HIMMMELBLAU: COOP HIMMELBLAU. BMW WELT, MUNCHEN

The architects in the Viennese Coop Himmelb(l)au team have felt committed to the credo of constructing cities and buildings that float like clouds ever since the practice was founded in 1968, though it did take a while before gently curving, 'floating' buildings became a reality. It was not until new, computer-aided design and building methods and the use of innovative building materials came along recently that it became possible to realise even unthinkable architectural hybrids so light that they actually do seem to float. So the new Musee des Confluences is currently under construction in Lyon, a cloud that has been in the planning phase for some years. And a cloud building like this also does exist in reality in Munich in the form of the new BMW World, conceived by Coop Himmelb(l)au and recently opened. This new building completes the spectacular trio of museum buildings, the Mercedes-Benz and the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, by UNStudio and Delugan Meissl Associated Architects respectively