Geely Design Center

460 cobe geely design centre interior 0.625
Mobility of
the future

Year: Comission 2018, completed 2022

Client: Geely Group

Program: Offices with workshops and showroom

Size: 14.000 m²

Geely Design Centre is a new and exclusive design center for the multinational brand Geely Design, which develops and executes new ideas, solutions and world-class designs for the Chinese automotive company Geely Group. The building is forming the setting for Geely Design’s development of, among others, the new electric car brand Lynk&Co in a unique location on Gothenburg’s harbor front.

550 cobe geely design centre diagram

Geely Group was founded in 1986, and in 2018 it was the fastest growing automotive company in the world.

560 cobe geely design centre diagram

Mobility of the future: from electric cars and subscription services to flying cars.

Geely Group has an innovative strategy and a portfolio of interesting brands ranging from the world-known Swedish brand Volvo, London’s electric taxicabs, US-based Terrafugia, which aims to develop flying cars for private users, and Lynk&Co, which offers an innovative Netflix-like subscription service for electric rental cars.

071 cobe geely design centre brand

The design center is 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”.

Unique location on
Gothenburg’s
harbor front
520 cobe geely design centre diagram
530 cobe geely design centre diagram

The ground floor is accessed via a large public square with access to the waterfront.

540 cobe geely design centre diagram

Towards the harbour, the facade is pushed back, emphasizing the entrance and inviting people in.

The building is located at Gothenburg’s buzzing and beautiful waterfront with the view towards the city’s old town.

140 cobe geely design centre map
Urgent transition from
fossil fuels to green
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.

400 cobe geely design centre exterior
151 cobe geely design centre model
191 cobe geely design centre brand

The Design Center is no ordinary office building but rather a giant, four-story-tall machine for idea generation, design, prototyping and showcase. 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 a spectacular design space at the top of the building.

Simplicity is the
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.

200 cobe geely design centre brand
410 cobe geely design centre exterior
420 cobe geely design centre exterior

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.

450 cobe geely design centre interior

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.

230 cobe geely design centre diagram

The atrium functions as the heart of the building and connects to all floors. It futhermore draws sunlight into the building.

430 cobe geely design centre interior

Showroom located on the ground floor.

440 cobe geely design centre interior
House of
innovation

On the top floor lies the double high “Chamber of Secrets”, where Geely’s designers have a spectacular and completely sealed-off innovations lab.

470 cobe geely design centre interior
480 cobe geely design centre interior
490 cobe geely design centre interior

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.

500 cobe geely design centre interior
510 cobe geely design centre interior

Location: Gothenburg, Sweden

Client: Geely Group

Program: Offices with workshops and showroom

Size: 14.000 m²

Year: Comission 2018, completed 2022

Collaborators: BRA Bygg

Team: Alejandro Saldarriaga, Alexander Fagerholt, Anders Gade Jørgensen, Ben Goss, Birk Folke Daugaard, Camila Stadler Buschle, Claes Nilsson, Clement Bue Maali, Dan Stubbergaard, David Alba, Eik Bjerregaard, Enzo Pittol Nercolini, Gitte Højrup, Hugo Lindberg, Joanna Anna Jakubowska, Johanne Holmsberg, Laura Diestel, Lauren Taylor Heaton, Mads Lützen, Majbritt Lerche, Margarita Nutfulina, Matti Hein Nørgaard , Max Neumeister, Mette Vædele Nikolaj Harving, Ornella Clappier, Rasmus Lassen, Stefan Mylleager, Søren Jeppe Sørensen, Susanne Skov Kunert, Tonny Jensen, Ulrich Pohl.

Photographer: Rasmus HJortshøj - COAST and Francisco Tirado