VW attracts top talent with new "urban infrastructure"

The Henning Larsen designed Wolfsburg Connect will allow Volkswagen to attract top talent by providing them with a desirable place to live in Germany.

In collaboration with Gehl Architects, the firm’s 13.6-hectare masterplan for Wolfsburg’s Nordkopf district will tie the city together, “with active and liveable urban infrastructure.”

Wolfsburg Connect sets out to be an inclusive city built on ‘human terms.’

“We are designing an inclusive city on human terms- an approach that means putting emphasis on social life and accessibility,” says Louis Becker, Henning Larsen design principal.

“Together with Volkswagen, there is the opportunity to create a city that is the testing ground for the most cutting-edge mobility technology in the world- but what underpins the design is the goal to create a place that people want to be in and stay in.”

Henning Larsen’s masterplan offers a bustling neighbourhood that combines retail, residential, commercial, leisure and transport facilities. Sustainable mobility, green public spaces and liveable streets all replace what was once a disconnected and under-utilised site sitting across the canal from the Volkswagen headquarters.

The development should aid VW in attracting top talent to its workforce.

Ground level retail, technology and workshops are woven together with greenery and outdoor amenities. Activity will be clustered around major public spaces, with courtyards between blocks acting as open thoroughfares and serving pedestrians and cyclists.

The district will be truly mixed-use, with no single purpose structures. Offices and residences will be topped with roof gardens, decks and restaurants, so that even after the commuters have left for the day, the area will be filled with locals in the public plazas and restaurants.

Phase one of the project is expected to be completed by the end of 2023.

Created for client SIGNA, the masterplan is located on a triangular site in the city centre, bordered by rail lines and a major boulevard mobility hub.

The existing bus station and Wolfsburg Hauptbanhof will both be expanded in the new plan, creating a transport centre that links people with the city and across the region. Walking paths will also fan out from the hub, contributing to a layered city fabric.

There will be no single purpose structures in the development.

The Mittellandkanal was previously cut off from pedestrians by a busy thoroughfare, but will now become a vibrant waterfront district complete with a promenade, canal park and pedestrian bridge.

Becker says that Henning Larsen, “see Wolfsburg Connect as a standard bearer for what sustainable urbanism must be in the future: not just green but connected, social and diverse.”

Phase one is expected to be complete by 2023.

The designers say there is the opportunity to create a testing ground for the most cutting-edge mobility technology in the world