50 Years of BMW Headquarters

As time passes by, it brings with it the stories of places, monuments, people, everything that has somehow marked the hands of time of human history. This time, we will talk about the history of BMW’s head office building in Munich. With its innovative spirit, well-defined curves and stunning views over the city, the building has retained its architectural beauty as the years have progressed. The HQ recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. Andon July 21& 22 V&G went to celebrate this milestone with the BMW team. Congratulations on this achievement.

Half a century of stories run through the corridors of this house of BMW, as many of them have lived in the building since its creation. But more than history, if we look back, we will understand how the BMW headquarters building came about and what it came to represent for the country. No one can remain indifferent to this project, a property with a cylindrical appearance, where the large and bright offices, with their oval form, open up to the views over the city, which extend in the shape of a circle. The building stands in the north of the city, close to the Olympic Stadium, and behind it only the enchanting mountains serving as a backdrop.

The so-called «Hochhaus» (as everyone knows it) played a key role in the history of the BMW brand. It was in the late 1960s, a time of great success for BMW, that the business was expanded and new horizons opened up. Eight years later, it was in the hands of architects to present what was to become the brand’s office space. With various visions of what the «Hochhaus» building could be, the winning project that would become an international icon came from Austrian Karl Schwanzer. The architect from Vienna who designed and realised something revolutionary. There are 22 floors for offices, meeting rooms and a 99.50-metre-high basement, centred around the four main cylinder-shaped elements. Schwanzer was inspired by the architectural language of Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, highlighting the need for office spaces with a modern design that enabled co-working between employees. And even in the construction technique Karl was daring and irreverent. The almost 100-metre-high building was built from top to bottom, and not the other way round, as is usual, i.e. the upper floors were built first, let’s say «hanging» from the steel roof construction, with the reinforced concrete central tower being erected first, while the four main cylindrical elements were taking shape on the ground, and then hydraulically moved upwards and completed in segments. Something unheard of in the 1960s. But which proved that the futuristic and innovative thinking is not in the era, but in its thinker and creator. The construction of the building began in 1968 and four years later, when Munich hosted the Olympic Games for the first time in 1972, the building was completed, with the official opening date being May 18, 1973.

The 1970s led to changes in cultural, social and financial paradigms, and BMW was also part of this transformation. Under CEO Eberhard von Kuenheim, BMW took great steps to prepare the business for the future, and the company has remained synonymous with success through the decades. It was at this time that the BMW 3 Series, 5 Series and 7 Series range emerged, a concept far ahead of its time. You may not know it, but at that time BMW had already unveiled the company’s first totally electric vehicle, the BMW 1602e, powered by electricity from batteries, (built on a common BMW 1602), of course, in today’s times, only having a range of 50 km and a maximum speed of 50 km/h would not satisfy us, but the truth is that, at that time, it was an unprecedented achievement in the brand’s history.

It should also be mentioned that as soon as the headquarters was inaugurated, the new BMW Museum, next to the «Hochhaus», also opened its doors. This is also an incredible building, displaying the brand’s technological and engineering innovations. One of the most visited in the country.
50 years later, the building that blends the urban landscape with that of the Alps continues to mark Munich’s skyline as a city of the future. Modern, bold and creative, that’s how we would describe Karl Schwanzer after watching the feature film He Flew Ahead - a portrait of what the architect’s life was like in the 1960s, when the «Hochhaus» was built.

Actor Nicholas Ofczarek plays the role of the architect in the film. For those who are curious, the film’s premiere is scheduled for autumn 2023. We should also remember that Schwanzer died in 1975, at the age of 57. In order to mark this half century of history, a 50th anniversary exhibition will be held at the BMW Museum, with free entry. More succinctly, and in the words of Francis Kéré – winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize 2022 -, one of the speakers we were privileged to hear at the anniversary event, «the light of the building is the key to the project». So is the «Hochhaus».