Located near the Olympiapark in Munich and established in 1972 shortly before the Summer Olympics opened, the BMW museum is one of its kind focusing on the history of the automobile manufacturer BMW. When the construction of BMW Welt began directly opposite the museum, it was renovated from 2004 to 2008 and later reopened on June 21, 2008. The museum is a very popular one with about 250,000 people visiting it each year.
The tourists get a detailed overview of BMW’s technical development throughout the company’s history with a varied display of engines and turbines, aircraft, motorcycles, and vehicles in a plethora of possible variations. In addition to actual models there are futuristic-looking, even conceptual studies from the past 20 years.
The use of headphones and clever, often indirect lighting, lend the exhibition a largely peaceful atmosphere. The emphasis is on technical development and benefits of modernity. The building blends in with the exhibition concept.
The building was designed by the architect of the BMW Headquarters, the Viennese professor Karl Schwanzer. The unique structure and design of this silver building makes it known as the salad bowl or white cauldron. The roughly circular base is only 20 meters in diameter, the flat roof about 40 metres. The entrance is on the ground floor and consists of a cloakroom (in basement) and reception.
In order to visit the exhibits, the visitors have to ascend on a spiral upward in the building. Slideshows and smaller, in-depth exhibits are located on four “islands” inside the building. On the upper floor are individual exhibits, a small cinema hall and several interactive exhibits that explain the technology further. An escalator leads visitors finally back into the ground floor.
The design reverses the spiral from top to bottom and the order of the “operation principle” Frank Lloyd Wright built in Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.
