| |
 In
the distance, the neo-Gothic Flatow tower looms in the midst of Babelsberg
Park. Straight ahead, the river Havel widens itself to the lake Tiefer See.To
our host Peter Schreyer the panorama spreading out in front of the windows
of the brand-new Volkswagen Design Centre Europe is "a tremendously lavish,
almost Scandinavian landscape." The centre has recently opened officially.
Bright prospects for designers, but as soon as those car designers take up
their work the days of gazing at the lake are past. The three-storied building – designed
by Berlin architect Moritz Kock and with a profile reminiscent of a large steamer – is
built spaciously and transparently on the inside, but shielded off from the
outside. What happens here – a few hundred metres away from Glienicker
Bridge – is so secret that the glass roof over the presentation
hall, as large as an indoor pool, is screened off from curious looks
from overhead aircraft. Before the members of the executive board
at VW can view the models of future cars on the 2,600 square-metre
floor, the textile blinds unfold at the push of a button.
Peter Schreyer,
a kind Bavarian man in glasses, heads the division for advanced design
in the Volkswagen group. His job: to think about styling the car
of the future for VW. In the past, he was chief designer at Audi,
the VW subsidiary, and his contribution to the brand's lasting success
with models like the TT or the A8. He received the design award of
the Federal Republic of Germany in 2003. Recently, Schreyer sat next
to film director Ridley Scott on the stage at the Berlin film festival.
Scott said: "I am in the transportation business. My
films get people to see places they haven't been before." Schreyer
replied: "Great. And I supply the cars." He wasn't kidding:
For the science fiction movie I Robot, Audi recently developed an unusual "study" – what
car engineers call their designs. It was a vehicle that rode on cylinders
instead of wheels.
|
|
