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BMW Welt

Fascinating architecture for fascinating cars – “BMW Welt” in Munich, Germany.

Fire-protected "Joy of Driving"

The "BMW Welt" (BMW World) showcase museum and motoring experience centre at the Munich headquarters location of the German car-maker is a real architectural pearl. The unusual design was one of the first in a new generation of so-called "communicative" buildings. Some 20,000 buyers a year come to this temple of the "Joy of Driving" to collect their new cars. To serve them, around 300 brand-new cars are placed at the ready every day in a multi-tier garage facility on the subterranean levels of BMW Welt.

Triple protected

The vehicles waiting in this facility pose a major fire risk however – primarily due to the quantities of fuel and other service products in them. To counter that risk, and in order to comply with regulations governing the garaging of vehicles, BMW deploys a triple safety system: All the building's subterranean levels are made entirely of 100 percent non-combustible materials. In the event of a fire, a "wet" sprinkler system comprising over 10,000 sprinklers delivering water at a rate of 20 m³ per minute is activated. Additionally, the oxygen levels in the garage are kept permanently below 15 percent. This means any open flames self-extinguish. Nitrogen is used as the inert gas. 

Stainless steel is first choice

Within BMW Welt, almost all the piping systems for drinking water and fire extinguishing, as well as the nitrogen lines, are constructed from the Viega system range. Depending on the application, pipes and connectors are either all stainless steel from the Sanpress Inox range, or from the Sanpress range featuring gunmetal connectors. Stainless steel was of course the first choice of material for aesthetic reasons. But its resistance to the media being transported was also key. It meant that the engineers could in principle cover all applications with one piping system. This simplified the entire logistics and on-site storage process. The Viega combination of systems was also employed to process all connectors and adapters to valves and fittings with the same Pressgun press tool – a further time and labour saving benefit. 

Object BMW Welt
Location Munich, Germany
Year 2007
Object Type New building
Size 75000 m2
Area of use Commercial
Architect Prof. Wolf D. Prix, Vienna
Installation Karl Laußer GmbH, Rattiszell
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