Geely Group was founded in 1986, and in 2018 it was the fastest growing automotive company in the world.
Mobility of the future: from electric cars and subscription services to flying cars.
Geely Group has an innovative strategy and a portfolio of brands ranging from the world-known Swedish brand Volvo Car, London’s electric taxi-cabs, US-based Terrafugia, which aims to develop flying cars for private users, Lynk & Co, which offers an innovative Netflix-like subscription service for electric cars, and the premium electric car brand Zeekr.
The new design center will be a multi-purpose building that strengthens and reflects the company’s identity and philosophy, rooted in an automotive design defined by themes such as “personal”, “new tech”, “dark”, “urbanism” and “respect”.
A unique location on Gothenburg’s harbor front
The building is located at Gothenburg’s buzzing and beautiful waterfront with a view towards the city’s historic city center.
The ground floor is accessed via a large public square with access to the waterfront.
Towards the harbour, the facade is pushed back, emphasizing the entrance and inviting people in.
fossil fuels to electric
transportation
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 building is designed with a public ground floor and private areas on the top floors, only with access for Geely's personnel. Here you also find the double-height 'chamber of secrets', where Geely's designers will have a spectacular and completely sealed-off innovations lab
Dan Stubbergaard, architect and founder, Cobe
A multifunctional machine
The new Design Center is no ordinary office building but rather a giant, four-story-tall machine. The building offers large spaces with room for the constructing of 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 spectacular design space at the top of the building.
ultimate sophistication
A core aspect of the design is the relationship between private and public areas. Copying is a major challenge in the automotive industry, which makes it crucial to prevent prying eyes when it comes to the most sensitive activity of all: the ongoing design of new cars and features.
The facade is open and transparent on the ground floor and gradually becomes more private towards the top of the building, as black metal slats on the glass facade are spaced closer and closer together in a vertical progression.
Showroom located on the ground floor.
Creative collaborations
The building is organised around a central atrium that connects the people working in the building visually, physically and mentally. Open stairs placed along the atrium provide quick and easy connections between different functions and people.
The atrium functions as the heart of the building and connects to all floors. It furthermore draws sunlight into the building.
innovation
On the top floor lies the double high “Chamber of Secrets”, where Geely’s designers will have a spectacular and completely sealed-off innovations lab.
Centrally placed in the lab is a sunken yard, where designers can move car models outside in order to register how daylight is reflected in the surface of the car. The floor of the yard is the glass roof of the central atrium, strong enough to support the weight of the cars.
