AUTOSTADT Exhibit

Light Weight Construction
AUTOSTADT in Wolfsburg

THE CONCEPT

The exhibit demonstrates the general interaction of substantial and constructional lightweight materials. A sandwich construction that is aesthetically derived from lightweight materials becomes a three-dimensional object that is filled with a lightweight frame construction. A simple rectangular exterior form was chosen due to the fact that lightweight construction exists mostly in the interior structure of an object. Over three interactive stations, visitors are able to get a deeper insight into the essential elements of the topic.

1. Materials in light weight construction

The visitor can remove trial materials from the exhibit and can then place them on an interactive “material decoder” surface. The decoder uses a digital code to recognize the material and display various technical data via a live action touch screen. The visitor becomes a material researcher and is able to virtually discover the physical properties and special characteristics of the material.

2. Structural light weight design

Three interactive libraries embedded in the structure of the exhibit show the visitor the structural principles and applications of lightweight construction. The material part removed in station 1 becomes a physical example of the materials and methods used in lightweight structures. The visitor can test their newly learned knowledge on a real life object.

3. Light weight construction at Volkswagen

At this station the knowledge gained in the first two stations is consolidated using impressive examples from lightweight construction at Volkswagen. This station is made up of two parts formally removed from the main exhibit. The first part displays a real monocoque of the XL-1 car. In addition to this there is a touch screens providing a complete overview of the lightweight design principles used for the XL-1.

The installation was open to the public until December 2013 at the Autostadt in Wolfsburg. Since that time the exhibit is on show at various trade shows and events.