Sorry to the car enthusiasts, for focusing more on the plinth details than the cars themselves, but the design of the exhibits at the Porsche museum, in Stuttgart, Germany, is one of the best I’ve ever seen. From the angle of the plinths carried throughout as a consistent design language, the detail of the movable graphic lecterns embedded in the etched stainless steel rail, to the lighting cleverly hidden in the ceiling. Not to mention the large curved LED screen behind translucent white Corian that transforms the backdrop into a raceway track.
Note regarding the content: the minimalistic interpretive approach helps the clean design, and it worked for me, with only a few graphic panels, and clever audio-visual and digital interactive components (engineers in the making as my son loved it, and I finally understood how a Turbo works ;). The story focuses on the cars and Porsche’s engineering achievements. A known criticism is the shy coverage of the involvement of Ferdinand Porsche’s engineering office founded in 1931 with the National Socialism until the end of WWII. Especially in these challenging times, learning from our mistakes and making sure history doesn’t repeat itself seems utterly important and something that should be more present, at least in the backdrop of the overall story (something that the nearby Mercedes museum does very well).
Score:
Overall design 9.5/10
Interpretation/storyline: 7/10
Audio-guide: 8/10
Digital interactives: 8/10
Artifacts: 9/10 (although unfortunately I don’t fit in those super cars ;)
What the numbers mean:
10: otherworldly
9: exceptional
8: very good
7: good but lacking something
6: okay...
5 and under: :(
The museum opened in 2009, display area 5600 sqm, overall cost 100 million euros.
Architects: Delugan Meissl Associated Architects
Exhibit designers: HG Merz