August 24, 2006 Citroen has unveiled the world’s first ‘designer garage’ for its new executive model, the C6. Penned exclusively by acclaimed architects, Neutral, the unique structure comes with a UKP112,330 price tag – three times the cost of Citroen’s range-topping C6. Drawing inspiration from the pronounced architectural forms of the Citroën C6 itself, the garage is formed by three solid strands, which create the ‘skeleton’ of the main building that stands 3m tall and covers 50 square metres.
Constructed out of light transmitting concrete with transparent sliding ‘doors’ to the sides, which allow the vehicle to enter from either the front or the rear, the building securely encloses the C6 in the traditional sense of a garage, but at the same time allows it to be displayed to the passer-by.
The transparent sliding plates have been constructed of reinforced, environmentally friendly polycarbonate sheets with coloured LCD layers in the sheets allowing for opacity when the car owner switches on the privacy mode.
Reflecting the technical finesse of the Citroën C6, the multi-functional garage not only makes a bold, spatial statement, its tectonic design provides the owner with a useable roof terrace and a unique ‘man-made landscape’ to adjoin their home.
With credits including the Munich football stadium, the Allianz Arena, to their name, Neutral partners, Tapio Spellman and Christian Grou, conceived the garage as a sculptural design to “envelop and present the C6 in a truly unique and independent environment”.
According to Neutral’s Christian Grou, the garage “encourages a visual dialogue between the inside and outside, and between the car and its environment as a result of the use of materials of different transparencies.”
He adds: “The C6 is a truly individual statement, and one which deserves more than a run of the mill, brick and mortar garage.”
