Architecture practice Cobe has created a new design center concept for multinational organization and automaker Geely in Sweden. The 14,000-m² project is made in part to form the setting for Geely Design’s development of the new electric car brand Lynk & Co. The center will be a multi-purpose building designed to perform as a four-story machine.
Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (Geely) was founded in 1986, and in 2018 it was the fastest growing automotive company in the world, with an innovative strategy and a portfolio of brands ranging from the world-known Swedish brand Volvo Car, London’s electric taxicabs, US-based Terrafugia, which aims to develop flying cars for private users, and the only four-year-old brand Lynk & Co, which offers an innovative Netflix-like subscription service for electric cars.
The center will offer large spaces with room for constructing clay models of cars in a scale of 1:1 as well as dark areas where virtual designers can work on giant screens in the design space at the top of the building. As the team explains, the exterior materials are inspired by an automotive universe and setting, where the use of glass and metal in the facade and concrete on the terrain creates a natural connection with the cars that are designed inside. The interior materials are similarly inspired by the softer interior universe of cars, with an emphasis on light curtains, comfortable furniture and sophisticated detailing.
Dan Stubbergaard, architect and founder of Cobe, comments on the new project: “We are very excited to work with Geely Group on their new design center in the heart of Gothenburg’s buzzing and beautiful harbour front. Electric vehicles are the way of the future and Geely Group’s innovative strategy and new ideas within this field fit perfectly with our mindset. Lynk & Co’s coming subscription service for electric cars, among others, is a potential gamechanger in the transition from fossil fuels to a more green, energy-efficient and CO2-neutral transportation. Hopefully the new design center can help to promote this urgent transition even further."
The new project is part of a unique campus named "Uni3 by Geely" on Gothenburg’s harbour front, set for completion in 2022.
News via Cobe