpu’s supply for BMW Welt comprised approximately 500tns of stainless coil and sheet. Most of the total, used on the exterior surfaces, is in grade EN 1.4404. This highly alloyed austenitic grade provides adequate corrosion resistance in Munich’s inland atmospheric conditions. EN 1.4301, providing good resistance to atmospheric corrosion in milder conditions, was used in indoor cladding. All material was delivered in the 2B surface-finish condition. It was shotblasted prior to fabrication into cladding elements by Josef Gartner.
